(PDF) Cinematic cities, cinematic public spaces: Crisis, Continuity and Changes through representations of urban public spaces in movies

BSA Annual Conference 2024

Crisis, Continuity and Change

Abstract Book

Thursday 4 April 2024

Table of Contents

Stream Plenaries......................................................................................................................... 3

Pape r Session 4 .......................................................................................................................... 6

Pape r Session 5 ........................................................................................................................ 25

Pape r Session 6 ........................................................................................................................ 42

PLENARY: Lynne Segal ............................................................................................................ 61

Abstracts are listed by Paper Session

then alphabetically by Stream name

Accurate as of 12 March 2024. Any further changes to the programme will be

made periodically in the lead up to the conference.

Stream Plenaries

09:15 - 10:15

Environment & Society - Room 3

Time and Te mporality in the Anthropoce ne

Nigel Clark , Bronislaw Szerszynsk i

(Lancaster University)

This plenary considers s ociologic al and social scienc e interventions on temporality in the anthropoc e n e

at a point when climate change is altering our perceptions and ex periences of time. Temporal

boundaries such as seasonality and cycles are being destabilis ed alongside tradit ional notions of linear

and rec ursive time, whilst entrenched narratives around ecology are being challenged by feminist,

decolonial and indigenous s cholars (Agathangelou and Killian 2022) and geological histories (Irvine

2020).

The sense of urgency and mobilis ation around crisis is as much about disrupted rhythms of daily more-

than-human life and the material-temporalities of every day things, as it is about deep time, unequal

racial-capitalis t histories, and environmental futures. Yet, climat e change appears increasingly

constituted by unstable and contradictory temporal scales - short-termis t chronopolitic s Vs long-ter m

planetary impacts; epochs, generations and lifespans ; ac celerationism and degrowth; and multiple

beginnings and ends.

This plenary will be a discussion with the authors of Planetary Social Thought: The Anthropoce n e

Challenge to the Social Sciences (2020), Professor Nigel Clark and Professor Bronislaw Szerszynsk i,

chaired by Dr A udrey Verma. The plenary will reflect on the links between time and ecology that are

central to sociological understandings of climate change, and how this might facilitate approaches that

engender humility (Jasanoff 2022), multiplicity (Clark and Szerszy nski 2021) and hope.

Chair: Audrey Verma, Newcastle University

Families & Relationships - Room 4

Instigating change through contexts of crises in young fatherhood research: the methodological

power of qua litative longitudinal impact rese arch and co-creation

Anna Tarrant

(University of Lincoln)

In this plenary, Anna presents cut ting-edge sociological research bas ed on a UKRI Future Leaders

Fellows hip study, Following Young Fathers Further. As an innovation and research fellowship,

Following Young Fathers Further, has advanced both substantive and methodological agendas to

enhance knowledge and unders tanding of young fatherhood and to progres s the idea of father-inclus ive

societies, based on this evidence. Building on the Following Young Fathers bas eline study (Neale and

Lau Clayt on, 202-15) and other linked and cumulative studies, that will be introduced, the study has

captured the parenting journeys and support needs of young fathers, aged 25 and under, for well over

a decade. This has enabled the analysis of the dynamic s of young fathers’ parenting journeys and the

evolution of their trajectories in terms of parenting, relations hips with family, educat ion, employ men t

and t raining, housing, offering a complex view of change and c ontinuity over time and across their

parenting journeys against a backdrop of multiple crises. One continuity is the s tigma and ‘problem’

focus that permeates discourses of young fatherhood. Introducing new theoretical framework s ,

informed by scholarship that is attentive to s hifts towards caring and engaged fatherhood, Anna offers

alternative theoretical frameworks, and t he methodologies for embedding them, for the purpos es of

affecting change and transformation for young fathers and those who support them. In particular, she

Thursday 4 April 2024

Stream Plenaries

09:15 - 10:15

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

will introduce t he co-creation methodology, a participatory, evidence-based and interrogative process

informed by sociological theories and concepts that involves young fathers and multi-agency

professionals in advocacy and s ocial change.

Methodological Innovations - Room 16

A New Dystopia of Da ta Scie nce in Sociological Research? A Crisis of Path-dependent Evolution

Wendy Olsen

(University of Manchester)

UK Universities teach data scienc e with linkages to/from the rest of the world. The B SA, too, is not

limited to the United Kingdom. A new ‘epistemic crisis ’ as I call it is that UK Sociology is bein g

challenged by global ‘Data Science’. In this paper, I disc uss epist emology, ontology of macro/micro

links, ‘information’ as the concept is used in data science, and employment implic ations. I ex plore each

of these empirically . It would be a dys topia if the space and funding now alloc ated t o UK sociology

students were re-allocated to data science.

First data-science epis temic bas ic s usually omit confirmatory hypothesis-testing. They tend to lead to

data-driven research. However, expert peer review is one way of resisting the dumbing-down of

confirmatory analys is. I define ‘confirmatory’ and ‘exploratory ’, and show a middle ground where

enquiring ‘why’ sits in a large overlapping region. My argument undermines the data-science epist emic

foundation #1. Furthermore, reviewing the textbook literature also undermines supposedly ‘exploratory ’

methods. (Association rules and factor analys is offer examples.) Hypothesis testing should be well-

informed. In the globalised scene, this means engaging with multiple languages of research, media,

and multiple types of audiences.

The scientist who engages with multiple stakeholders is well placed to engage in debates globally. By

defining ‘soc ial data science’ carefully I create bridges from the data science school of thought to the

sociology schools of thought. For example, the sociologist makes macro/micro links , and so should a

data scient ist. I disc uss strategic as pects of the role that sociologists can play. For example, we clear

the ground for a mixture of inductive and deductive components in a c lear, well-supported argument ;

we may implement falsification well (Mayo, 2016; Ols en, 2022); we may offer “information measures”

to summarise structured datasets with multiple levels. I explore how data scienc e views ‘entropy’ and

‘informativeness’, compared wit h how sociology views these, in researc h contexts.

Connections between mic ro and macro are promoted by United Nations when using social researc h

result s. It would be a crisis to ignore multiple languages in research – yet the non-English writings are

often ignored. The macro aspect of global ‘good’ outcomes necessitates some multi-lingual research ,

but this prong is being rapidly shrunk in UK sociology.

The last prong of my argument is t hat s ocial science and sociology strengthen the employ men t

prospects of our graduates. Areas like ‘social statistics’ and ‘social data s cience’ form a middle ground,

which c an strengthen UK sociology students. They are indeed cognate or embedded in soc ial sciences.

Having rising numbers of Data Science students should not be allowed to sweep away the resources

granted to university-level sociology, even during globalisation.

Thursday 4 April 2024

Stream Plenaries

09:15 - 10:15

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

Race, Ethnicity & Migration - Room 9

White Enclosures: What the Balkan Route tells us a bout the Contemporary State of Racial

Capitalism and Globa l B/ordering

Piro Rexhepi

(University College London, School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies)

In the present moment, “crisis” is being reformulated and cemented as an endless s tat e of being from

which t here is no escape. The deadly contemporary conjuncture, however, is connec ted to histories

which show us that there is something left to fight for: crisis is both cont inuous and always connect ed

to the possibility of change.

This plenary addresses the conference theme by inviting a speak er whose work sheds new light on

contemporary bordering practices , examining oft-unheard stories of coloniality and decolonial

resis tance. Piro Rexhepi’s book White Enclosures: Racial Capitalism and Coloniality along the Balk an

Route (2023) locat es the Balkan penins ula within global dy namics of rac e-craft, with implic ations not

only for long-settled racialized minorities within t he region but also for migrants whose exclusion from

the European core is a tacit element of the Balkans ’ (promised) integration into the European project.

By foc using on queer, Muslim, and Roma resistance to colonial logic s, both in his torical and

contemporary context, Rexhepi brings a crucial and often mis sing perspec tive to our understanding of

b/ordering and racial c apitalism.

Science, Technology & Digital Studies - Room

11

Crisis Modelling: Engaging the Social Theory of SIR models

Luk as Engelmann

(University of Edinb urgh)

Infectious disease models have dominated the sc ience-policy interface for Covid-19 in the UK and

elsewhere. The field and its mathematic al approaches have adopted an unprecedented authority over

epidemic crisis, defining and domes ticating how we govern and understand the threat of infectious

disease. This ascent of modelling is often held to be detrimental to sociological and more equitabl e

perspectives in epidemiology . As a ‘reductive mechanism’ (Anderson 2021) modelling threatens to

make epidemic s’ variegated impact on society invisible, replacing the complex ity and heterogeneity of

social structures with simplistic compartmental visions of social organisation. While the increasing

irrelevance of social epidemiology is indeed problematic , this paper seeks to set a sociological critique

of modelling on more far-reaching grounds. Rather than to attest modellers a disregard of social theory ,

I explore the what kind of concepts of the social might be hard-coded into the cons truction of SIR

(Susceptible-Infected-Recovered) models. This means to return models to their historical point of origi n

in an emerging concern about population dy namics at the beginning of the twentieth century . But it also

requires an engagement with the implic ations of a theory of soc iety and subjectivity that is anchored in

a deep concept ual commitment to principles of contagion.

Paper Session 4

10:30 - 12:00

Cities, Mobilities, Place and Space - Room 1

Who’s Allowed In? Hospitality Workers as Gatekeepe rs of Public Toilet Access

Tig Slater, Charlott e Jones, Jill Pluquailec, Lauren W hite

(Around the Toilet Project (various universities))

Public toilet closures in the UK, brought about by austerity , have led to an increasing reliance upon

private or commercial facilities, such as toilets in bars and cafes (Slater and Jones, 2018; White, 2019).

Maintaining and monitoring thes e toilets has required additional labour for hospitality staff, something

that was exacerbated and made more explicit during COVID-19 restrictions. In this paper, we share

reflections from Beers, Burgers and Bleac h: Hygiene, Toilets and Hospitality in the Time of COVID-19,

a research project exploring the impact of additional cleaning and the monitoring of customer toilets

during the pandemic. It draws on solicited work diaries and in-depth interviews with 21 UK hospitality

staff between 2020-2021. We explore the role of hospitality workers as ‘gatek eepers’ in maint aining

toilet spaces and facilitating ac cess to essential, everyday provisions. W e suggest the closure of

council-funded toilets has meant that the hospitality sector has become a social infrastructure, whereb y

some workers see themselves as providing communities essential welfare facilities. This has particula r

implicat ions for hospitality workers. Research partic ipants described specific difficulties involved in

monitoring toilet acces s: (1) discerning who was a ‘deserving’ and/or ‘legitimate’ toilet user; (2) feeling

discomfort and/or risks of doing this work; and (3) concerns about inequity and who might be excluded.

The toilet ‘gatekeeper’ role places individualised and difficult decisions upon the hospitality worker and

shifts attention away from the urgent need for free, and unquestionable, acc ess t o public toilets.

Bookstores in Shanghai: The Dawn a nd Decline of Public Spa ce (2001-2022)

Linjie Zhang

(University of Edinb urgh)

This study investigates how book stores become public spaces and the transformat ion of bookstores in

Shanghai in recent two decades to reflect the dawn and decline of Chinese public space. With the

development of digitalization, commodific ation, and globalization, studies of public space chanllen ge

Habermas's original definition of the public sphere. While t he rise of hos tile environments and neo-

nationalism threaten public space, the public are more access ible to those living together and fightin g

for citizens hip by engaging with public space. At the same time, as a result of pandemic, bookstores

have expanded their phys ical space by using t he internet to organize online events, creating more

opportunities for the public to interact with each other. The boom and decline of semi-public spaces like

bookstores can present political changes and urban moderniz ation. However, the book store in Chines e

context has not been fully discussed in the research of public space. This researc h addresses the

following problems: (1) how publishers, intellectuals, book store managers and reading classes interact

with eac h other in different kinds of book stores(chain/independ ent/ uni versit y bookstores); (2) how

restrict ions from the state affect bookstores providing spaces for the public to discuss social issues; (3)

vi a the Internet, how virtual public space benefits to physical public space under the age of COVID-19.

Empirically, it shows how the wax and wane of bookstores map onto the history of

Shanghai. Theoretically, through exploring everyday practices happening in bookstores, this

research responds to s tudies on throwntogetherness and urban citizenship in the public

space given the Chinese s ituation.

Thursday 4 April 2024

Paper Session 4

10:30 - 12:00

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

Mapping ‘the Streets’: Young Female Rappers and Viole nce in East London

Baljit K aur

(The London School of Economics and Political Science)

Between June 2019 and Marc h 2020, I conducted ethnographic researc h as part of my PhD to explore

the ways in which working-class young people narrated their lived experiences of violence through

music, in particular rap music. The research was conducted at Bas s Youth Club* in the East London

borough of Rowe, where its multi-million-pound creative youth space made available free programm es

for young people. Using Yusef Bakk ali’s (2019) c onceptualisation of the munpain and Maria Tumarkin’ s

(2019) c onceptualisation of the traumascape, my findings revealed that struc tural inequalities and

ongoing everyday forms of traumatising violence, constitute the internal worlds and experiences of my

interlocutors, and the physical s ites in which t hey are happening. In the same breath, my researc h

revealed that there are various barriers that hinders the presence of young women in the music st udio

and c ontinues to silence their stories . I will thus draw on my ESRC-funded postdoc toral research (2023 )

which develops the spatial dimens ion of gendered everyday urban violence, as it is lived by young

women, and produced through rap. The delivery of my contribution will be an oral present ation that

includes a short film, co-produced with my interlocutors. The short film will reflect on the c hangin g

dynamics of gender, culture and social violence in Britain through the music and storytelling of young

women.

*All names of people, plac es and affiliations with the youth club have been ps eudonymised in order to

maintain anonymity of the research partic ipants to the best of my ability.

Then and Now : How Neighbourhood Deprivation in Youth Influences Attitudes towards

Inequality

Anne-Marie Jeannet, Franco Bonomi Bezz o, Laura Silva

(Univeristy of Milan)

The purpose of this study is to reappraise what has been found in qualitative case studies through a

quantit ative analysis and to investigate the mec hanis ms linking experiences of collec tive material

deprivation and attitudes towards inequalit y. Taking a Durkheimian view, we claim that individual

attitudes not only depend on individual predisposit ions but also a) on the community where the

individuals have grown up and b) on t he community where individuals currently live. Drawing on exist ing

research on political socialization, we claim that contemporary exposure to deprivation is important, as

is exposure during childhood, due to its long-lasting effects on how individuals perceive the world

around them later in adulthood. We investigate the differential relevance of community deprivation on

two Britis h cohorts, born in 1958 or in 1970. Our findings show that living in more affluent areas is

associated with being les s against inequality . Growing up in an affluent neighbourhood showcase

similar, though smaller, effect. Interestingly, attitudes towards inequalit y are more strongly correlated

with neighbourhood trajec tories along the life cours e then individual social c lass trajectories . Thes e

effects tend to be larger for people born in the 1970s than for people born in the 1958. Thes e results

suggest that while people who have grown up in a phase of expansion of the Welfare s tat e may have

felt lower anxiety about inequality, those who have grown up during the full expression of Thatc heris m

might have developed stronger feelings towards inequality.

Emerging Themes - Room 16

A Crisis of Age ncy: Tipping Points of Cultural Neoliberalism

Mareike Zobel

(University of Cambridge)

The experience of multiple crises in the 21st cent ury in the Global North, from financial collapse and

COV ID-19 to the climate crisis, populis m and war, emphasises the importance of individual and

collect ive agency for designing a better future. Yet while the practic es of making of futures are

diversifying, as Social Futures research shows, the guiding logics behind them, whether mainstream or

critical, seem to gravitate towards an increas ingly uniform rationale. Grounded in a qualitative analy sis

of environmental media discourses, my research revealed a ‘crisis of agency’, where our current,

Thursday 4 April 2024

Paper Session 4

10:30 - 12:00

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

neoliberal sy stem (from everyday practic e to the socio-economic world order) is experienced as so

dominant that a sense of personal and c ollective agency requires intense personal effort – paradoxicall y

reproducing the same neoliberal logics the ac tors and interviewees aim to criticise. Futures feel

increasingly “loc ked-in” (Tutton 2017). Analogous t o the ecological crisis, this paper as ks whether we

have reached a ‘cultural t ipping point’, where the ‘biodiversity’ of social and economic rationalit ies has

been reduc ed to an all-encompas sing neoliberal logic that undermines all agency to build a radically

different future. To address this question, I develop a concept of ‘cultural neoliberalism’ to describe a

logic of self-affirmation, growth, and rewards that is translated from economic doctrine to cultural

practices. I invite a discus sion whether other participants’ research mirrors or challenges my findings ,

and hope to share ideas how soc iology can address this cris is of (future) agency. Drawing on my data,

I propose posthumanist approaches as potential loopholes to an all-encompass ing cultural

neoliberalism.

Communities Responding to Crisis: Why Were Many Grassroots Organisations so Effective at

Responding to the Crisis of the Early Pande mic?

Rose Rick ford

(University of Oxford)

I present an empirically derived explanatory acc ount of the ways in which grassroots community

organisat ions (GRCOs) worked toward meeting need during the first Covid-19 lockdown in England and

Wales. Bas ed on comparative analy sis of qualitative data from 40 different GRCOS, I argue that many

were able to adjust quickly to changing need and adapt their work to meet specific and particula r

different needs , and that this was key to their ability to meet people's needs during the crisis of the early

pandemic. They were flexible in their work and did not rely on rigid one-size-fits-all approaches. GRCO's

ability to do this was related to their engagement in a relational response process, through which

identifying and responding to need were done iteratively, through s ubject-subject relation. This was

enabled by minimisation of hierarchy within organisations and by trusting frontline workers to use their

judgment within a teleological framework. Enactment of the relational respons e proces s also relied on

organisat ions being adequately res ourced. I further argue that sources of funding t hat impel

organisat ions t o act towards purposes other than the needs of their communities, such as

commissioning or selling of services, are a barrier to meeting need in a crisis because they can force

organisat ions to choose between prioritising need and prioritising inc ome. Provision of flexible grant

funding to grassroots community organisations is therefore lik ely to be an effective polic y for supporting

communities to respond effectively to crisis.

Environment & Society - Room 3

Versions of the Right to Repair

Seb astian Abrahamss on

(Department of S ociology Uppsala University)

E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream globally. In a bid to solve the problem with disc arded

laptops , s martphones, tablets and other t echnologies, the Right to Repair has come to be framed as a

viable way forward. But what is the Right t o Repair? It is a soc ial movement that joins concerne d

consumers, profess ional repairers, farmers and other groups together in an effort to reclaim the things

they own. It is, in other words, about c onsumer autonomy . The Right to Repair is also a political ideal

that is currently being translated into legislation in the EU and across states in the USA. In current waste

management policy, the Right to Repair gets articulated as part of efforts to create circular flows of

materials and resources . Finally , the Right to Repair is also a design ideal in the sense that repair relies

on products and technologies that are repairable, modular and flexible. In this presentation, I map and

analyse these versions of the Right to Repair to show the various concerns that push and pull this "right"

in various directions and with various c onsequences. The aim of this mapping is to show how variou s

concerns (e.g. consumer autonomy, sustainability, efficiency) shape public issues that get translate d

into policy and legislation. Doing so I pay special attention to what gets los t along the way of s uch

translations.

Thursday 4 April 2024

Paper Session 4

10:30 - 12:00

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

The Regulation of Thermoregulation: Continuity, Change and Crisis in Thermal Cultures

Janine Morley

(Lancaster University)

How societies organise, provide for and seek to regulate human thermoregulation is a hot topic at the

heart of multiple crises (energy security, carbon emissions, changing climates) and at the intersection

of questions about health, equity, everyday life, politic s and governanc e. Insights from s ociology,

partic ularly from the development of social practice theories have been influential in energy-related

research, but the topic of t hermal c ultures, remains at best a niche concern wit hin sociology. This is

despite its resonance wit h theoretical developments in the sociology of consumption, the body, dress

and materiality. In this paper, I draw on these areas to develop a conceptualisation of thermoregulation,

usually c onceived of as a phy siologic al process, as one that is instead als o deeply soc ial: something

that is organised, embedded and experienced in ways t hat vary according to shifting thermal cultures.

In this light, I analyse changes and continuities in ‘socio-thermoregulation’ among UK residents durin g

the autumn and winter of 2022/23, a period that saw steep ris es in energy cost s. I then c onsider how

such private practic e at home intersects with national governance and global c rises, contrasting the

UK’s libertarian approach with European countries that sought to directly regulate t he parameters for

heating and air conditioning in certain building, in the proc ess engaging different frames of legitimacy

and contestation in the ongoing respons es to energy sec urity, affordability and decarbonisation, and in

the face of rapidly warming c limates . I conclude with a discussion of these tensions and ask how

sociology can contribute to this important topic.

Air Space: Creating a Community-Integrated Network of Interdisciplina ry Resea rch on Socio-

Atmospherics

David Dob son, St ephen Hick s

(University of Manchester)

Alt hough significant sociological attention has been given to environmental, economic and social crises ,

it is often at the local scale t hat such dynamics play out in everyday lives. ‘Air Spac e’, an inter-

disciplinary res earch project based at the University of Manches ter, is investigating the ways in which

concerns about air qualit y/pollution, attempts to address this in urban design and the inequalities that

emerge concerning health and social care impacts, play out in the everyday lives of local residents and

community groups. This is because c oncerns about environmental pollution/impact, a range of health

and s ocial inequalities, sus tainability and the ways in which communities and cities are designed and

experienc ed have all highlighted how atmospheres and, particularly, air are vital. Taking a focus on the

question of air quality, this paper adopts Mas on’s (2018) socio-atmos pherics approach to investigat e

community concerns regarding aspects of air quality/pollution and various community-led actions or

responses. Based upon a scoping review of existing research and qualitative data generated via walk ing

interviews/go-alongs , focus groups and s ketching/photography, this paper links the current range of

scholarship on air and atmospheric s to how local residents in inner-city Manchest er make sense of and

respond to inequalities that emerge in partic ular spatial, ec onomic and community contexts . In this way,

the projec t engages in citizen social science in order to guide future air and atmospherics research

agendas.

Mason, J. (2018) Affinities: Potent Connections in Personal Life, Cambridge: Polity Press.

Families & Relationships - Room 4

When Care-Creep Equals Crisis-Creep

Hazel W right

(Anglia Rusk in University)

In contemporary society we seem to s tumble from crisis to crisis; defined oft en as a s udden worseni n g

of a condition, a turning point; as something dangerous, a critical incident or threat. But for individual s ,

cris is can have a more gradual onset shaped as it is by a person’s perceptions, ex periences, and

emotional resilience. It is this type of crisis that I consider here.

Thursday 4 April 2024

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I c are for an elderly relative – not from choice but from duty. It is increas ingly onerous and my aptitude

for the task is continually questioned by both of us. I talk of care-creep, a label adapted from my

geographical past where soil-creep refers to the slow but perpetual attrition of a slope t hrough wind,

rain, and gravity action. My independence is similarly eroded. Living amids t an inexorably deteriorati ng

situation, “care-creep” becomes “crisis-creep”, too. Therein lie the continuity and change; matters

remain constantly difficult and slowly get worse.

Sharing the load with relatives jus t makes everyone miserable. A problem shared is just ex tended in a

family cont ext, not halved as the idiom sugges ts. Friends can listen supportively, not being directly

involved. Not so family. Sharing jus t spreads the gloom.

I seek s olutions but it is easier to talk about ‘walking away’ than to do it. Yet I clock up miles, tramping

until I reach a state of mindles s tranquillity and again breathe freely. Late at night I write, documenting ,

describing, st orying, finding res olution through s pilling out words, a c reative antidote t o frustration. I

share the proces s here.

Di scourse s of N e w -Era Family and Fertility Ideologies in China under the Three -Child Policy

Xiaowan Cang

(University of Oxford)

This paper charts the normative and discursive environment in which women navigated their

reproductive lives in China under the pro-natalis t Three-Child Policy. By examining t he public dis course

that the Party-state is constructing through its language and its use of personnel in various interventi ons

to precipitate and help along the change in the new family planning polic y and the wider soc iety, this

study reveals how diverse discourses feed into eac h other and evolve together reflecting, shaping and

reinforcing the demographic reality and public perc eptions after different population polic y conces sions.

This paper is based on interviews with cadres of the All-China W omen’s Federation (ACWF) and the

cultural departments in several subdistrict governments.

I argue that on the one hand, rhetorically, family structures and functions are gradually redefined in a

new normalis ation procedure where the state aims to construct neo-familial nationalism that designates

and instructs families as legitimate agents to reproduce morally righteous and politically loyal citizens

while rely ing on multiple exploitations of women. On the other hand, in practice, being marginalis ed

both institutionally and financially, ACWF cadres have little capacity to innovate with measures to furth er

a new c hildbearing-friendly c ulture. They merely resign themselves to implementing the top-down

mandates of the Party -state that is too patriarchal to c omprehend what is needed by women to want to

or feel able to have more children. Therefore, the more the paternalistic state promotes a

heteronormative family image, the les s real and material impacts it could have on women as

reproductive subjects to form families .

The Moral, the Political and Social Licence in Digitally-Driven Family Policy and Intervention:

Pare nts Negotiating Experiential Knowledge and ‘Other’ Familie s

Rosalind Edwards, Val Gillies

(University of Southampton)

The governance of families has long revolve d around t he recording and categorisation of their lives, but

digital technology has transformed exponentially the way that families can be understood and targeted

by government agencies. Increasingly , electronic linkage of public administrative records and

application of predictive analy tics for the operational purpose of identifying families for servic e

intervention is promoted. The shift in how families are related t o by the state has been significant.

In this paper we provide a conceptually-informed and empiric al critique of the pursuit of soc ial licence

as to provide a warrant for data link age and predictive analytics in the morally charged field of family

policy intervention. We draw on our research projec t, focus ing on parental views of digitally-driven

family governance in the UK. We identify the not ion of consensus that undergirds the concept of soc ial

licence that acts to obs cure inequalities and silenc e conflict, and to reframe digital surveillance and

predict ion as a moral rather than political issue. Using focus group and individual interview material,

we show how parents assert professional or lay experiential knowledges in mak ing judgements about

the legitimacy of and trust in operational data technologies, involving struggles between posit ionings as

Thursday 4 April 2024

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parents like ‘us’ and ‘other’ parents. Parents have different leverages from these unequal and morally

charged soc ial locat ions. Inevitably, social licenc e is unobtainable; fractured by entrenched social

divisions and power inequalit ies.

Lifecourse - Room 6

Discourses of Authenticity and Acceptance in Men’s Understandings of Hair Loss

Paul Hodk inson, Matt Hall

(University of Surrey)

Detailed qualitative research on how men experience, understand and adapt t o the proc ess of going

bald is limited, but some studies suggest the proces s c an be a turbulent and distressing one (Musc arell a

and Cunningham 1996; DeMuro-Mercon et al 2000; Ricciardelli 2011). Against this context, the

Journeys of Hair Loss project, funded by the British Academy, has sought to explore men’s experienc es

of hair los s through in depth interviews and photo elicitation with 32 men between 18 and 49. The project

takes a temporal approach focused on ex perience of hair loss as a proc ess that develops over time and

in relation to other biographical developments.

This paper explores the importance of disc ourses of authenticity and notions of acceptance as part of

many men’s developing understandings of, and responses to, going bald. Connecting closely with

negotiat ions of mas culinit ies, such narratives highlight the importance of accepting and embracing hair

loss, and of conveying suc h acceptance to others. Conversely, the exhibition of denial, struggle or

resis tance to hair loss, whether by others or their former selves, often was rendered problematic or

difficult terrain. The paper explores the role such understandings play ed as part of many men’s

negotiat ions of hair loss over t ime, highlighting how discourses about ac ceptance and baldin g

authentically could both afford and preclude agenc y – and could c onnect to either to the alleviation or

exacerbation of struggles wit h the proc ess.

Longitudinal Productive Trajectories of Chinese Older Adults

Xinyi Chen

(National University of Singapore)

Productive aging encourages older adults to continue engaging in productive activities after retirement .

While many studies with Chinese data disc uss this Western concept, its fit for the Chinese c ontex t is

debated. Moreover, scant attention has been given to the combination of different types of activities

simultaneously and the potential shifts throughout the “post-retirement” years. To fill these gaps, this

study adopts data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) to understan d

the traject ories of productive aging among Chines e older adults. Employ ing the growth mixture

modeling, five distinct trajectories – c aregivers, double-burden carriers, low engagers, declinin g

workers, and steady workers – are ident ified to encapsulate the dynamic productive stat uses of t his

population. Findings highlight the consistent role of caregiving among the elderly, es pecially in the

caregivers and double-burden groups, while work engagement generally shows a declining trend.

Notably , t raditional gender roles play a pivot al role, with women being less likely to engage in work

compared to men. Socioeconomic determinants, partic ularly rural household registration (hukou)

status, influence the productive aging process , prompting considerations on voluntariness of post-

retirement working. Additionally, family dy namics, wealth, and health are found to exert significant

influences on these trajec tories. This research underscores the neces sity of a nuanced, culturally-

sensitive understanding of productive aging, with implications for polic y and future research. Findings

and perspectives of this study resonate with other Asian contexts where cult ures and norms regardi n g

old age productivity differ from their western counterparts.

Thursday 4 April 2024

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

Recalibrating Temporalities of Risk: The Competing Risks of (Not) Drinking For Australian

Women Pre-Midlife before and During COV ID-19

Kris ten Foley, Megan Warin, Paul R. Ward, Belinda Lunnay

(Centre for Public Health, Equity and Human Flourishing (Torrens University Australia))

Experiences of time and ris k during t he COVID-19 pandemic were volatile; exacerbated by lockdowns

result ing in working from home, soc ial distancing and home schooling. This manuscript explores

embodied temporalities of ris k before and during the pandemic in relation to the competing risks of (not)

drinking for Australian women pre-midlife (aged 25-44). Layered inferential analyses of our data,

collect ed at four timepoints pre- and during- the COVID-19 pandemic, enabled illuminat ion of the

horizons of risk in women’s lives (broadly construed) and the ways these were rec alibrated during the

pandemic to manage its gendered s tressors. Findings from our longitudinal research sugges t that

subjectivities of the fut ure changed during the pandemic. Long-future ris ks like breast cancer faded from

view or were looked pas t as shorter-future ris ks with more immediate consequences emerged (i.e. viral

transmission, surviving the emotional/relational labours of loc kdown). Examining how the multiple t ime-

framings of risk co-exist on the horizons for women in pre-midlife – and changed during the pandemi c

– advances scholarship on how (gendered) temporalities of risk are reflexively embodied in daily life.

Medicine, Health & Illness Special Event -

Room 7

Navigating Queer Life during COVID-19

Ingrid Young, James Cummings, Karenza Moore, Dylan Kneale, Laia Bécares, Jamie Hak im, Zafi

Moore

(Universit y of Edinb urgh, University of York , Newcas tle University, University College London, Kings

College London)

The crisis of COVID-19 resulted in dramatic and largely unprecedented public health interventions and

community responses between 2020 and 2022. However, the burdens (health, economic , social) of this

‘shared’ c risis were not experienc ed evenly; those dis proportionately affected by the pandemic can be

traced – significant ly – along recognizable patt erns of inequalities, specifically race, gender, sexuality ,

socio-economic, age, and disability ax es. As the data on health outcomes over the past few y ears and

testimony from the COVID-19 enquiry shows, the pandemic laid bare and exacerbated the social,

economic and c ultural inequalities of the UK.

However, this crisis took place at a conjuncture of other major social disruptions, namely: Brexit and

the inc reased x enophobia facilitated by a hostile environment towards migrants and non-UK c itizens;

ten years of UK Conservative government austerity policy that directly affected the capacity of the

welfare state, and communities, to cope with a global health c risis; the global response to t he Black

Lives Matter movement and calls for racial equity; and a ramping up of ‘culture wars’ rhetoric . Indeed,

we have seen an increase in attac ks on LGBTQ – or queer – communities, in particular on (but not

limited to) trans communities, inc luding rescinding of trans health provision and threats to curtail and/o r

remove existing rights and equalities protections.

This convergence of political and soc ial c rises, alongside a global pandemic, have directly impacted the

daily lives of queer communities in the UK. This special event seeks to understand how queer

communities – of all shapes and s izes – have navigated their lives during COVID-19, at the conjuncture

of these ongoing c rises and what s trategies of resistance they employed? W e ask: how did queer

communities fare during COVID-19, during periods of heightened restrictions (e.g. lockdowns, physical

distancing) as well as periods of emergence into a world that slowly moved away from COVID-19

precautions? What can we learn from the intimate and collective experiences of queer communities

who endured such a period and what does this tell us about queer resilience and resistance?

This panel draws across three research studies undertaken since 2020 that look explicitly at queer lives

during COVID-19. Dy lan Kneale, and Laia Becares will share findings from the Queerantine study,

revealing what impact a hostile environment had on LGBTQ communities. Digit al intimacies (Hakim,

Cummings & Young) explored how queer men drew on digital tools to negotiate intimac y during this

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period. Drawing on their forthcoming monograph (2024), Cummings will explore how the temporality of

the pandemic shaped queer participants relationships. Young explores how queer partic ipants s ought

out and practiced forms of queer care in their intimate lives and employed strategies of queer use to

enable these caring practices. Finally, Karenza Moore will draw on work around queering party s paces

post-pandemic, thinking about queer prac tices of drug use, party spaces and intersectional social

in/justice.

Dylan Kneale, Laia Becares

(University College London, Kings College London)

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning (LGBTQ+) are at greater risk of poor er

COV ID-19 prognosis due to higher levels of chronic disease and a greater impact on mental health from

pandemic mit igation strategies due to worse pre-pandemic mental health. We examine how a hos tile

social s ystem contribut es to LGBTQ+ people’s negative healt h experiences during the pandemi c

through adopting a s yndemic framework and using data from The Queerantine Study, a cross-sectional,

web-based survey (n = 515). Identification of a health syndemic is based on depressive symptoms,

perceived stress and limiting long-term illness. We used Latent Class Analysis to identify latent classes

based on experiences of a hostile soc ial system. A syndemic was identified among a third of

respondents (33.2%), wit h trans gender/gende r-di verse and younger participants at higher risk. Latent

Class Analysis identified five groups based on experiences of hostile s ocial sys tems using psychos ocial

and socioeconomic indicators. Classes reflecting psychosoc ial hostilit y were predictive of a health

syndemic and worsening health. This st udy emphasises (i) ment al and physical health issues are

intertwined among LGBTQ+ people; (ii) experiences of hostile social syst ems can account for part of

variation in health across LGBTQ+ groups ; (iii) that psychosocial hos tility continued and was

exacerbated throughout the pandemic , and (iv) experiences of ps ychosocial hostility in particular wer e

associated with a greater likelihood of experienc ing a syndemic. We ext end these analys es to explore

how, despite ex periencing high levels of psychos ocial hostility, many LGBTQ+ respondents to the

survey were at t he vanguard of t he respons e to the pandemic , c ontributing to volunteer and frontline

roles in varied ways . Similarly , we also show that some LGBTQ+ participants, des pite experienc i n g

societal hostility and the impacts of this hostility through poorer phy sical and mental health, reported

utilising different strategies that helped them manage their way through the pandemic.

James Cummings

(University of York )

This paper explores the interrelations of time, intimacy and digital technologies during the COVID-19

pandemic, focus ing on the experienc es of queer men in the United Kingdom (UK). The temporal

dimensions of intimacy are an important area of sociologic al enquiry. Feminist and queer sc holars have

argued that time is a key feature of both normative discourses and everyday experiences of int imacy.

There has also been much research into the impacts of s ocial media, dat ing and hook-up apps on t he

pacing of intimat e encounters and relationships. Time has also been recognised as a key experient ia l

dimension the COVID-19 pandemic, related lockdowns and t he fluctuation of ‘social distancing’ policies

in the UK. Finally , t he impac ts of the COVID-19 pandemic on intimate life have been the subject of

much academic, governmental and popular discussion. This paper brings together these currently

disconnected areas of research and ex plores them in relation to queer men’s pract ices of intimacy

during the COVID-19 pandemic. We draw on 43 s emi-structured interviews with queer men, includin g

cis (33) and trans (10) men, in the UK conducted between July and December 2020. The paper shows

how time and digital tec hnologies were complexly entwined in queer men’s experiences of intimacy

during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we highlight how contrasting feelings of urgency and

statis played out within queer men’s int imate relationships during the pandemic and how these feeling s

were managed through the us e of digital technologies . At a more conceptual level, we show how

nexuses of intimacy, time and technology can become sites of agenc y wit hin a context of overwhelmi ng

cris is . However, inequalities related to cisnormativity and ableism meant that s uch agency was not

equally enjoyed by our participants .

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

Ingrid Young

(University of Edinb urgh)

This presentation draws on a chapter from our forthcoming monograph Digital Intimacies: Queer Men

and Smartphones in times of Crisis (Bloomsbury, 2024), and draws on the same data outlined in

Cummings abst ract above. It explores how queer men navigated both vulnerability and control during

the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a snapshot of queer men’s pandemic experience s

of digital intimacy. The pandemic – and the s ocio-political response to it – have been a key feature of

the post-neoliberal conjuncture. Responses to COVID-19 restrictions, especially in relation to extra-

household s ex, by community and health organizations encompass ed familiar debates about

abstinence vs harm reduction echoing the HIV debates of the 1980s. These cons traints proved

partic ularly difficult for some queer men, for whom extra-household s ex was a vital aspect of their

intimate lives. Although our participants described experiences of los s, isolation and intense

vulnerability as a result of COVID-19, we also saw how queer men navigated these challenges through

‘queer use’ (Ahmed 2019) of digital tools and public health guidance. In this way, our partic ipants

recounted how they ass erted c ontrol over their lives in ways that enabled them to c reate and sustain

intimacy with others. Through, for ex ample, adapting quarantine rules, queering bubbles and navigat i n g

when and how to cross the line, our participants showed us that these queer survival strategies were

not alway s based in opportunity or convenience, but grounded in practices of queer care.

Karenza Moore

(Newc astle University)

There have been recent advanc ements in sociological underst andings of subs tance use, stigma, and

social harm (Addison et al 2022, Seear 2023). This inc ludes work on how stigma and shame is

experienc ed by young people who use drugs (Y-PWUDs) recreationally through the lens of

inters ectionality (Moore 2022). We present our rec ent s tudy on intersectionality and experiences of

stigma and joy among queer and racialised PWUDs when frequenting raves. As Davis (2023) notes,

“The spec tre of the trans woman as sexual predator is reminiscent of the figure of the racialis ed other,

from which white cis women mus t be protected” (p.2). Here we focus specifically on raving together, as

a trans woman of c olour (Zafi) and as her partner (Karenza) in post-pandemic partyscapes , as part of

a longstanding study of UK dance music cultures and substance use. We draw on partial insider

partic ipant observations at 30 techno raves between July 2021 and July 2023. Key themes are explored

via a series of co-created ethnographic vignettes. Themes include negotiating drug-related st igma

(Ross et al 2020), racism and transphobia; inclusionary and exclus ionary pract ices of ravers, promoters,

and s ecurity personnel; and white cis gender privilege and allyship in spaces/times where drug use is

prevalent. Adeyemi's (2022) framework of 'feeling right' informs our dis cussion of how stigma is

identified, negotiated, and resisted; just as joy is embraced. Explorations of inclusionary/exc lus ionar y

aspects of queer raving are placed in dialogue with ex isting extensive drug harm reduction and safe(r)

raving literature. Both are relevant to queering social spaces of music and drug consumption (rave s ,

festivals, afterparties). To end, we consider examples of support for queer and trans people of colour

to ‘feel right’ at raves, with the hope of promoting safer raving for all.

Race, Ethnicity & Migration - Room 9

The Relationship of Diversity and Social Support for Asia n American University Students

Charles Liu

(Cambridge Centre for International Research)

Asian Americans have faced racis m in the U.S. since the 19th century, with historical events lik e the

Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese Internment camps as roots. In the 21st century, they continue to

face discrimination, worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, where they were unfairly blamed for t he

spread of the virus. Asian American college students were affec ted even more as they had no family

support and worried about relatives in Asia affected by COVID-19. Although this is an issue that needs

to be addressed, c oping with discrimination during COVID-19 in Asian American students is an area

that is under-researched in scholarly literature. This paper investigat es how the diversity level of an

educational ins titution and the accessibility and availabilit y of soc ial support affect the mental well-being

Thursday 4 April 2024

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

of Asian American college students c oping with COVID-19-related discrimination. A qualitat ive method

was employed in this s tudy, and s emi-struc tured in-depth interviews were conducted wit h Asian

American college s tudent s from California and Maine. The former has one of t he highest Asian

American percentages in the U.S. (17.38%), and the lat ter has one of the lowest (1.67% ) in the genera l

population and universities. Seven students were interviewed, and it was disc overed that there was a

relationship between the university’s diversity, the effec tiveness of social support, and the emotiona l

wellness of As ian Americ an st udents . This researc h emphasizes the importance of university diversit y

in promoting overall student well-being. Alt hough affirmative action is overturned, U.S. universities

should s till focus on ensuring a diverse student body t o foster a s upportive environment.

Colourful Faces in White Spaces: Effective Intervention and Support Programs for International

Graduate Students

Bettina Teegen

(University of Surrey)

All st udents are often inundated wit h strict deadlines and have heavy workloads. The workloa d

increases even more at graduate level which comes with research assistant- related responsibilities.

However, international graduate students (IGS) addit ionally suffer from stressors as a result of a

phenomenon referred to as culture shock. This concept was first proposed by Oberg (1960) who

highlighted t he highly emot ional s tres s foreigners experience as a result of locating to an unfamili a r

environment in the absence of their support networks.

Thus, being confronted with stressors that are related to adjusting and adapting to a new country and

culture in the absenc e of support net works can have detrimental effects on IGS as well as on their

academic ac hievement. It is t herefore of utmos t importance to thoroughly identify academic - relate d

needs and (mental health ) difficulties of this vulnerable student population in order to address these.

This research will therefore discus s a variety of support services that have been identified by the

international student literature to have favourable outcomes on IGS academic succes s as well as a

positive impact on IGS overall well-being. These services include but are not limited to mentoring

services, writing support, couns elling services as well as career services.

Alt hough the research on support services/intervention programs for IGS is outdated and sparse, a

number of evidence- based research studies have shown promising results. Hence, it is recommende d

for higher education institutions to increase the implementation of these support services to ensure a

supportive environment for IGS during their studies abroad.

Reparatory Peregrinations: Sociology as Decolonial Framework within an Irish Higher

Education Institution

Philomena Mullen

(Trinity College Dub lin, Ireland)

This research investigates the potential of s ociology as decolonial framework within an Irish higher

education institution. It addresses iss ues related to t he Blac k academic journey and t he needs of

students, while teaching Critic al Black Studies in a predominantly white academic environment. The

inception of a Black Studies c ourse in Trinity College Dublin was not an outcome of routine ins titutional

planning, but was catalys ed by student demand, activism, and online petitions, galvanised by the global

impact of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The present ation aims t o highlight the challenges faced by a Black academic as s he navigates, what

Walcott calls, the ‘histories, memories, desires, free associations , disappointments, pleasures and

investments. .. informed by the peregrinations of…consciousness’ (2003, 118).

The primary focus is on the reparative potential of sociology as a lens to address the disparities and

challenges experienced by Blac k individuals within the Irish higher educ ation sy stem.

Bhambra’s (2023, 23) call for a reparatory soc iology, which s eeks to repair the social sc iences while

collect ively addressing implicit inequalities validated by conventional social scienc e, resonates wit h this

research. Recognising Ireland as a colonial entity and contex tualising the Black ac ademic journey within

a connec ted frame of reference aligns with the mission of decolonising the Irish educ ational landscape.

Thursday 4 April 2024

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

Gurminder Bhambra, (2023), BSA Network, Issue 144, Summer, London: Polity Books.

Rinaldo Walcott, (2003), ‘Beyond the ‘Nation Thing’: Black Studies, Cultural Studies, and Diaspora’. In

Decolonizing the Academy: African Dias pora Studies, edited by Carole Boyce Davies et al., 107-124.

Trenton: Africa World Press Inc.

Rights, Violence & Crime - Room 10

To What Extent is Peace Sa fer than Conflict for Children?: Mothers' Daily Risk Management

During and After 'The Northern Ireland Troubles'

Yumi Omori

(Queen's Universit y Belfast)

This paper will examine mothers’ perceptions and management of ris ks in everyday life during and after

the Northern Ireland conflict through the voices of mothers living in t he most severely affected areas of

the conflict. Drawing on original qualitative datasets on motherhood in urban Belfast, the paper will

consider how mothers tried to maintain the ‘normality’ in family lives in the worst condit ions of the conflict

and in the precarious ‘pos t-conflict’ environment. While sociological research has highlighted that

mothers are socially rendered as managers of risks and moral guardians for children in post -modern

societies, little research has examined how mothers in ‘post-conflict’ soc ieties with intensive risks and

urgency for social reconst ruct ion negotiate with these roles. The paper will discuss how the peac e

process since the 1990s has transformed risks in the urban landscapes and examine to what extent the

conflict remains a legacy in every day lives for mothers. The study suggested that many mothers fro m

urban working-class neighbourhoods find it more challenging to manage ris ks in t he ‘post-conflict ’

context than in times of conflict , s ome reflecting that they felt safer during the conflict. The paper will

explain the inc reased sense of unmanageabilit y of risks in the ‘post-conflic t’ setting by the shift in the

social and cult ural lands capes in which mothers and children are s ituated in late modernity, as well as

factors related t o the ethno-nationalist conflict and its legacy . Through these disc ussions , the paper

intends to make theoretical cont ributions to the soc iology of risk, family relations and peace processes.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pa ndemic on the Demand for Guns in the United States

Jinghong Zhou

(Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance)

This paper examines the impac t of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for guns in the United

States. Using data on the outbreaks in each state and a novel proxy for firearm purchases for the 2018 –

2021 period, the s tudy finds that the outbreak of the pandemic is positively correlated with the demand

for guns. Further analysis using regression discontinuity estimation confirms this positive correlation.

Moreover, the positive as sociation between the COVID-19 pandemic and gun demand is significant ly

stronger in regions with higher levels of inequality and lower levels of judicial spending than in other

regions. Ultimately, the pandemic has had a significant impact on social stability in the United States,

with significant increases in gun violence deaths and property crimes.

M i sse d Sections be yond Time a nd Space: Refl ections on the War in Ukraine and

Transgenerational Pain in Europe

Magda Schmuk alla

(University of Essex)

In 2023, I wrote an es say about diaries which were written by Ukrainian students in the first weeks of

the war in Ukraine. In that essay, I reflected on how these diaries capture fragments of the traumatic

rupture that the war imposed on so many lives , but I also explored how these entries, which were written

in a rush, in bomb shelters, between bomb alarms, or at times in proximity of death, were ex amples of

a resis ting voice that acknowledged in personal word arrangements the cris is of the war.

In this paper, I return to that essay and explore some of the sec tions that I wrote back then but did not

include in the final vers ion of the text. Most of these miss ed sect ions refer to my personal experienc e

of reading and s truggling to write about the diaries . They also des cribe how sounds, images or scenes

from t he diaries had entered my every day, and how they had revived relic s of personal, family-

Thursday 4 April 2024

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embedded traumata and pain. The paper argues that a war destroys common arrangements of time

and space and by doing s o brings to the fore trans-subjective and trans generational affects - not only

for those who are directly affected by the destructive force of military attacks but also for those who feel

the presence of the war despite their physical distanc e from it. The paper further argues that such

encounters with untimely pains and ruptures are an opportunity for forming new ideas about social pasts

and futures.

Science, Technology & Digital Studies -

Room 11

Navigating the Web of Disinformation: Employing Social Network Analysis to Decode

Disinformation Dynamics in Modern Societie s

Was im Ahmed, Mariann (Maz) Hardey

(Stirling Management School and Durham University Business School)

In today’s digital age, where information casc ades through networks with unparalleled speed, the

proliferation of disinformation has emerged as a complex and influential socio-political challenge.

Disinformation can shape societal beliefs and behaviours by providing alternative information through

social media platforms. This phenomenon requires further study and examination within the field of

sociology . Our research has been developing an understanding of the pathways through which

disinformation is st rategically seeded through s ocial networks, subsequent ly shaping social realities

and creating division and instability, partic ularly among marginalis ed and vulnerable groups. Employing

social net work analy sis (SNA) to study disinformation allows for unravelling the structural mechanics of

diffusion acros s digital platforms, highlighting influential nodes and agents that magnify its

dissemination and impact. SNA facilitates visualis ation and analysis of the routes and patterns inheren t

in the information spread, providing valuable insights int o digit al manipulation. This study shines a light

on the social beginnings and impacts of disinformation and aims to use this knowledge to deve l op

intelligent strategies for dealing with it. By examining the structure of disinformation networks, we seek

to highlight practical ways to push back against false information, protec ting the unity and k nowled ge

base of our online communities. Thus , this research highlights the urgent need to incorporate SNA into

sociological studies to understand and tackle the complex challenges brought about by the era of

disinformation in our constantly changing global society.

“Ridiculously now”: Social and Climate Impact of On-demand Digital Services

Felippa Amanta

(Environment al Change Ins titute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford)

On-demand digital services have proliferated across entertainment, retail, food, grocery, and services .

Businesses, claiming to follow customers’ demands, invest heavily in logistics and provisioning sy stems

to expedite their delivery. These changes carry significant implic ations on not just people’s everyd ay

consumption experiences, but ultimately on climate change. This research explores the domestic ation

of on-demand digit al services and its implications on people’s expectations of immediac y and

consumption patt erns us ing semi-structured interviews with households in Oxford, United Kingdom.

Insights from the households are juxtaposed with mark et analys is on its parallel changes in product and

service provisioning systems. The research situates households ’ adoption of on-demand digit al

services as mutually shaping mac roeconomic produc tion and dist ribution patterns.

I argue that the rise of on-demand digital services depends on a sociot echnical configuration of intra-

household dy namic, life circumstances , households’ moral economy, companies’ innovation and

marketing efforts, and phys ical space contex t. Thes e configurations largely fall into three domestication

pathways: succes sful, precarious, and forced. Across all domestication pathways , the use of on-

demand digital services is rife with tensions and contradictions. Yet, households reflect a normalisation

of digital innovation’s ability to provide immediate gratification. This expectation of immediate

gratific ation is linked to greater and more frequent consumption, which in turn reinforces companies’

efforts to matc h the perceived expectations . This cy cle inc reases the energy and carbon footprint of

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digitally-mediated cons umption. This research contribut es analys is of the long-term social and

environmental impac t of instant deliveries offered by on-demand digital services.

Social Divisions / Social Identities 1 - Room 8

Navigating Ina rticulate Masculinities and the 'Ethics of Gender' in Left-Wing Activism

Chris W augh

(University of Manchester)

This presentation ex plores masc ulinities and anti-sex ist practices among men in left-wing social

movements in Britain. Informed by Raymond Williams’s ‘structures of feeling,’ I draw attention to the

existence of ‘inarticulate masc ulinities’, encompassing the st ruggles men face within left-wing

movements as they grapple wit h expressing anti-sexist values and negotiating their identities. Through

meticulous qualitat ive research, this paper uncovers inst ances where men falter and hesitate when

confronted with questions of how to 'do' anti-sexism as left-wing men. This inarticulation, paradoxically ,

serves as evidenc e of the emergence of a new form of masculinity, one navigating the tensions betwee n

activism and traditional gender norms. Simultaneous ly, I introduce 'the ethics of gender,' a framework

that delineates the spectrum of acceptable and unacceptable practic es, stances, and values concerning

gender within left-wing c ultures. Through interrogating the unwritten rules governing gender ed

behaviours in activist spac es, this s tudy provides crucial insights into the intricate web of expec tations

men navigate as they engage with feminis t principles.

The research enriches the study of gender and political participation by unveiling the complexities of

male engagement with feminism. It also extends its cont ributions to social movement studies by offering

a nuanced analys is of how masculinity is negotiated and performed within activist contexts , the

challenges of gender facing the contemporary left.

'Invisible’ Fisherwomen Rising Above Crises?: A Feminist-Bourdieusian Analysis of the

Persistence and Transforma tion of Gendered Practices in Small-Scale Fisheries Value Chains

in Guiuan, Eastern Samar in the Philippines

Rima Jessamine Granali, Rizza Kaye Cases

(Universit y of the Philippines Diliman)

Crisis can induce an “awakening of cons ciousnes s” and expose the arbitrariness of inequalities,

according to Pierre Bourdieu. However, Bourdieu highlights the importance of an alternative “state of

affairs” in facilitat ing the “awakening of consciousnes s” because hysteresis may occ ur when the

disposit ions cons tituting the habitus misalign with the dramatic field transformation. This qualitati ve

multi-method case study extends Bourdieu’s theory of practice and incorporates Judith Butler’s gender

performativity to ex plore how crises, particularly caused by super typhoon Haiyan and the subs equent

COV ID-19 pandemic, influenced gendered practices and the gender power relations in fis heries value

chains in Guiuan, Eastern Samar in the Philippines. Interviews, participant observation, and value chain

mapping revealed how interventions by governments and non-gove rnme nt organizations (NGOs )

presented a new “st ate of affairs” that cont ributed t o the reworking of gendered dispositions and

reinforcement of gender reflexivity. This led to the emergence of new value chain structures, which

required performances of femininity, including displaying emotional capit al, for economic capital

accumulat ion. Alt hough actors’ interest lies in profit max imisation, the new practices, which were

sustained s ince the onslaught of Haiyan and persis ted even after the pandemic, were largely perform ed

through communal ex changes based on loyalty and reciprocity. Women, who are typically assigned to

emotional practices, s uch as appealing to other actors' sympathies, contribute s ignificantly to the

sustainabilit y of fishing activities . As the affective principle obscures power imbalance, the gradua l

formalisation and centralisation of fisheries activities within fisherfolk organisations are recommended

to fost er equity and increase the recognition of women’s contributions in the male-dominated field.

Thursday 4 April 2024

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Theorizing the Imperialist Angst Over the Hijab

Muneeb Ul Lateef Banday, Anuk riti Dixit

(University of Bern, Switzerland)

Among the many gendered-religious-cultu ral veils prevalent in our societies, it is the hijab that gets

much attention to position Mus lim women as ‘oppressed s ubjects ’. This has again been the focus of

media and sc holarly commentaries in the context of Iranian Women-led protes ts . The predominant

Wes tern imagination positions Mus lim women’s veil as the evidenc e and s ymbol of oppression and

backwardness of women in Islam. Thus, the veil is placed at the centre of thes e discussions produci n g

epistemic de-prioritisation of women-led movements in Iran and the larger ‘third-world’. In this

intervention, we aim to deconstruct the ‘oppres sion-ve i l -Muslim’ interconnect ions by theorising a

phenomenon we term ‘imperialist angs t’ - a disguising of Islamophobic and colonial anxieties whic h are

proposed as ‘concerns about oppression’. We c ontend that social movements and dis sent of peopl e

from t he ‘third world’, the ‘Orient’ or any other ‘non-Wes tern’ categorisation is oversimplified and posited

as epistemically inferior to the presumably advanc ed and progressive thinking of the white and W estern

world. Imperialist angst is thus both a product as well as a co-producer of superior-inferior

hierarchisation. Inst ead, we situat e the veil within historical relations of power and theorise the role of

Wes tern epistemes in constituting and intensifying oppres sive circumstances for the women of Iran and

the larger third world.

Social Divisions / Social Identities 2 - Room 12

Food Insecurity, Labour Pre carity, and Debt Crisis in India: Links betwe en Debt and Social

Reproduction

Ank ita Rathi, Charumita Vasudev, Swayamshree Mishra, Jas mine Fledderjohann, Suk umar Vellak k al

(Lancaster University)

Theoretical work on debt and credit illustrates the myriad ways women—especially racially marginaliz e d

women—and hous eholds have been increasingly pulled into the circuits of global finance .In the Globa l

North, gendered debts have been aligned with the global process of financialization and privatization of

social reproduction; in the Global South, the growth of microfinance has engendered new forms of debt -

induced financ ialized subjec tivities. While thes e studies illustrate the crucial ways gender and debt are

interlinked, relatively less explored are the inter-linkages between debt and social reproduction (i.e., the

capacity to support both everyday life and capitalis t production by feeding, housing, building social

relationships, educating, and caring for household members). A s debt inc reasingly becomes the

every day mode of living globally , espec ially for those undertaking informal precarious work, it is crucial

to understand the inter-linkages between debt and social reproduction. By drawing from semi-structure d

interviews conducted with men, women and children from informal laboring hous eholds in two states in

India, Uttar Pradesh and Goa, our paper inves tigates the differential ways in which debt is both

generative of life, enabling hous eholds to create everyday life-sus taining infrastructures and relations

where state divestment in and privat ization of public goods has created a livelihood cris is, and also

deeply ex trac tive, depleting, in particular, the women’s capacity for social reproduction. Our paper aims

to gender the exis ting debt crisis by delineating how women manage debt amidst food and other forms

of livelihood precarity, and ways in whic h debt management financially , bodily, and emotionally

constrain their capacity for social reproduction

Breaking Boundaries: Unraveling the Impa ct of Socioeconomic Heterogeneity on Attitude s

towards Inequality in Contemporary Societies

Gonzalo Franetovic

(University of Milan)

Social inequality, a critical research area, extends beyond material concerns. Indeed, muc h academic

literature has focused on how people perceive, explain and care about thes e inequalities. However,

prevailing perspectives often hone in on individual or c ountry -level factors, inadvertently overlook i ng

meso-level elements such as social relationships . Recent studies have emphasized the pivotal role of

social s egregation patterns, revealing that diverse socioeconomic interactions significant ly shapes

attitudes towards inequalit y. Despite t hese insights, empirical testing of these claims remains scarc e.

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This study s eeks to address this gap by inves tigating the impact of socioeconomic segregation of

people's social environments on t heir attit udes towards inequality in contemporary societies . Using data

from both the 2017 ISSP Module of Social Networks and the 2019 ISSP Module of Social Inequalit y

across 23 countries, three hypotheses are tes ted. Specific ally, increased socioeconomic het erogenei t y

is hypothesized to be related with a heightened perception of inequality (H1), an elevation in structuralist

explanations (H2), and a decline in individualist explanations (H3) about inequality .

Employing linear regression models, incorporating c ountry fixed-effects and controls for influential

individual variables, this study also delves into the nuanc ed interaction effect s between socioeconomic

heterogeneity and individuals' objective pos itions. Preliminary findings underscore a compelling

narrative: greater s ocioeconomic heterogeneity is intricately link ed to an inc reased perception of

inequality. Furthermore, there is a simultaneous rise observed in both s truc turalist and individuali s t

explanations .

These results c ollectively underscore the crucial role of diverse s ocial environments in not only shapin g

awareness of inequality but also elucidating the intricate web of determining factors at play.

Social Inclusion and Post-Pandemic Development: Findings from African, Asi a n and UK

Conte x ts

Ghazala Mir, Naureen Durrani, Rachel Julian,, Yassah Kimei, Saidur Mashreky,,, Doan Duong,

(University of Leeds)

Background: Inequity is associated with social exclus ion, structural and physical violence and reduc ed

development, which are in turn linked to civil conflict and adverse health and social outcomes. The crisis

of COVID-19 exacerbated inequities for s ocially excluded groups globally. Public services are key

institutions through which such inequities are created and maintained but evidence on viable c ross

sector and multilevel interventions is limited for low- and middle-income contexts.

Methods: Nine studies engaged with over 600 key stakeholders in healthc are, educ ation and local

government sett ings in Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakstan, the UK

and Viet nam. Participatory research, in-depth interviews, polic y reviews and multi-st akeholder

workshops identifed c ommon themes and a framework for inclus ive interventions at macro-, meso- and

micro-levels for diverse disadvantaged populations. Two randomised c ontrol trials of an inc lusive

intervention were conduc ted in the UK and Pak istan

Findings : A spectrum of structural violence- through neglect, restrictions and discriminatory pract ice-

shaped poor life chances , illness, physical abus e and death for socially excluded populat ions ,

increasing in intensity throughout the pandemic. Inaccess ible or poor quality public services and a

'poverty penalty ' stifled the ability of excluded groups to fulfil individual and c ommunity potent ial. Key

recommendations for transformational change across diverse contexts and populations include

representation of these groups in service staffing and dec ision-making; the revision of public servic e

policy and practice to develop inclusive, targeted, collaborative and ac countable systems. Results of a

transformational intervention evaluated in both Pakistan and the UK show that such c hange is both

possible and es sential.

Sociology of Education 1 - Room 13

Academ ic I dentity in Crisis: An Autoethnographic Account of Being a Purged Academic

Funda Karapehlivan

(Leibniz Centre for Sc ienc e and Society, Leibniz Universit y Hannover)

This paper aims to analyze and understand the nature of academic identity by giving an

autoethnographic acc ount of the c ase of dismiss ed Ac ademics for Peace in Turkey. It will look at the

relationship between academic capital and academic identity and the processes of preserving academic

identity when an academic is forced to leave academia. It is thought that looking at this case will

contribute to the academic identity literature and give us more clues about the formation, preservati o n ,

and resilience of academic identity. One of the aims of this paper is to explore the boundaries of the

academic field by looking at the mechanisms of preserving one’s academic identity while being forced

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out of academia. This paper draws on research in progress and will raise t he following questions: What

does the experience of the dis missed Academic s for Peace tell us about academic identity and the

boundaries of the ac ademic field? How is academic identity constructed, reconstructed, and preserved ?

How fluid or rigid is academic identity?

Has Oxbridge Always Bee n the Key Channel of Elite Formation in Britain? 120 Years of Data

from Who’s Who

Aaron Reeves, Sam Friedman

(University of Oxford)

Oxbridge and Cambridge univers ities have long been considered t he key educational channels of elite

recruitment in the UK. In this paper we draw on a unique data set - 130 years of biographical dat a in

Who’s W ho, a unique catalogue of the British elit e – to empiric ally interrogate this as sumption. We find

that Oxbridge has indeed had a longstanding stranglehold over elite formation in the UK, but its power

has also waxed and waned. W e show that its relat ive power declined significant ly among those born in

1920s, 30s and 40s, at the same time as London elit e universities began t o become more powerful .

However, significantly, we also show that Oxbridge has actually enjoyed a resurgence in it's propuls i ve

power in recent decades, even as the soc ial compos ition of Oxbridge has changed. Finally, we also

show that Oxbridge do not function as elite switchboards in t he same way for all students; those who

enter from elite privat e s chools have historic ally been more lik ely to reach elite positions as other

students.

The Legitimacy Crisis of the Narrative of Social Mobility

Christopher Cunningham

(University of Essex)

The Post-18 Review of Education and Funding, commonly referred to as the Augar Review (2019),

represents the legitimacy c risis (Habermas, 1988 [ 1973]) of the narrative of social mobility . This Review

works as a political spec tacle (Edelman, 1988) to divert attention away from the entrenched s ocial and

economic inequalities of British s ociety by apportioning blame to the ‘sector’ of higher education.

Using an approac h of Critical Policy Sociology (Oz ga, 2021 [2019]) I chart the politic al history of

widening participat ion (W P) in England to document how higher education has been marketed as the

bearer of ‘equality of opportunity’, with ‘raising aspirations’ being a key strategy of policy makers sinc e

the int roduct ion of tuition fees. I show how this process creates class through categoris ation that

becomes commodified in the form of the ‘disadvantaged’ student, which drives the ‘sector’ of highe r

education in England. Notions of individual success, which signify the assumed purpose of highe r

education, are underpinned by an ideology of neoliberal meritocracy (Littler, 2017). The Augar Revi e w

re-legitimis es this ideology and the narrative of social mobility with which it is bound by redirecting WP

towards ‘skills-based’ learning. This in-turn shapes the educ ation available to ‘disadvantaged’ st udents ,

result ing in a deficit of pedagogy orientated towards nurturing democ ratic citizenship (Brown, 2015).

Avoiding the legitimac y crisis of the narrative of social mobility by re-shaping higher educ ation attracts

attention away from the entrenched c ivic stratification of British s ociety (Samson, 2020); doing this at

the expense of the ‘disadvantaged’ student reinforces the existing social and economic inequalities.

Theory - Room 5

Rethinking the Concept of 'Hegemonic Crisis'

Jeremy Gilbert, Alex Williams

(University of East London)

In our 2022 book Hegemony Now, we propose a set of revisions and clarific ations to the c oncept of

hegemony, which we regard as still indis pensable for many forms of political, soc iological and cultural

analysis . We develop these revisions and clarificat ions in the context of an analysis of the perceived

political crisis in the UK and the UK during the period 2015-6, via an address to the question of what

exactly can be said to have been put into c risis at that time. W e propose that the key features of this

crisis were:

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• a loss of moral authority on t he part of the professional political clas s

• a relative weakening of the political and cultural power of finance capital relative to that of the

increasingly-powerful tec h sector

• a context of persistent but decreasingly-efficacious forms of institutional power being ex ercised

by institutions created or shaped by the long period of neoliberal asc endancy 1975-2008.

In this paper we will develop some of these themes and c onsider their more widely-applicab l e

theoretical implications of our approach to them for cont emporary political and cultural soc iology. We

will also reflec t on how these ideas might enable us to conceptualise the current politic al / cultural /

social c onjuncture.

Genealogy for a Future in Crisis

Leonidas Ts ilipak os

(University of Bris tol)

Science used to be inseparable from philosophy , our egalitarian morality for the weak morphed out of

an arist ocratic morality of the strong and the notion of human beings having a sexuality developed out

of the scientific application of new clas sificatory rubrics on what was before perhaps predominantly a

matter of lack or excess. These are only some of the insights put forth by genealogies, studies that

historicize and trace the unexpected paths of emergence of phenomena that are c entral t o our lives.

Sociologists have sought to employ the critical leverage that genealogical studies offer in order to

denaturalize and critically engage with present practic es. But can genealogical reasoning provide t ools

for understanding and responding to a future of imminent catastrophe? Indeed, the rise of automation

together with precipitous climate change herald not only impending crises but produce a conception of

history that posits a terminus or eschaton, thus harking back to holist conceptions of history (e.g.

Christian, Hegelian). In this paper I will dis sect genealogical reason in order to extract it s fundamental

historicizing tenet s and then proceed to show how it s opposition to holis t hist orical conceptions can help

us critically analyze projected future cris es.

Work, Employment & Economic Life -

Room 14

Streaming Selves: Navigating Gender, La bor, and Powe r in China's Live Streaming Landscape

Xinyun Zhang

(Renmin Universit y of China)

In the dynamic landscape of China's internet realm, the phenomenon of live-streaming shows has

experienc ed a remarkable surge, attracting a st aggering 751 million users by December 2022. This

surge has given rise to a pivotal gig economy sec tor, notably increasing the participation of young

females in a novel form of entertainment work known as s howroom live s treaming. While previou s

studies have frequently employed the c oncept of relational labor to examine how live streamers

generate income through virtual connec tions wit h their audiences, t here are notable gaps in the existing

research. First ly, this approach often overlooked the intricate web of gender inequality that exist s within

the live-streaming indus try. Secondly, it failed to address the intricate relationship between live

streamers and their audiences within t he unique technological and industry contexts that define this

field. To addres s these gaps , this study, based on a comprehensive 3-mont h autoethnography, takes a

novel approach by integrating the concepts of "gender relational labor" and "platformization." The goal

is to explore how female live-streamers navigate the complex intersection of economic relationships

and gender power dynamics with their audiences, bot h inside and outside t he live-s treaming platform.

The study's findings reveal that female live-streamers employ three key strategies: "push and pull, "

"int imate performances," and "bounded authenticity." These strategies provide insights into how female

live-streamers negotiate the delic ate balance between engaging with their audiences and preserving

their individuality. Additionally, this s tudy delves into the theoretical dimensions of the interplay between

relational labor, gender power dynamics, and platformization.

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Loyalty vs. Betrayal: How the Embeddedness of Economic Activities Affects the Solidity of

Contractors’ Hometown Allia nces in Collective Actions

Sijie Wu

(Duke University)

Like migrant workers, contractors in China also face the problem of wage arrears. Far from being solid,

most contractors’ homet own alliances are vulnerable in the collective action of demanding wages :

contractors are lik ely to accept under-the-table agreements offered by property developers (wh o

outsource const ruct ion projects) and defect from the allianc e. Through in-depth interviews with 21

contractors and property developers for 5 months, the s olidity of alliances is found to stem from whether

contractors’ economic ac tivities are embedded in their native-place networks, i.e., whether cont ract ors

can obtain economic resources from native-plac e networks to maintain and expand their busines ses.

When economic ac tivities are embedded, fellow contractors can then punish potential betrayers by

refusing to provide any economic resources, thus inhibiting betrayal and making the alliance s olid.

However, for most contractors , the homogeneity of busines ses leads to fierce competition instead of

cooperation with fellow townsmen. To stand out in the competition, contractors’ relations with propert y

developers are important, rather than relations with fellows. Therefore, most contractors' economic

activities are separated from native-place networks and they lose the ability to punish betrayers, leaving

the alliance vulnerable. This finding fills the gap in the st udy of contractors’ collective actions, highlight s

the role of hometown ties in providing punishment other than cohesion, and demonstrates how most

contractors’ separation of economic activities from t heir native-place networks can influence the solidity

of alliances.

Emotions and the Machine: Sociotechnical Imaginaries of the Future of Work

Elisab eth Kelan

(University of Essex)

The future of work is often either imagined as a dy stopia where tasks are automated leaving humans

without jobs or as a utopia where humans and machines augment each other’s s kills (Raisch &

Krakowski, 2021). Such sociotechnic al imaginaries are ways in which desirable futures at the int erplay

between tec hnology and soc iety are performed (Jasanoff, 2015). Soc iotechnical imaginaries of the

future of work often entail that socio-emotional skills are constructed as uniquely human and thus safe

from aut omation (Kelan, 2023). Since emotions are regularly seen as difficult to automate, they are

constructed as a core advant age of humans over machines. The res earch draws on a multi-source

research design consisting of interviews, technology walkthroughs, and document analysis. The paper

shows how s ociotec hnical imaginaries of the future of work entail that machines are expec ted to

automate routine tasks whereas socio-emotional skills are considered difficult to automate and are thus

expected to be performed by humans. The paper complic ates this imaginary by showing that machines

assess and train humans in regard to emotions. It is argued that this constitutes a form of augmentati o n

where emotions are automated and performed by machines in relation t o and with humans. The paper

questions the common assumption in s ociotechnical imaginaries that emotions are out of reach for

machines and instead suggests seeing emot ions as routines that can be automated and augment ed.

The Slaughter of Capital Logic: An Examination of the Political Economy of the Virtual Idol

Industry

Binqi Chen, Wei Xu, Xiaoming Xia

(Wuhan University)

At present, the digital technology with the Internet, big data and artificial intelligence technology as the

core has revealed a new round of technologic al revolution, but also triggered a new round of industrial

transformation with the digital economy as the key field and core momentum. Among them, the virtual

idol industry, which has three dimensions of technical phenomenon, economic phenomenon and

cultural phenomenon, has attracted much attention. From the perspective of Marxist political economy,

this paper selects virtual anchors as the represent ative form of virtual idols, adopts the research met hod

of grounded theory , and tries to make a preliminary description and judgment on the overall operation

mechanism of the virtual idol industry. Through the analysis of the production relations of all parties

involved in the virtual idol industry, this paper believes that the capital logic dominates the whole process

of two-way c los ed-loop interaction between "fans and virtual idols " in the virtual idol industry. The wage

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laborers represented by "Zhongzhiren" in the virtual idol perform paid digital labor to produce emotional

goods, and the fans participate in the re-compiling of virtual idol symbols as unpaid digital laborers.

More deeply into the emotional goods of the "material-spiritual" dual c onsumption and reproduction. In

short, from real idol to virtual idol reflects the ex pansion and multiplication of capital to the subcultur e

circle, which is ess entially the extensional and conformal expansion and reproduction of the idol goods

- emotional goods and production relations within the capitalist economic field.

Paper Session 5

13:00 - 14:30

Cities, Mobilities, Place and Space - Room 1

Cinema tic Cities, Cinematic Public Spaces: Continuities and Changes through Representations

of Urban Public Spaces in Movies

Bernardo Emmanuel

(Institut national de la recherche scientif ique, Montreal, Canada)

The complexities of current urban issues require urban soc iology to be aware of cities representations

in multiple forms. Cinemat ic urban representations are particularly powerful. Films simultaneously

engage image, sound, and movement, have a significant impac t on society, and offer a reconstruction

and interpretation of urban life.

Alt hough cities’ cinematic images are historically studied by urban sociology and by sociology of culture,

this communication explores the representations of a key element of urban landscapes: urban public

spaces - the system of streets, alleys, avenues , boulevards, squares, and parks. They enable

interac tions with nature, with the built environment, and with ot hers, holding the potential to expos e

urban ident ities and t he co-const ruct ion proces s of a shared urban life.

The communication seeks to understand social continuities and changes through the evolution of cities

and urban public spaces’ represent ations in three key his torical moments: 1) the birth of cinema in the

early 20th century; 2) post-war cinema; 3) the late 20th century and contemporary films.

We conclude that public space representations in cinematic cit ies literature are his torically focused on

the street. Other public s paces representations are not deeply explored, nor addresse d

comprehensively, and remain fragmented in the current literature. Public spaces appear to be signific ant

elements in movies, but their role in this proces s is unclear and obs cure. This gap prevents us from

fully understanding the mediating role of movies in the urban evolution and the symbolic and identity

aspects of urban life constructed by the cinema.

How W orkers Overcome Life Difficulties In Post-Industrial Cities. Or, Tow ards A New Theory of

Urban Life and Everyday Struggle

Alexandrina Vank e

(Institute of Sociology of the Federal Centre of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian

Academy of Scienc es)

Poor, working-class and ordinary people are affected most by the multiple crises caused by the

expansion of neoliberalism and authoritarianism, armed conflicts and wars, the pandemic and c limate

change around the globe. Drawing on multi-sited ethnography in Russia between 2017 and 2022, I

argue that even with meagre resources, working-class communities and disadvantaged social group s

practice the creative ways of overcoming life difficulties through the engagement in everyday s truggle

and accumulat ing ‘power from below’. These grassroots pract ices may include workers’ reshaping and

maintaining dec aying urban infrastructures, doing urban gardening and growing in social housing yards,

engaging in informal economic activities , non-paying taxes, and other ac ts of peaceful resistance to

neoliberalism and neo-authoritarianism in the ‘grey’ zones of everyday life.

Developing the neo-Marxis t and neo-Bourdieusian approaches, the paper presents an

ethnographic ally-grounded theorisat ion of the concepts of structure of feeling, senses, imaginaries ,

every day resistance and class consciousness, which I s ynthesise into a multi-sensory theory of urban

life and everyday struggle. Acc ording to this novel approach, workers’ ways of overcoming life difficulties

fall under t he category of the creative forms of mundane resistance, which I view as a variation of

every day struggle in the cont ext of neoliberal neo-authoritarianism. It is also argued that regular

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engagement in everyday struggle contributes to the formation of practical c onsciousness and habitus

of resistance marked by class, gender, ethnicity/ race and age.

The paper is based on some parts of my book The urban life of workers in post-Soviet Russia: Engaging

in everyday struggle (Manches ter University Press, 2024).

Curating Spaces of Hope: A Social Movements Approach to Combatting Crises in the City

Matthew Barber-Rowell

(Liverpool Hope University)

In this paper I will introduce Curating Spaces of Hope as a paradigm for social movement building, as

set out in Sociology Study Journal (Barber-Rowell, 2023a) Social Pol icy Review (B arber-Rowell, 2023b )

and Journal of Church and State (Forthcoming) and, illustrate the potential it offers for organising loc al

people and networks to respond to crises and build resilienc e. First , I will briefly introduce Curatin g

Spaces of Hope and its capacity to broker power, map the s ocio-material nuances of shared s paces,

form as sets and alliances and develop loc al leadership. Then, I will focus on t he capacity of Curating

Spaces of Hope to map shared spaces and develop local leadership as the basis for a social movement ,

through the development of three case s tudies from the city of Liverpool where Curating Spaces of

Hope is being applied. Liverpool is characterised as the 3rd most deprived city in terms of health and

disability, 4th most deprived in terms of income and 5th most deprived in terms of environment, in the

UK, compounding longstanding experience of poverty and associated crises , in the city. These c ase

studies are drawn from 1) a higher education c ontext; Liverpool Hope University, 2) an infrastructure

context; Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services, and 3) a communit y context; the loc al Branch of the

Dialogue Society. I will c onclude this paper by considering the possibilities offered by the synthesis of

these three studies , for a social movement that can combat crises in the city.

Culture, Media, Sport & Food - Room 2

"Whatever happened with this COVID cycle, please learn from it. Everyone, please learn from

it”: Managing Policy Responses to Crises and Change in Olympic Sport

Lucy Moore

(Open University)

The UK government inves ts significant financial res ources into Olympic sporting succes s. For over

twenty years, this investment has underpinned policy proc esses to a quadrennial drumbeat. Central to

these processes are the interdependent webs of thousands of people, t he actions and interactions of

which s hape and are shaped by the system they create together.

But what happens to these people when the drumbeat c hanges or even is stopped?

The disruption pres ented to working and s porting lives during the COVID-19 pandemic foist ed a

multitude of changes upon the sporting sys tem, with the postponement of the Toky o Olympic games

one of the most recognisable. In tandem, an increasing appreciation of the unintended human

consequences of sport policy choic es are coming to the fore with several high-profile scandals, public

enquiries and mental health related tragedies leaving many asking about the true cost of Olympic

medals.

Drawing upon the theory of process sociology it is argued that polic y responses to crises and change

in sport are fundamentally relational processes and c onsequently there is a reciprocal impact for those

involved. Arguably, it is only through apply ing a sociological lens that policy respons es in sport can

really be underst ood. Data c ollected from an ongoing series of interviews with nine senior members of

staff from four National Governing Bodies between 2020-2023 reveal the multi-layered impact of cris is

and change for the individuals who constitute the Olympic sport syst em. Themes of the fragility of

influence and the impact of change on individual well-being are cons istent patterns in t he data.

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The Pains of Migration: Masculinities, Sports Migration and Neoliberalism

Jose Hildo De Oliveira Filho

(Charles University in Prague)

“Dreams” and “sac rifices” commonly figure in the symbolic worlds of anonymous Brazilian migrant

athlet es. In mobilising these sy mbols, migrant Brazilian players reveal the contexts in which

contemporary sports migration movements occur. When asked t o think about their career traject ories,

anonymous sports migrants frame their “dreams ” vis-à-vis the precarious working conditions of globa l

football and futs al industries. In this presentation, the interac tion between players’ “dreams” and

“sacrifices” becomes more evident in moments of injury and pain. When injured, migrant athletes must

deal with the most worrying consequenc e of neoliberal sports industries: precarious medical care. When

migrant players get injured and face the risk of career termination, their “dreams” are threatened. They

must als o deal with the hegemonic views of masculinity present in contemporary sports indust ries.

Emerging Themes - Room 16

Authoritarian Trauma: Towards a Ne w Concept in Oppression-Based Collective Social Trauma

Mandy Lee

(Trinity College Dub lin)

Given overwhelming evidenc e documenting the negative impact of oppression on the mental health of

its targets, Liberation psychologist s have recently called for the recognition of "oppression-based

trauma" , which focuses at tention on the s ystemic , inst itutional, and psyc hological t rauma outside of the

immediate threat of physical injury or death (Holmes et al, 2016). Such "oppression-bas ed trauma"

emphasizes the every day, ongoing nature of collective social trauma, which moves away from the

event -based "catastrophe" model that had hitherto dominat ed trauma studies. W hile this broadening of

trauma conceptualis ation is a welcome development, much of this recent scholarship on decolonizing

trauma s tudies (Andermahr, 2016) conceptualis e oppress ion-based trauma mainly in terms of racial

trauma. In this paper, I would argue for another spec ific sub-type of oppression-based trauma t hat I

would term "authoritarian trauma", to focus attention on the particular phenomenon of perva s ive

oppression by a powerful regime on a subjugate population, a type of collective soc ial t rauma which the

Pales tinian psychiatrist Dr. Samah Jabr (2022) has called "trauma beyond PTSD". Drawing from the

cases of Palestine and Hong Kong, whic h have differing authoritarian contexts though sharing s ome

similar features of regime oppression, I outline how the concept of "authorit arian trauma" would be

linked to, but is distinct from, racial, cultural and historical trauma. I showcase how this new concept of

"authoritarian trauma" not only helps us understand more precisely the social suffering of peoples unde r

repressive regimes, but also helps us to rethink new ways of conceptualising resilience beyond "post-

traumat ic" growth when oppression is still ongoing.

Precarity Capitalism: A Tool to Galvanise Environmental Intergenerational Solidarity?

Bethany Simmonds

(Ab erystwyth Univers it y)

The lens of precarity can be used on multiple levels when examining ageing: micro, in relation to

precarious older workers; meso, in relation to the precarious public institutions/welfare states ; and

macro, as a paradigmatic shift, new doxa or discourse. Azmanova (2020) also argues t hat prec arity

could be seen as a new form of socio-economic mode, 'precarity capitalism’. This new social-economi c

mode has certain unique characteristics which have developed since the 2008 global ec onomic crash.

The first being the 'social irresponsibility rule', which transfers risk from societ y to weaker individu a l

actors. The second, that public authorities allocate opportunities to individuals which enhanc e pre-

existing advantages. She als o argues precarity capitalism has distorted earlier versions, like 'welfar e

state' capitalism, which used to progressively redis tribute wealth, but now does so in pursuit of

competition. Azmanova contends that populations need to subvert precarity capit alis m from the inside

via radical prac tices to attac k the competitive production of profit, ot herwise we will be stuck in terminal

cris is , continuing to destroy lives and the nat ural environment. Further, t hose at each end of the

lifecourse, will be disproportionately affected by climate change. Therefore, in this paper, I argue there

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could be an opportunity to use precarity capitalism as a t ool to galvanise intergenerational solidarity to

drive change in environmental politics and polic y in the UK.

Environment & Society - Room 3

How Can in the Crisis a Basic Income Truly Act as a Trigger to Empower a New Resilient System

of Food Justice?

Mu-Jeong Kho

(University College London)

In c ontemporary capitalism deepening socioeconomic-inequalit ies, the major ‘adapt ations’ (self -

organising c hanges) is inevitable. The fundamental challenge must be institutional: the establis hed -

institutions are inadequate, and so a greater-period of ‘ex perimentation’ (as ‘driver-of-chang e’) like

‘basic-inc ome’ is necessary. This is why we should look at the basics of ins titutional-theory, partic ularly

in radical-traditions, outside the ruling neoliberal-consensus . However, this lit erature has been weakly

addressed on the iss ue: how can in the crisis a basic-income truly act as a trigger-to-empower a new

resilient-system-of-food-justic e. This question leads to sub-questions: (1) how capitalist sys tem-of-food

gets to organisation-structuration in real-world (objectivity); (2) what is its truly-deeper originator -of-

disorder; (3) in this crisis , how a basic-income acts as a trigger-to-empower; (4) whether it ‘truly’ acts

as a trigger-to-empower a new resilient-system-of-food-justice, in philosophical-value

‘commensurability’ and history; (5) if untruly, what the normat i ve -solution are: reformism-vs -radic ali s m.

This paper, whic h defines the ‘empower’ as a ‘driver of self-organising change’ which triggers an

‘institutional-proces s-of-chang e, with s truggle-to-reorganise -reconstitute-restructurate an order-out -of-

disorder,’ aims to answer thes e questions with the institutional-matrix of self-organisation full of

‘variables -of-empower’ structurated by market vs. non-market; pro-capital vs. ant i-capital, through the

application of deeper-understanding of instit utional-theory-in-radical-traditions to empirical case-study

(with quantitative-data-analysis) on Korea during the last-decade. By doing so, this paper argues:

beyond the superficial-is sues of market-vs -state, and Keynesianism-vs -neoliberalism, there are truly-

deeper (real-world) issues of ‘s tructuration’ wit hin capitalist-systems-of-food in Korea, which most

institutional-theory have well addres sed as substances of long-term food crisis . A basic-income in these

cris es can ac t as a trigger-to-empower, but is only valid when truly c onnected to radical-theory, looking

beyond such capitalistic-system.

Losing Out in La nd-Based Greenhouse Gas Removal? A Critica l Justice Perspective on Biocha r

Catherine Price, Carol Morris

(University of Nottingham)

To address the scale and severity of the c limate crisis, urgent transitions are required in infrastructure ,

land, energy and industrial sy stems to ensure deep reductions in CO2 emiss ions. Whilst carbon

emissions need to be reduced rapidly, there is also a need to remove carbon dioxide from the

atmosphere. A growing suit e of greenhouse gas removal (GGR) approaches are being developed, and

one potential approach is biochar.

In this paper, we ask the quest ion: What are the types of injust ices ass ociated wit h the production and

deployment of biochar as one approach to land-based GGR? W e draw from a document analy sis and

33 semi-structured interviews wit h mostly UK based s tak eholders who have an interest or potential

interes t in biochar. A critic al justice perspec tive guides the analysis , an approach that enables the

syst ematic investigat ion of the potential injust ices which may arise from biochar production and

deployment.

Our results reveal potential distributive injust ices including trade-offs between land requirements for

food production and for biochar feedstock production. Poss ible procedural injustices inc lude a lack of

support for farmers who are s een as key actors in biochar deploy ment. Economic incentives and polic y

support for the use of biochar by farmers are currently lacking. Demand for biomass stripping away

biodiverse ecosy stems is a potential form of recognition injustic e, whilst the importation of biomass for

feedstoc ks may be a possible cos mopolitan injustic e. If biochar is to be deployed, potential injus tices

need addressing.

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Concept of Adaptive Capa city in Climate Action Discussions: A Critical Evaluation

Bindi Shah

(University of Southampton)

Social scientists addressing the climate crisis, and specifically action to mitigate impacts and adaptation

at community levels, have focused on adaptive c apacity - conditions that enable people to antic ipate

and res pond to change, and recover from and minimise the consequences of change (Adger and

Vinc ent 2005). In this agent ic approach, scholars agree t hat s ocial capital plays a role in building

adaptive capacity. Recently sc holars have translated abstract discussions of soc ial capital to identify

five soc ial dimensions that c an contribute to community-level adaptive capacity. This certainly offers

policymakers and practitioners a useful ‘toolk it’ for identifying obstacles and opportunities for buildin g

capacities to adapt and innovate in the face of c limate change. However, there is inadequa t e

consideration of politics and power relations. Here I draw on my own research and wider debates in

sociology to offer a critical evaluation of a focus on adaptive capacity at 3 levels: a) scholarship has

identified gender differentiation in acc ess to soc ial capit al, but I argue for an intersectional perspective

in underst anding access as well as ability to mobilise resources and networks or indeed c reate new

ones; b) A focus on building adaptive capacit y constructs a neo-liberal frame, shifting respons ibility for

adaptation to communities and affirming the s tability of existing socio-economic-political-bio frames of

development and growth; c) relatedly, if we are to tak e decolonisation seriously, we have to

acknowledge that prioritising community resilience upholds Western conc epts of agency and adapti ve

capacity. Different epistemologies of sustainability and human well-being can lead to transformati on

rather than jus t adaptation.

Families & Relationships - Room 4

Care Crisis at the Personal Level: Understanding the ‘Problem’ Of Informal Care Provision for

Older Adults from the Perspectives of Informal Ca rers and Policy Discourses

Beatrice Lam, Chan Wai Leung

(Hong Kong Metropolitan University)

This paper draws upon the findings of an exploratory s tudy on informal care of older adults in Hong

Kong. Informal carers’ understandings and experienc es of their care provision as embedded in family

relationships demons trate how life challenges presented by the surging demand of informal care in a

rapidly ageing society are felt at the personal level. With ‘Ageing in Plac e’ as the dominant service

model for care for older adults , where older adults are encouraged to stay as long as possible in their

own domestic settings equipped with a wide range of support services, informal carers are put unde r

considerable strain. While carer strain is widely recognized in public discourses, what does this mean

in a policy context guided by neoliberalis t welfare ideology that emphasiz es s upporting informal c arers

through training and the promotion of self-managed and/or consumer-directed care? Attention is drawn

to how ‘family’, ‘choic es’ and ‘carers’ needs ’ are constructed in carers’ narratives and policy discourses.

With this, it is inquired how the transfer of the responsibilit y for old age care from the public sec tor to

informal care in the privat e sector could have mas ked the structural inequities that make informal care

(and population ageing) a ‘policy problem’. The relevance of prevailing social hierarc hies of c lass,

gender and age in caring relationships in the wider contex t of the restructuring of li fe-course transitions

are probed. Implic ations are explored.

The Changing Role of Gende r in Intergenerational Exchange in China

Jinhan Liu

(National University of Singapore)

Research on intergenerational exchange has cons is tent ly documented how children’s gender matters

in both upstream and downstream s upport with parents. However, due to recent soc iodemographi c

changes, many may expec t a t rend t oward gender equalit y in parent-child relations. Few studies have

yet directly addressed this evolving dynamic . Using data from the 2006 and 2016 Family Module of the

East Asian Social Survey, a repeated cros s-sectional survey project, this study examines whether

gender differences in intergenerational exchange in China have changed over time. Latent class

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analysis is applied to seven indic ators (financial, inst rumental, emotional support given to and received

from parents, as well as the coresidenc e status between children and parents ). Four exchange types

are identified in both years : t ight-knit, dist ant asc ending, near des cending, and detached. Over the

decade, there has been a noticeable increas e in the tight-knit pattern and a corresponding decline in

the detached pattern, with the ascending and desc ending ty pes remaining stable. Analyses based on

multinomial logistic regression models show that women are more lik ely to have distant ascending and

detached ties with parents, while men t end to engage in reciprocal or des cending relations with nearby

parents. These gender differences are less in one-child families than in multi-child families. Moreover,

a narrowing gender gap in intergenerational exchange is found in the analyses. Instead of solely servi n g

as providers, more women now receive support from their parents . This study provides evidenc e for the

gendered but changing patterns of intergenerational exchange within c ontex ts mark ed by dramatic

social transformations and enduring patriarchal tradit ions.

Medicine, Health & Illness 1 - Room 6

Socio-Economic Inequalities in Health among Ukrainian Fema le Re fugees in the Czech Republic

Iryna Mazhak

(RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sc iences, Dublin, Ireland)

The data for the study (N=919) were obtained via an online survey among Ukrainian female refugee s

in the Czech Republic. The average age of participants was about 38 years old and more than 70%

had children. Most respondents have a university education (71%), came from cities and towns (88.7

%), and had employment in Ukraine (73.8 %). Self-reported phys ical healt h as an indicator was us ed

to measure perceived health. As regards, self-reported health, 43% of females reported their general

health as good, 46.8% as fair, and 10.2% as bad and very bad. In addition, 27.9% reported that their

health had worsened during the last month and 4.5% that their health had worsened or that they had

sustained injury due to the war. 52.7% self-reported their psyc hological status as fair, 26% as bad, and

7.7% as having very bad status.

One of the most crucial post -migratory factors faced by refugees is soc io-economic s tatus. 76% of

females reported that their economic and financial status became worse. Binomial logist ic regress io n

analysis was performed to investigate the assoc iation between self-reported physic al health status and

socioeconomic determinants . Self-reported poor physical and mental health status were st atistically

significant and positively associated with social determinants related to financial difficult ies and

socioeconomic status, low-paid manual labour, inac cessibility of healthcare services, discrimination,

health det erioration during the last month, the presence of one or more chronic diseases, and limitation

in daily activity due to ill health. Als o, females who had s avings from Ukraine were less likely t o report

poor health.

Bodies in Crisis: Ocular Mutilation in Colombia’s Social Upheaval

Lucia Guerrero

(Wellcome Centre for Cult ures and Environments of Health - University of Exeter)

At the height of the pandemic, the Colombian National Strik e of 2021 saw a wave of demonstrations

flood t he streets and barrios of urban centres, echoing previous periods of s ocial upheaval over the last

decade both in Colombia and elsewhere (most notably the Chilean Es tallido Social in 2019). During

that time, at least 103 cases of ocular injuries produc ed by police interventions in protests wer e

reported. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews with survivors of these eye attack s, this paper examines

the ocular wound in terms of the convergence of various crises of social and individual bodies, as well

as of medic ine as a body of knowledge and prac tice.

Ocular mutilation as a response to s ocial upheaval is not new, having been documented globally since

the First Intifada in Pales tine and more rec ently in Iran. Medics working both informally and within

institutions have tracked these patterns of injury and disablement in respons es to protests , and the

transnational prevalence of these wounds s uggests potential s ystemic issues in the use of ‘non-lethal ’

force in c rowd control. Beyond dispersing c rowds, ocular injuries c an function as an exemplifying

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punishment that effectively deters civil disobedience. Moreover, their financial, social, medical, and

psychological impac ts are life-changing, reconfiguring s urvivors’ identities and life narratives.

Thus, the decisive moments of an ocular injury in an individual body collide with the upheavals afflictin g

the social body – in 2021, a raging pandemic and the ‘ordinary,’ ongoing, continuous crisis of precarity

– and the dilemmas they pose for medic al practice.

What is Equivale nce in Police Custody Hea lthcare

Stephanie Mulrine

(Newc astle University)

Agains t a bac kdrop of reduced care and social services, it is often the police who are the first responders

and providers of healthcare, espec ially in cas es of mental healt h cris es. Against this bac kground, this

study aims to explore the ways that employees in police custody s uites (police officers , civilian detention

officers and healthc are professionals) c ollaborate to provide adequate care to pers ons in custody (not

only those in mental health c risis, but also other forms of healthc are needs), or ensure t hat t hey do not

die either whilst detained or shortly after their period of detention.

This ESRC funded mix ed-methods project is presently in t he data collect ion period. Data is collected

from in-custody risk-assessments, ethnography and interviews with healthcare profess ionals, detentio n

officers, police officers, and from those with lived experience of being detained in police cust ody. This

paper will ex plore the performance of the police healthcare risk assessment as a detainee arrives in

custody . In particular t he negotiations between the Custody Officer and det ained person as the forme r

attempts to ensure that the latter will be safe during the period of detention. The risk asses sment is

performed in a largely public space and requires the declaration of any healt h conditions (includin g

intox ic ation). In this heavily-charged interaction, how does law enforcement ensure it gathers sufficient

information to ensure the safety of t he detained person. W hile at the same t ime, the detainee as sesses

their own ris k of disc omfort and suffering, and s trategise to ac celerate a preferable outcome (e.g.

release or prison sentence).

Medicine, Health & Illness 2 - Room 7

Navigating Healthcare Realities: Exploring Access and Engagement for Transgender and Non-

Binary Individuals in England

Jason Vick ers, Glen Goodliffe, Lis a Porter, Vixx Thompson

(University of Salford)

Background: Recognit ion is growing in health policies and guidance that improving transgender and

non-binary individuals’ ac cess and engagement in primary and secondary healthcare services is crucial

for improving health outcomes and fost ering awareness of their health needs. However, persistent

barriers persist due to dis crimination and a lack of understanding of trans needs within healthcar e

syst ems, resulting in unequal treatment and health inequities.

Aim: This research aims to explore the experiences of transgender and non-binary individuals in primary

and sec ondary healthc are services to understand perceived health engagement and ac cess.

Methods: This research employed a co-design approach, consisting of three phases to devel o p

research wit h trans gender and non-binary individuals , delve into the healthcare experienc es of the

transgender and non-binary c ommunity , and confirm the resonance and worth of findings with

community members. Online focus groups were conduc ted, and findings were thematically analysed.

Findings : Three prominent themes emerged. Theme One highlighted the diverse health needs of trans

and nonbinary individuals, emphasis ing impacts of discrimination and restric ted ac cess to gende r -

affirming c are. Theme Two underscored sys temic barriers within healthcare infrastructures , including

cisheteronormative administrative sys tems and a lack of gender affirmative practic es. Theme Three

highlighted the dismissal of health concerns due lack of provider understanding of gender identity.

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Contribution to Knowledge: This study contributes to an emerging evidence base, providing insight into

the challenges faced by transgender and non-binary individuals in ac cessing and engaging with

healthc are services. It underscores an urgent need for systemic c hanges, inc luding training fo r

healthc are staff and the implementation of inclusive policies.

“Things began to come to a head”: Exploring Moments of Crisis in Women’s Diagnosti c

Journeys of Autism and ADHD in Adulthood

Emma Craddock

(Birmingham City University)

This presentation draws on data from in-depth phenomenologic al email int erviews with women who

have been diagnosed with autism and ADHD in adulthood. Women and girls are four t imes less likely

to be diagnos ed than males, with the diagnostic criteria being based on male present ations of the

conditions . W omen are also more likely to mask their difficulties because of gendered norms and

expectations. There is a lack of research exploring the lived experiences of women with autism and

ADHD. This paper s eeks to address this gap by ex ploring the role of ‘crisis’ in women’s diagnostic

journeys . It explores the ways in which crisis preceded and led to break downs and breakthroughs, with

a combination and acc umulation of personal crises acting as a catalys t for seeking diagnoses. While

moments of personal crisis often preceded diagnoses, they continued bey ond diagnosis, with

individuals experiencing profound identity crises, questioning and re-evaluating their life story and

sense of s elf in light of their diagnoses, and the diagnoses themselves. This paper explores the

ambivalence of seeking and receiving diagnoses of ADHD and autism as an adult woman living in a

patriarchal soc iety. It considers how gendered norms , roles, and instit utions, including that of the

medical profess ion, impact negatively on autistic women who have ADHD, c ulminating in what are

perceived to be personal crises, despite the structural causes of these moment s of breakdown. Through

exploring these experienc es, the complex and gendered relationship between structure and agency is

revealed in the c ontext of moments of perceived personal c risis.

Men’s Health in Northern Ireland. Do We Need a Men’s Health Policy?

Erin Early, Paula Devine

(Queen's Universit y Belfast)

The prioritisat ion of men’s health in health and s ocial policies in t he United Kingdom (UK) is

questionable, des pite acc ounting for half the populat ion in 2020. A gendered approac h to health is

evident with the development of a Women’s Health Strategy in England in 2022. However, a men’s

health policy or strategy is lacking across the four UK juris dic tions. The Republic of Ireland was the first

in the world to implement a men’s health policy , which was deemed succes sful (Richardson and Smith,

2011). Yet the political vacuum in Northern Ireland (NI) has resulted in an impass e for policy

development, despite the Gender Equality St rategy Expert Advisory Panel (Gray et al., 2020)

highlighting the need to consider t he complex ity of gendered health out comes as separate policy issues.

There is also a research vacuum, with few studies having comprehensively ex amined the state of men’s

health in NI. To this end, this st udy presents a narrative review of t rends in males’ physic al and ment al

health. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological sy stems theory is utilised to aid a holis tic explanation of these

trends. Data from publicly available administrative data and survey s ources were systematically

searched and key findings included the high suicide rates among males across time and young males

being more likely to self-report certain mental health problems . The study conc ludes that there is a nee d

for a men’s health policy to addres s variable health outcomes within specific groups of men. Practical

recommendations on its implementation and a Health Impact Pyramid to illustrate these steps are

presented.

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Race, Ethnicity & Migration - Room 9

         (Tamil: Kudumba Vennmurai; English: Family Disruption) a nd the Living

Experie nce of Domestic Abuse: An Exploration of Tamil Women’s Narratives and Sense-Making

Minoya Patk unam

(University of Kent)

Domest ic Abuse has been desc ribed as an epidemic, ident ified as a global health issue by the

international community and contributing to long-term concerns relat ing to mental health, c ommunity

development and safety of women. Domestic Abuse is not a new phenomenon, and gaps in researc h

exploring the lived experiences of Tamil women, of Sri Lankan origin where incidents have been

growing, and access to services to support women and girls . My res earch project is c oncerned with

capturing the narratives of Tamil women using narrative inquiry culture-heritage specific arts based

methodology. I aim to take an induc tive approach, applying an intersect ional lens to denot e the

multifaceted experiences of Tamil women; exploring experienc es of forced migration, dis plac ement,

(dis)c onnection with the homeland, dynamics of honour and shame, gendered dis parities and culture

of being silenced. By problematising and individualising experiences, we can avoid over-generalis i n g

and understand multiple meanings of agency (Gowrinathan: 2012), supported by multiple

inters ectionalities an individual c an identify wit h (Crenshaw: 1991) which c an then be more

appropriately used as a foundation to understand the complexities and parameters of gender, migration,

culture, c risis and self-determined approaches within Tamil women’s experiences . My approach aims

to ex pose power struc tures that enable violence agains t Tamil women, including patriarchal systems,

layered experiences of racism, c olouris m and casteism, and understanding xenophobic attitudes in the

UK towards the Tamil community. I use both my lived experience, and practit ioner experience in the

Violence Against Women and Girls sec tor to tackle the gaps illustrated.

Bound by Tradition: The Complex Realities of Prostitution in the Bedra Caste of India

Sujat a Sudha

(Ranchi UniiversityRanchi)

Over the past few decades , India has made significant progress in economic growth. Still, the caste

syst em in India, the social hierarchy that has existed for centuries, play s a vital role in shaping the

country's social structure. Some lower cas tes , such as Bedra, a forest dweller who lives in Rajasthan,

UP, and Madhy a Pradesh, are involved in Prost itution, which is cons idered a cultural practice. In this

study, I have found that women engaged in Prostitut ion face severe problems. Still, Prostitution is

viewed as an inherited profession, with many female ancest ors working in this traditional field. The

Bedra cast e system is mainly female-dominated. Although Indian Societ y has been male-dominated for

a long time, this caste system was used to conduct prostitution business with female dominance. Most

individuals enter this institutional profession without coercion, and Society also accepts it similarly. In

the present s tudy , an attempt has been made to show how Women, except for Prostitution without any

force, face various problems but do not want to quit because of family traditions, practices, Societ y and

the caste sy stem.

Rights, Violence & Crime - Room 10

The Animal Question in Domestic Viole nce and Abuse: The Intersection Feminism Forgot?

Erik a Cudworth, Di Turgoose

(De Montfort University)

Despit e the succes s of feminism in vis ibilising the public story of domestic violence and abuse (DVA ) it

has maintained a human centric lens. The question of the animal in DVA research, campaigning and

practice by service providers has received very limited attention from feminism and has als o been

generally ignored in animal abus e studies . It is also marginal in policy debate and media c overage.

There are notable exceptions to this trend in feminis t animal studies research, particularly in social work.

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This paper draws on the insights of feminist animal st udies to argue that the gendered and s pecies-

based abuse evidenced in DVA contexts are intrinsic ally linked through intersectional domination.

The paper develops a conceptual and theoretical framework for thinking through intersectional abus e

and maps the patterns of such abuse. It sets out t he implications for polic y and practitioners and outlines

the research gaps to be filled in order that DVA s cholarship and intervention strategies develop more

inclusive and les s discriminatory understandings and practic es. In doing so, it suggests the need for far

closer links between researc h, policy intervent ion and situated practice – a multis pecies and ‘practivist ’

approach.

How Divorce Constructs the Legalisation of Intimate Partner Homicide : A Victim Blaming

Pe rspective

Bo Zhang

(Bangor University)

Divorce, a s ignificant family st ruct ure transition, has long been identified as a prominent risk or

escalation factor in the realm of intimate partner violence/intimate partner homicide, involving a series

of dynamic conflict relationships. However, limited research has delved into how, within the dy namics

of divorc e, perpetrators seek to legitimize intimate partner homicide. From a victim blaming perspective ,

perpetrators often believe that victims, es pecially thos e seek ing divorce, might bear all or part of the

responsibility for t he violent acts c ommitt ed against them. This belief system, regrettably, reinforces and

propagates a wider soc ietal culture where victims are blamed for their own tragedies. This study uses

data from Chines e judgment documents in China Judgments Online and employs grounded theory for

qualitative analy sis, critically discussing how perpetrators view the pursuit of personal freedom and self-

determination, represented by divorce, as a potential "provocation". Suc h dis torted views may motivate

them to rationalize t heir homicidal actions, especially in int imate partner homicide s cenarios. This

research offers insights into understanding and challenging the potential biases in intimate partner

relationships, ultimately aiming to further the cause of justice and equity for a broader spectrum of

victims of intimate partner violence.

Science, Technology & Digital Studies -

Room 11

In and Against the Platform: Influencers’ Sustainable Living in Conditions of Precarity

Jiali Fan

(University of Cambridge)

Existing scholarly discussion on influencer work present a similar critical, if not entirely pess imist ic,

perspective: it is s een as risky, future-oriented, and with blurred boundaries between work and personal

life. This is the st ory we know. Yet, this is not enough. There remains an imaginative c hallenge (Tsing ,

2015) to explore the poss ibilities of influencers’ coexistence with precarity.

Based on interviews with 12 influencers from Xiaohongshu and 15 from Instagram, I offer an ‘alternati ve

explanation’ (Tavory and Timmermans , 2014) to the ambiguous dy namics of precarity in influenc ers ’

lives. W ith a keen awareness of the “black box” (Pasquale, 2015) nature of platforms and their

algorithms direc tly impacting their careers, the participants deliberately opt to disregard the competitive

visibilit y game and reject becoming ensnared by its confines. Nevertheless , they also actively engage

in “collaboration” with the platforms. Drawing from their past experiences, t hey strategic ally adhere to

the rituals, rules , and trends s et by the platform, hoping that their content will not only avoid bein g

restrict ed but also be promoted by the platform to reach a wider audience.

Drawing inspiration from the political concept of “in and against t he state” (London Edinburgh Weekend

Return Group, 1979), I use the phrase “in and against the platform” to demonstrate the influencers ’ dual

stance of resist ance and collaboration with the platform. This ‘in and agains t’ framework not only

highlights the influencers’ proact ive agency and creativity beyond mere cons umer culture that have

been overlooked but als o guides us to pos sibilities of collaborative survival.

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The Challenges of Dating Apps as Sites of Public Health Messaging

Rachel Katz, Ben Light, Lisa Garwood-Cross, Karenza Moore

(University of Salford)

Many charities and government bodies advertise public health information such as STI testing on dating

apps, especially dating apps aimed at MSM. Yet there is lit tle known about the efficacy of this public

health mess aging, nor the perception of it among dating app users. This paper inves tigates this , drawing

on findings from the UKRI/AHRC funded Covid Sex Lives Projec t: Health Messaging, Hooking Up and

Dating among Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM). Our methods consisted of four s urveys (n=1409 )

conducted with MSM in the UK, along with discourse analysis. Findings discuss the types of public

health mess aging participants encountered on dating apps, the us e of vaccine badges and status es on

dating apps , and self-reported disengagement wit h public health mes sages on dating apps.

Conclus ions discuss the ramifications of this for how tech companies, governments, charities respon d

to times of crisis, as well as the perceived boundaries of dating app platforms and c oncerns over trust

around s ources of public health messaging.

Networked Lesbian Publics in Authoritarian China: An Affordance Analysis of Dating Apps Use d

by Queer Women Communities

Xinyun Zhang

(Renmin Universit y of China)

How do digital media platforms facilitate the formation of les bian communities in the cont ext of

authoritarian China? Us ing a case study of China lesbian app The L, I explicate the affordances of

dating apps in building community. By analyzing digital ethnography and offline interview data, I argue

that The L offers several affordances namely communal connectivity, algorithmic visibility, public

interac tivity , and emotional support. These affordances contribut e significantly to c ommunity buildin g

among lesbians in urban China. However, it is worth noting that these platforms als o perpetuat e digital

surveillance and state cens orship, emphas izing the c omplex dynamic s at play within this digital

ecosys tem. In essenc e, this analysis underscores the significance of understanding t he soc ial, cultural,

and political context spec ific to China's digital media platform. It also establishes a compelling link

between the utilization of certain c ommunity -based media affordances and the platform's capacity to

facilitate the growth and sustenance of queer c ommunities, despite the challenges posed by ubiquitou s

surveillance and censorship.

Social Divisions / Social Identities - Room 8

The Logic of Appeara nce, the Limits and Subla tion of Identity Politics: A Perspective from China

Xiaoming Xia, Bingqi Chen, Wei Xu

(Wuhan University)

"Identity" and “identity politic s”have become major issues in Western political sociology . Its emergenc e

is the result of a combination of several forces, including the long-standing "philosophy of recognition"

and the "need for recognition" of social status quo with structural inequality, interacting in the field of

operation of "late capitalism". The "late capitalism" is t he result of a combination of several forces, which

played a very revolutionary role in the struggle of minorities against structural oppression. However ,

with the postmodernist turn of identity politics, the limits of its utility have become inc reasingly evident.

Identity politics itself is characterized by a t riple paradox of morphology, operationalism, and teleology ,

with multiple crises of neo-tribalism, political polarization, and new types of totalitarianism lurking within

it. Identity politics, as a politicized representation of cultural critique, is essentially a regression from real

struggle to cultural spectacle, from politics to non-politics, and does not have a far-reaching

revolutionary future in the field of late capitalis m. Habermas's ethics of negotiation and Fraser's

normative pluralis m provide useful references for exploring the path of abandonment of identity politics.

The paradigm of political participation with Chinese characteristics has the overall advantage of

Marxism as the guiding ideology, but it can give the cons ideration to the reasonable demands of multiple

identity groups, achieving the abandonment and transcendence of the "politics of identity" and providing

a "Chinese paradigm" for solving the "House of Muumbi" problem.

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"The internet is like a swamp that's dried up, revealing all the snakes underneath": Haredi Youth

Negotiating Religious Authorities in the Age of Digital Connectivity

Malki Poryes

(Ben-Gurion University of t he Negev in Israel)

C ovi d -19 accelerated internet use in Haredi (Referring to Israel's ultra-Orthodox population) society.

The Haredi leaders hip views this as a break in the enclaved culture and a crack in the ideology. W ith

its inherent lack of oversight and control over the content, cy berspace offers a chance to experienc e

different c ultures and worldviews, interact ions between the sexes, and more. Adolescents’ presence in

this forbidden space c ould result in punishments . Despite attempts to prevent young people from using

the int ernet, Haredi s urfers are s teadily decreasing.

The following research examines adolescenc e in Haredi society in Israel. It focuses on how 18-yea r -

old Haredi men and women engage wit h social media. It also focuses on how they negotiate their

internet use and their religious and social identities . The study aims to advance the understanding of

identity negotiations carried out by Haredi Gen Z online. The term "Generation" is used sociologically

rather than demographically, as members of a group experiencing similar formative experiences.

This paper emphasizes the generational aspect of how int erviewees interpret the internet's threat to

Haredi s ociety's characteristic s. There is an understanding among participants in the study t hat s ocial

mechanisms enc ompass power dynamics as well as social control. Leadership and older generations

use danger rhetoric to explain why the internet threatens society and young people, participants use

change rhetoric. The internet is seen as a means and catalyst for transforming social order, especially

religious and communal authorities.

The current st udy challenges the universality of the research field "Youth in the Western World". In the

Wes tern world, there are religious and traditional communities in which young people are subjec t to

social dictates. Consequently, the research question is: how do y oung Haredi internet users negotiat e

Haredi soc iety’s values and the various sys tems they adhere to?

Sociology of Education - Room 13

The Guilt-De votion Para dox: Mothers as Supplementary Educators

Rachel Lehner-Mear

(University of Nottingham)

Many contemporary education sys tems, inc luding in the UK, acutely responsibilise parents as

supplementary educators, expec ted t o be involved, engaged and supportive of their children’s schooling

(Goodall, 2021), and it is increasingly recognised that this supplementary educator discourse is directed

at mothers in particular (Clarke, 2021; Griffith and Smith, 2005; Reay, 2005). Simultaneously, parenti ng

is viewed as in crisis, with parents judged and blamed for the poor outc omes of their c hildren (Kinser,

2012). Taking the case of primary school homework as an example, this paper illuminates how mothers

negotiat e their precarious pos ition in the respons ibility-blame disc ourse. Drawing a detailed portrait of

one mother’s experiences (tak en from a larger study of mother supplementary educators) trapped

between devotion to her child’s future and guilt for her child’s present, I illustrate the significant emotion

care work s he undertakes to navigate the friction between devotion and guilt, as s he supports the

apparently s imple, teacher-direc ted task of primary sc hool homework. A guilt-devotion paradox is

therefore shown to be both the driver and the vehic le for mothers’ work as supplementary educators as

they navigate a path bet ween parental responsibilisation and parental judgement, in a situation which

can inflict a subs tantial impact on their labours and emotions.

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How Do You Decide Your Major(s)? A Study of Asian American Fema le College Students’ Major

Choice(s)

Ruhao Pang

(UC B erk eley)

The “model minority myth” is an overgeneraliz ed symbol for Asian Americans, defining t he

characteris tics and pursuits of Asian Americ ans based on their racial ident ity. They are portrayed as

smart yet humble and, acc ording to t he stereoty pe, they enjoy a higher inc ome in STEM-related fields,

which s tands for “sc ience, technology, engineering, and mathematics”. Meanwhile, the myth

perpetuates an image of Asian women as feminine, caring, and gentle. Thus, the intersectionality of the

racial and gender s tereotypes creates overlapping pressure and dis crimination agains t Asian femal e

college students. Given the stereotypes of the Asian and Asian female community, this study seeks to

answer the following res earch questions by adding a gender component: How do Asian American

female college students choose their major(s)? & How do they react to racial and gender stereotypes

when dec iding their major(s)? This researc h aims to navigate the variety of reactions of Asian American

female students themselves when they choose a major in college. Using data from eight in-dept h

interviews with Asian American female college students aged 18 to 21, this study explores personal

motivation, family expectations, and institutional influences as Asian American female students

negotiat e and balance multiple factors that influence their major c hoice(s). While the ex isting literature

mostly talks about conformity to the model minority myth, this study explains how students develop their

unique strategies to take their agency when deciding on their college major(s). Thus, this research

extends the scope of the existing literature to explore students’ agency.

Theory - Room 5

Theorising Time in Politics: Insights from Turkey

Birgan Gok menoglu

(Birmingham City University)

This artic le develops the “political calendar” as a concept that theorizes time as a medium for the

exercise of power. The main premise of the argument is that although t ime and temporality are an

intrinsic dimension of politic s and political life, sociological theories of politics and socio-political

transformation have yet to incorporate temporality into their frameworks at the concept ual level. I take

conceptualization to be a form of theorizing (Swedberg 2016) by way of “coining new concepts in

relation to empirical observation of new phenomena” (Krause 2016, p. 25). Building on insights from

the sociology of time and sociological studies of space, this article centres antic ipation, rhythms, and

disruption to theoriz e time in politics. Based on two years of partic ipant-observation in grassroots

organizat ions and qualitat ive interviews with ac tivists in Istanbul, I use the c ase of the 2018 presidentia l

and parliamentary “snap” elec tions in Turkey to demonstrate how time is politic ized both by the s tat e

and social movement activists, and how it is instrumentaliz ed, experienced, and narrated in contentious

politics. By offering the political calendar as a conceptual tool t o analyse and theorise the temporal

dynamics of an authoritarian regime and its challengers, this s tudy contributes to the sociology of time

and t he future, social movement s tudies, and c ritical time studies, as well as political soc iology and

social/ sociological theory more broadly .

Beyond Foucault's Blind Spot On the "Liberal Art of Governing”: The 'Working Classes' as a

Counter-Conduct

Nob Doran

(Universit y of New Brunswick )

Alt hough Foucault's later lectures (2007, 2008), at the college de france, provide both an examination

of various forms of 'governme ntality' (pastoral power, regime d'etat and the 'liberal art of governing) and

the 'counter-conduc ts ' which challenge t hese regimes, Foucault was curiously silent on the emergen c e

of 'counter-conducts' to the 'liberal art of governing'. Thompson, on the other hand, was very insightful

on t he formation of the working class , but miss ed the real target of these protests, panoptic liberalism.

This paper a chapter from a forthcoming manuscript , argues that we must go beyond Fouc ault,

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Thompson and Miller's (2008) feminist theorizing of the underdog, in order to empirically demonstrat e

how today's 'panopticised' seek to talk back (Doran 2023) to discourses of knowledge/ power.

Transcending Borders: The Role of Chile an Migrants in the Transnational Diffusion of Un

Viola dor En Tu Camino

Juliette Saetre

(European University Ins itute)

This paper explores the global diffusion of Un Violador en tu Camino, a protest performance born out

of the 2019 Chilean uprisings. The way the anthem travelled t o new contexts not only challenges taken-

for-granted North-South imit ation trajec tories, but its cultural specificity also presents an anomaly in

canonical diffusion theory, raising the question: How did this localised expression of diss ent evolve into

a transnational vehicle for feminist protest? Drawing from an original dataset of coded performanc e

videos and survey dat a on Chileans abroad, this paper shows the Chilean diaspora's network structure

played a pivotal role in the anthem's global diffusion. I develop this argument through a two-step process

operating across an ethnic boundary where numerous and strong ties connect Chilean emigrants both

to their homelands and to others in their host countries . The ant hem initially resonated wit h diaspora

communities as Chileans abroad organised solidarity performances. Direct exposure to these solidarity

performances, facilitat ed by shared ties, subsequently inspired non-Chilean locals to adapt and

integrate t he anthem into their context through a mechanis m of social reinforcement. A s local

adaptations proliferated, the anthem gained momentum, rendering Chilean intermediaries unnecess ary

for further adoption. In essence, the formation of the Chilean diaspora in the 1970s laid the foundati o n

for a transnational network that fac ilitated the diffusion of Un Violador en tu Camino through clusters of

individuals connected to both Chile and their host societies. This reveals a broader phenomenon in

which historical emigration patterns inadvertently create latent global infrastructures for diffusion.

Theorizing ‘Silence’ in Childhood Sociology

Xiaorong Gu

(University of Suffolk )

While ‘hearing the voices’ of children has become a cons ensus in childhood sociology to break away

from the adult-centrism in sociological canons, we are yet to map out the conditions under which

children’s voices can be heard, especially in contexts where c hildren are embedded in hierarchical

social structures and relationships. We posit a multi-dimensional theory of silence to fill in t he gap. First,

while the ‘new’ social studies of childhood have rightfully critiqued the dominant adult-centrism in the

discipline of sociology , the ontological condition of children’s dependency on adults/adult inst itutions

due t o age and generational hierarchies does not diminish despite an epistemological revolution of

representing and “hearing the voic es” of children. Addit ional structural conditions (e.g. disabilities,

poverty) further exacerbate children’s dependency. Secondly, from a socio-linguistic perspective, the

artic ulateness and eloquence of c hildren, hence their varying tones and volumes, are often intricately

related to clas sed socialization patterns. Third, with an inherent imperative to control narratives ,

authoritarian polities and politics constrain spaces for independent expressions of opinions, which often

starts with childhood socialization. Las t, culturally, 'silence' or 'shyness' could be regarded as positive

attributes in societ ies with ‘dense normative frames’. Silence/silenc ing is thus encouraged and

incentivized so as not to challenge or dis rupt the underlying relational hierarchies . W e argue that this

theory of silenc e advances existing literature by transcending a dualist conceptualization of voice and

agency in childhood sociology and pushes researchers to develop context ualiz ed soc ial, political and

cultural sensitivities and sensibilities towards neutralizing the power imbalanc es during research.

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Work, Employment & Economic Life 1 -

Room 14

Renewal Rate: Racial Disparities in NBA Player Contracts and Career Stability

Di Shao

(University of Virginia)

Prior research about rac ial inequality in labor market attainments has primarily concentrated on the

racial disparities in earnings and occupational attainments , s uch as hiring and promotions. Less

syst ematic attention has been given to unders tanding the rac ial gap in career stabilit y and its underlying

factors . To address this issue, this study utilizes the National Basketball As sociation (NBA) as a

strategic setting and develops a novel dataset that incorporates data on NBA play ers, teams, and their

contracts dating back to 1990. Despite Black players constitut ing the majority in the NBA, this study

uncovers two k ey factors contributing to career instability for many of them. Firs t, Black players are

likely to sign shorter-term non-entry-level c ontrac ts than the comparable white players. This differen c e

only exis ts for players who did not recently play for the teams whic h they signed a c ontract with, where

employers’ decisions are more likely to be shaped by general racial stereotypes. Therefore, this

difference in contract length appears to s tem from employ er bias instead of play ers’ own intention.

Second, Black players are less likely to have their cont ract s renewed by their current teams . They are

more likely than their comparable white play ers t o 1) sign a contract with anot her t eam, usually ending

up with lower salaries, and 2) find no jobs and as a result leave the league temporarily or permanently .

These results s uggest that even in professional fields that emphasize meritocracy, Blac k employ ers still

experienc e less career stability , and both contract length and renewal rate contribute to this rac ial

disparity.

Understanding British Muslim Women Entre prene urs’ Positioning Through a n Intersectional

Reading Of Gender and Religion

Nicole Lehmann

(University of Nottingham)

Hist orically, gender, race, ethnic ity and class have long contributed to the creation of soc ial inequalitie s

and divisions in the United K ingdom. More recently, the concept of intersect ionality has advanced such

debates by highlighting how certain social positions are more privileged than others and how especially

their intersection can create unique forms of experience and exclusion. This moves away from a genera l

gender or religion ex perience to a more nuanced cons ideration of how social divisions may be socially

constructed. Muslim women in particular then come to stand at the crossroad of gendered and racialised

religious experiences creating a unique ex perience for them. This s tudy thus explores the interactio n

between religion and gender and how intersectional experiences may be created. It particularly explores

how Muslim women through their entrepreneurial ac tivities come to experienc e difference and exclus ion

within society and the impac t thereof on them. Through the creation and focus on the stigmatised image

of the Muslim woman, Muslim women become vulnerable in their wider interactions with society. In

return, this impacts on where and how Muslim women can further obtain resources for their

entrepreneurial vent ures. Muslim women thus carry a particular burden attributable to their gendered

religious belonging through which they manage themselves and interactions with others. This study

thus extends previous research by exploring how gendered religious soc ial positioning becomes

constructed, inequality becomes created and its impact on the working lives of Muslim wome n

entrepreneurs.

Impact of Inclusive Leade rship on Organizational Inclusion in India

Avinash Rao

(University of Manchester)

The concept of inclus ion has gained prominence since the emergence of multicultural organizations

and inclusion has become an important element in organiz ational literature sinc e the early 2000s. At

the core of multicultural organization lies inclusion. In the organizational fabric, when diversity is value d,

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it fuels inclusion and owing to rapid globalization, heterogeneity at the workplace is becoming

increasingly inevitable, where no longer can organiz ations choose to exist in silos, and people are

respected for who they are and not necessarily where they come from. Perceived inc lusion tends to

impact s everal organizational and employee outc omes including self-esteem, job satisfaction,

employee engagement, and organizational cit izenship behavior. India, the largest democracy in the

world, als o one of the leading ec onomies by GDP, remains largely heterogenous. Recent studies

highlight that organizat ions that tend to have a strong financial performance, depend on a strong

managerial culture where the organizational values, ethos, and leadership are effectively demonstrat ed

as part of business conduct. Leaders play a critical role in formulating and ensuring adherence to

inclusion practices, strengthening organizational performance, leading to internal and external c ustomer

delight. Inclusive leadership (IL) draws several similarities from various styles where IL can act as a

bridge between transac tional and transformational leadership styles as both aim at addressing

follower’s needs and authent ic leadership becomes the backbone of Organizational Inclusion (OI). The

presentation aims to explore the dimensions of IL on OI and how this affects the s ocial exchanges at

organizat ions, promoting equity , diversity and inclus ion at the workplace.

Covert Carcerality: How Racialized Tech Workers’ Privilege Disguises Coercion

Riank a Roy

(University of Connecticut )

Globalization and digital technologies have shaped the landscapes of labor in ambivalent ways. While

new jobs have enhanced labor autonomy and mobility in a borderles s world, managerial coercion has

limited labor rights, and have subjected racialized workers to carceral control. How can this contrast be

theoretically reconciled?

I s tudy Indian tech workers’ experienc es in India and the US. These workers represent the largest group

of outsourc ed and migrant labor in the global technology sector. They earn high wages, and migrate

legally to the Global North for bet ter opportunities. But they also face layoffs, overwork and surveillanc e .

I position this contrast of privilege and precarity within neoliberal carceral c ontex ts. Black, Abolitionis t

and Dalit feminis t s cholars have drawn attention to the expansion and normalization of carceral control

with new technologies and governanc e (Benjamin 2019; Subramanian 2022). Ex tending these

dialogues, I develop the framework of 'covert carcerality' to demonstrate how carceral condit ions are

also disguised as privilege for many racialized workers.

Methods:

I use 55 in-depth interviews, over 800 hours of virtual ethnography, and over 60 hours of participant

observation of events organized by tech unions and immigrant organizations.

Findings :

I find Indian tec h workers facing covert carcerality in three ways—carceral enc losures, informalization

of labor, and family separation. I also explore the ways in which c overt carcerality impacts the

opportunities of solidarity and collective action.

References

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after Technology. Polity.

Subramanian, S. (2022). Carceral c are? Juvenile justice institutions in India and girls’ protect ion unde r

Brahmanical patriarchy. Dissertation. Ohio State University.

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Work, Employment & Economic Life 2 -

Room 15

Inflation Crisis, Monetary Citizenship a nd Ideology

Adne Meling, Lars Julius Halvorsen

(Volda University College)

For millions of people ac ross the globe, 2024 will be another year of crisis. The crisis may take many

forms. One of them is economic , and within the ec onomic form of c risis, price inflation is a considerabl e

challenge.

Alt hough money might be viewed as the “most abst ract and impersonal element that exists in human

life”, as Weber put it, sociologists suc h as Simmel, Dodd and Zelizer have made valuable contributions

to the understanding of money within the social sc iences. But sociologists also have a critical role to

play in the public governance of money. One important reason for t his is that temporal fluidity in the

money supply inevitably caus es inflation crises, with some degree of regularity. These inflation crises

are hard to predict for the economically marginalised c itizens who suffer most from them, and it is even

harder for marginalised groups to prepare for these cris es.

The discussions around central banking have traditionally been dominated by economic scholars and

libertarian ideologues who view inflation as a Machiavellian hidden form of tax ation. This s ituation is

unfortunate. In this presentation, it is argued that democratic citizenship should include monetary

citiz enship, i.e., an understanding and critic al engagement in the public governanc e of money supply

and inflation. It is also argued that soc iologists must engage more actively in debates around the public

governanc e of money. Sociology should facilitate a public s pace for critical debates on central planning ,

debates that are independent of libertarian ideology and right-wing politic al preferences .

A Boutique of Capitalism: Financia l Accumulation through Netw orks

Francois Schoenb erger

(University of Lausanne)

How do inves tment bankers leverage their networks of cont acts to foster financial accumulation? While

we know that networks improve financial outcomes for firms and banks, the specific social mechanisms

underpinning their profitability remain underexplored. This presentation explores this question in light

of a year-long ethnographic study I c onducted as a financ ial analy st at a Swiss investment bank,

commonly referred to as a ‘boutique’. In addition, I carried out 124 semi-struc tured interviews with

investment bankers and other market participants , and a multiple correspondence analysis of the field

of investment banks in Switzerland.

I will firstly discus s the cultivation of social capit al, which requires a deliberate and constant effort on

the part of investment bankers. Depending on the type of cont act considered, relationship maintenanc e

is not alway s bas ed on reciprocity. Moreover, I will explore t he efforts investment bankers engage in

trying to es tablish a positive professional reputation, thus increasing the likelihood of their contact s

sharing their resourc es. Last ly, by exclusively highlighting t he beneficial outc omes of social networks,

research has overlooked the fact that they can bec ome a liability when individuals have a negative

reputation in the eyes of their contacts. Therefore, I will theoretically show that network and social capital

are two distinc t notions.

This research contributes to our understanding of capitalism by arguing that, des pite technologic al

change, traditional business practices, such as social capital activation, remain at it s core.

Paper Session 6

14:45 - 16:15

Cities, Mobilities, Place and Space - Room 1

Traversing through Change and Crisis: Exploring Indian Women's Agency during Solo Travel

Yagyaseni Bhattacharya

(Jawaharlal Nehru University (J NU), New Delhi)

Male-dominated public s paces, especially in the Global South, have been perceived as unsafe for

women largely due to sex ual violence. However, there has been a change in c ontemporary years, with

an increasing number of women reclaiming thes e spac es. Solo travel has arisen as a way to ensure

women’s mobility providing them autonomy and esc ape from their patriarchal milieu. In this context ,

partic ularly in India, soc ial media influencers, through their travel-related pos ts ins pire women to ventur e

out alone. Despite this “change”, anx ieties about safety persist as a “crisis”, reinforcing ex isting power

structures. This intricate dynamic s between t he “crisis” and the “change” reflects the “fluidity” as well as

“continuity” of social values, norms and interactions . The paper captures this complex relations hi p

between “change” and “cris is ” by unearthing the following res earch questions: how does street violenc e

impact the geographical mobility choices of solo female travellers, and what prec autions do they take

to deal wit h thes e risks ? how do s ocial media influencers affect the dec ision-making proces s of solo

Indian female travellers considering perceptions of s afety? and how do these women negotiate with

their families while navigating concerns of safety on a solo trip? The research employs a qualitati ve

approach, namely s emi-structured in-depth interviews with 10 female Indian solo travellers and content

analysis of s ocial media posts on solo travelling. The study's soc iological relevance lies in its

investigation of the interplay between women's agency as a “change” in social structure and continuing

safety considerations as a “crisis”, highlighting the influence of social media on s ociety .

Broken De si r e s for Mobility: The Se lf-Governance a nd Struggles in Chinese Students' Decision

to Abandon Study Abroad Plans during the Pa ndemic

Jiexiu Chen

(School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

The pandemic crisis has precipitated profound and enduring ramific ations on international relations,

thereby substantially influenc ing the dynamics of international students who navigate across

geopolitical and cultural frontiers. In this context , the decision of international students to study abroa d

(or not) is a crucial issue, revealing the struggles and choices of individuals in the midst of a crisis. This

study focuses on 20 Chinese elite university students who originally planned to study abroad but gave

up due to the pandemic. Through interviews, this s tudy aims to explore the geopolitical imagination

embedded in international education and the global vulnerabilities promis ed by international education

in the c ontext of a global public health crisis . The study examines how international s tudent s, under the

dual impacts of the pandemic and geopolitics, have shattered their past desires for mobility at various

levels.

The research adopts Deleuzian theorizations on desire (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987) as an analyt ical tool

to interpret interview data, and proposes three main findings . Firstly , the pandemic has disrupted the

inertia of progress and collec tively imagined/possible futures, leading many s tudents to reconsider the

meaning of international education. Sec ondly , in the complex and contradic tory international landscape,

the multiple filters and desires projected by international educat ion are shattered, resulting in a shift

towards domestic job markets in future planning. As a result, international education returns to its

essence of capital accumulation. Thirdly, these elite university s tudents adopt various strategies to

navigate the rapidly changing polic y landscape, s eeking opportunities and maintaining their posit ional

advant age in domestic competition.

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

Neighboring Care Dynamics in Context of Crisis: Migrant Experiences during COVID-19 in

Diverse Urban Zones

Carolina Ramirez

(Universidad Católica Silva Henriquez)

This artic le ex amines dynamics of coexis tence and care deployed in divers e urban areas in context s

cris is . Based on an ethnographic study that included observation, interviews, and visual methodologies ,

and emphasizing the experiences of migrant women residing in Gran Yungay (Santiago, Chile),

dynamics of solidarity, mutual aid and support (contención) deployed during the COVID-19 health cris is

were identified. With the notion of “neighboring care” (cuidados vecinales)—an alternative to that of

“community care” more commonly used—I propos e to look at care not only as self-managed and

collect ive dynamics of the sustenanc e of life that go beyond the private sphere. Neighboring care is a

process of collectivization and spatialization of c are that can also be based on trans itory, diffuse, and

even virtual ties, without necessarily involving organization by affinity. Obs erving care through “the

neighborhing” (lo vecinal), and in the midst of shared critic al moments, illuminates the dynamism and

heterogeneity of the social ties established by migrants in the cit y. At the same time, it reminds us that

increasingly heterogeneous and uncertain contexts do not simply promote fragmentation and conflict.

As part of a collective experience, context of growing unc ertainty and social diversification can also give

rise t o proces ses of disarticulation and (re)articulation of "the common".

Culture, Media, Sport & Food - Room 2

Truck Protest: Interest? Affect? China ’s K-Pop Fans’ Crisis Response

Yue Pu

(Columbia University)

Renting truc ks equipped with slogan-filled LED screens and having drivers park them out side

entertainment companies—in the post-COVID era, truck protest is becoming increas ingly popular for

China’s K-Pop fans’ crisis response. These protests have ex pressed two t ypes of demands: t raditional

ones where fans support their idols and protest against "unfair treatment" by the company, and nasc ent

ones involving opposition and calls for explanations in cas es of idols’ work ethics violations , e.g., hidden

marriages or secret affairs.

Truck protes t has never been touched upon in China’s fan studies, which has either focused on

individual affect and intimacy in idol-stanning, or has rooted collective fan act ivism ex clusively in grand

narratives like nationalism or confronting/co-optati ve dy namics with c ensorship. However, truck protest,

as a transnat ional practice of fan rights act ivism, possesses a simultaneous fusion of the national and

the personal. Through web ethnography and interviews on truck protest, I hope to fill the current

observation gap in a transitory/mesozoic realm. I will delve into three embedded conflict s: 1) conflict of

spatiality: how do trucks embody the internet-based fans and int ervene both offline and online? 2)

conflict of discourse: how do activist fans contest the position of the company and of the disapproving

others? 3) conflic t of cognition: are fans defending their love for t he idol or their own interests in t he

commodified idol industry? In a community that prides itself on “the great country’s buying power”, how

do t hey situate their nationalis t affect in suc h protes ts centered around parasocial relationships ?

Constructing Musical Scenes: Space of Authenticity and Sub-cultural Capital in Chinese Live

House

Yub ai Li

(University Of Edinburgh)

Based on data from China, this study offers a mac rosc opic perspec tive on the production and

consumption of live music, shedding light on cultural autonomy and the potential for individual agency

within s ocietal frameworks. It specifically delves into two key research inquiries: Firstly, how is t he live

music s cene within venues known as "live hous es" constructed? Secondly, what criteria define "good"

live mus ic, and how do they relate to the evaluative system applied to artis tic products ?

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Methodologically, qualitative research met hods, including interviews, participant observation, and

virtual ethnography, were employed, y ielding data from 29 interviews. The findings unveil that

establis hing a vibrant live music scene necessitates not just the active participation of musicians and

music ent husiasts but also enc ompas ses the involvement of the audienc e, essent ial material resources

such as s ound equipment , unique fashion express ions, creative inst allat ions during live performance s ,

and the geographic al positioning of these live houses . Furthermore, embodiment and emotional releas e

within these live mus ic settings foster the appreciation and expression of music within subcultural

communities. This mus ic scene transcends the boundaries of music itself, evolving into an open

platform where emotions, materiality, and s pace dynamically converge to construct the art world.

Moreover, "authenticity " emerges as a pivot al evaluat ive criterion for live music. It embodies sincerity,

rebellion, presence, and a strong sens e of place. Pursuing authenticity validates the values, s ocial

bonds, and lifestyles embodied by the music . The pursuit of authenticity engenders a mutually enrichin g

relationship between the audience and music ians, leading to shared emotional resonance and

collect ive experiences.

The Transformative Power of Aesthe tic Experie nces: The Political Role of Music in the 2019

Chilea n Uprising

Daniela Fazio Vargas

(University of Manchester)

Music has played a crucial role in recent Chilean his tory as conduct for soc ial and political demands ,

and the protests of 2019 were no ex ception. “El E stallido” was also an artistic outburst, apart from being

a social and political uprising. In part because demonstrators resorted to art to mobilise t hemselves and

for the greater visibility acquired by artists and their performances during the protests. My research

seeks t o comprehend how mus ic helped sust ain politic al transformation through aesthetic experienc es .

One might ask , then, why look for the emergence of these artistic-laden transformative experiences in

a place that would seem, at first glance, advers e for them, like the protes ts –spec ifically , if one has in

mind that, notwithstanding the multiple theoretic al traditions, aest hetic ex periences have usually been

associated with a locus of beauty and pleas ure. Thus, although I am focus ing on mus ic, the notion of

aesthetics used in my res earch is not limited to the theories of beauty or pleasure. Convers ely, it refers

to the form in which subjects experience their reality but also to the polemical dis tribution of the sensible

that defines the perceivable and thinkable. Having that in mind, my research aims to show that by

looking at music not as an objec t but as an interaction, it is possible to broaden the notion of politics

beyond the public institutional sphere.

The Pe rsistence of Chinese Alte rnative Rock: A Social Ne tw ork Anal ysis of BADHEAD 1999-

2023

Shan Shi

(University of Manchester)

This study delves into the social networks that underpin the production of alternative rock music in

China. Drawing from a comprehensive collection of albums released by the record label BADHEAD,

spanning the years from 1999 to 2023, I used this primary archival source to map the web of

connections among practit ioners and artists within this underground scene. Employing a mixed-

methods approach, I conducted interviews with k ey partic ipants and carried out formal social network

analysis to diss ect the formation and evolution of these net works . The findings reveal a core-periphery

structure within the production network, with its formation hinging on k ey factors suc h as foc al points,

transitivity , and s trategic attachments. These insights shed light on the role that networks play in

shaping alternative aes thet ics, facilitating financial s upport, and navigating censorship challenges within

art worlds, particularly in an authoritarian context.

This research makes a c ontribution to the expanding field of empirical exploration within the domain of

relational sociology in cultural production. Furthermore, it provides a comparative c ase study within a

field traditionally dominated by Anglo-Americ an music contexts , offering fresh perspectives and

enriching our understanding of global cult ural production dynamic s.

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Environment & Society - Room 3

Communities at Risk in River Islands of India’s Sunderbans: Understanding Crises, Challenge s,

and Socia l Change

Vib ha Arora, Sohini Chakraborty

(Indian I nstitute of Technology)

The age of Anthropocene has heralded exist ential risk for small islands of ecologic ally vulnera ble

Sunderbans region in the Bay of Bengal, India. Our paper is guided by his torical analysis of four islands

(based on maps available for 20th and 21st Century) and it unders tands the impact of sea level rise

and socio-fluvial dynamics on small islands. Our researc h focuses on two river is lands that were

drowned or sunk completely in the 21st century, a new fluvial deposit created landmass that has

emerged, while the biggest river island of the Hoogly es tuary namely Sagar Island has reported seve r e

land erosion. Combining review of relevant soc io-historical literature and ongoing fieldwork of one

author in this fragile soc ial ecology, our paper unders tands the socio-hydrological vulnerabilities and

life experiences of ecological refugees in West Bengal state of India. The discourse on small islands is

eclipsed by socio-historical neglect of Southern Sunderbans while there are few good studies focusing

on Northern Sunderbans (India and Bangladesh). The response of the Indian state is very crit ical to

understand as communities inordinately depend for their welfare and the framing of climate change

cris es. Hence, our ongoing researc h on Southern Sunderbans fills a critical gap in unders tanding ideas

of vulnerability and disaster, social coping mechanisms of inhabitants of crises-ridden topographies ,

and social change and los s of community life here as number of ecological refugees escalates.

The Highland Alternative: The Resilience of the Scottish Crofti ng System during the Ongoing

Crises of Capitalism

Steven Speed

(University of Bolton)

Small-sc ale farming communities in Scot land engaged in a combination of food sovereignt y ,

agroecology , or land sovereignty have not only made themselves more resilient to the crises of

capitalism but have done so by reducing their dependenc y upon it . What is more, during the recent

cris es caus ed by the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit they were not only more able to sustain

themselves when long food s upply chains c ollapsed but were also able to increase their autonomy and

sustainabilit y through an increased demand for local food networks. Their increased autonomy has, in

certain areas, trans formed social relations, and, at times, revealed alternative economic practices.

The research for this paper was conducted over a 15 month period and primarily cons isted of seas onal

interviews with 14 s mall-scale food producers in Scotland. It has examined how these communities

have worked towards a being more socially and environmentally sustainable through an adaptation of

Erik Olin Wright’s theory of transformation (Wright 2010) by drawing on David Harvey and John

Holloway’s analyses of capitalism and of strategies for social transformation. Through this framewor k

the research has ex amined t he unintended trajectories of change that emerge from the cris is of

capitalism, the gaps and contradictions these crises have revealed, t he relationships their strategies

have with these c rises as they reveal alternative economic practices, and the sustainability of these

alternative practices in the face of capitalism’s ability to reproduce itself.

Community Responses to Sustainability, Food Insecurity and Alternative Food Networks: The

Case of CoFarm

Neli Demireva

(Universit y of Essex)

In the last dec ade, the UK has experienced a proliferation of food banks and there are growing concerns

about a rise in food ins ecurity (Loopstra et al., 2019, Loops tra et al., 2015). Even when access to food

is adequate, diet quality can be poor, particularly in urban settings, where stress levels and lack of gree n

spaces have been link ed to an epidemic of obesity (Dinour et al., 2007). In this context, alternative foo d

networks (AFNs) can play a major role in producing sus tainable food, free from chemicals that may

inhibit biodiversity and ass ociated ec osystem services, such as pollination, natural pest control, and soil

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BSA Annual Conference 2024

mineralisation, while at the same time increasing human wellbeing in urban areas. This paper focuses

on the experiences of the volunteers and stakeholders in one such local community-based agroecolog y

(‘co-farming’) project in Cambridge, CoFarm Cambridge. CoFarm Cambridge is a wholly owne d

subsidiary of the CoFarm Foundation which was established in 2019 to help “bring people together to

grow and share nutrit ious food, build s tronger communities and healthier ecosystems. (Foundation,

2019). As a result of their cofarming ex perience, volunteers reported greater involvement with

community issues and heightened awareness of food justice issues. Thus, this form of engagement in

an alternative food network can have important community benefits which can be further strengthened

through communic ation and the active involvement of various community actors, although a notable

separation between beneficiaries and volunteers continued to exis t in place of the “everybody s erves ”

and every body benefits model that CoFarm has originally envisaged.

Families & Relationships - Room 4

Exploring the Dynamics of the Protective and Predictive Factors for Mental Health through the

Traje ctories of Young Fathers

Laura W ay, Linzi Ladlow, Anna Tarrant

(University of Lincoln)

The mental health of fathers is only recently beginning to be recognised as a public healt h priority. In

this context, the mental health and ass ociated support needs of young fathers (aged 25 and under) are

often overlooked and under-reported in researc h. Reporting on thematic analys es of qualitative

longitudinal data generated with young fathers, this presentation presents the narratives of young

fathers and c onceptualises the dynamics of their mental health pathways in their transit ions into and

through fatherhood. W e demons trate that young fatherhood can be a positive source of well-being, as

well as a time of change and uncertainty . We argue that while fatherhood creates new opportunities for

establis hing new identities and focus, the demands and respons ibilities of fatherhood at a young age,

compounded by limited acc ess to the key resources needed to parent effectively, may als o tip y oung

men into periods of dis tres s and mental ill-healt h. W e also explore the simultaneously protective or

predict ive factors that impinge on their well-being, highlighting the vital need for understanding how

structural contexts and proces ses shape their mental health pathways over time.

The Socia l Problems of Fa milies after the Pandemic: Some Empirical Evidence from the

Perspectives of the Social Worker

Marco Carradore, Giorgio Gos ett i, Cristina Lonardi

(University of Verona, Italy)

Alt hough the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, scientific research underlines how it

continues to affect citizens and families through increased social inequalities, decreased s ocial servic e

expenditure, and other fact ors impacting citizens ’ lifestyles. The aim of this research was to identify the

social problems affecting families sinc e the pandemic from the perspect ive of t he social worker.

This empirical research focuses on a loc al area within Northeast Italy. It applied a qualitative approac h

to inves tigate new social problems have affected families sinc e the pandemic. The purpos ive sample

involved social workers working in local authorities, care homes, social health s ervices (e.g., family

counselling centre), social services for minors and external enforcement services (enforcement of non-

custodial criminal penalties and alternatives). A total of 46 social workers were interviewed face-to-fac e ,

by means of a structured interview. The data collected was analysed by qualitative c ontent analysis.

The initial results ident ified increases in certain issues , such as conc erns about the fragility of parents,

the inc idenc e of families with children s howing behavioural problems, the lack of housing for families,

including those with median incomes, and worries about the difficulties related to caring for elderly or

disabled family members at home.

All the final out puts will be shared with research partners and local s tak eholders to help plan for specific

interventions to address these challenges and to improve the quality of social services.

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Planning Intimate Lives and Reproductive Futures in the Face of Globalised Crises

Lisa Howard, Liliana Arias Uruena, E mma Davidson, Lynn Jamieson

(University of Edinb urgh)

Inevit ably, multifaceted c rises intersect with families, personal relationships , and the relational doing of

every day domest ic life. Demographers have long demonstrated the response to recession and austerity

in what they call ‘fertility’ and ‘fertility intentions’. More recent discussions acknowledge the impact of

climate change. There are growing sociologically informed literatures on eco-anxiety and forms of

environmental activism centred on families, personal relat ionships and domes tic life, such as ‘birth

strikes’ and pro-environme ntal parenting movements. This paper will report evidence from a study of

UK born childless men and women aged 25-40 who are in a relationship about their plans for children.

They are drawn from both relatively advantaged and disadvantaged circumst ances. At the c ore is an

exploration of their views and the temporal dynamic of present c ircumstances, recent past, and

imagined futures. This encompass es their awareness of and perspec tives on the soc ial consequence s

of their own present and future domestic and familial life as a facet of our own analys is.

The findings in this paper draw from a 4-year study led by Prof. Anna-Maija Castrén at the Universi t y

of East ern Finland whic h compares the sociocultural contexts of Finland, Portugal, and Scotland t o

understand similarities and differences in each country in terms of reproductive ‘regimes’ and responses

to globalised crises.

Medicine, Health & Illness 1 - Room 6

Validating Long COVID with Data: Self-Tracking Experiences and Practices

Sazana Jayadeva, Deborah Lupton

(University of Surrey)

The post-viral illnes s known as Long Covid is estimated to have affected tens of millions of peopl e

globally. This paper presents preliminary findings from a study exploring how people living with Long

Covid use self-tracking t echnologies t o gain insight into or manage their symptoms. The project is

guided by three interrelated research questions: (1) In what ways and for what purposes do people

living with long Covid use self-tracking t echnologies in relation to their illness?; (2) What impact does

the use of self-tracking t echnologies have on people’s understandings of their illness and themselves?;

(3) W hat, if any, possibilit ies for counterpower do self-track ing technologies present, and how?

A total of 30 participant s in t he UK, USA, Germany , Denmark, Canada and Aus tralia were int erviewed

online about their experiences. A nalysis of the interviews identified several prominent themes. Self-

tracking offered validation to participants, providing ‘objective’ data from apps and wearable device s

that could be shared with others, including healthcare providers as evidence of their illnes s. Collecting

information also facilitated self-knowledge and s elf-understanding. In some cas es, these insights

helped participants to engage in medical advocac y, using these data to self-diagnos e and then seek

medical help. Self-tracking data, together with embodied feelings , also helped people manage their

energy levels and limitations. However, while self-tracking offered feelings of hope and a sense of

control, it c ould also induce anxiety. Further, frustration was reported by some participants conc ernin g

the time-consuming nature of self-monitoring and the poor design of thes e technologies for those

wanting to track a chronic illness.

False Divisions a nd Dubious Equivalencies: Children’s Rights during the COVID-19 Pande mic

Pantea J avidan

(Stanford University)

This paper examines the causes and consequences of the current cris is in children’s rights during the

COV ID-19 pandemic, specifically how and why children’s fundamental rights to life, health, and safety

are bes ieged in the context of educ ation and schooling. It scrutinizes the laiss ez-faire pandemic

response of minimal mitigations in c omparative global perspective, with the United States exemplifying

this model and faring worst among peer nations , alongside the United Kingdom and Sweden. Using an

inters ectional framework regarding s ystemic inequities , it analy zes policies regarding school re-

openings and pandemic mitigations through a review of relevant news media, surveys, statis tical data,

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and public discourse. The master narrative regarding childhood education during the pandemic has

created false divisions and dubious equivalencies between different sets of children’s rights to justify

in-person schooling with inadequate mitigat ions. Political officials, economic elit es, contrarian “experts,”

and aligned technoc rats advanced laissez-faire policy fueled by disinformat ion campaigns, moral panic,

and political violenc e, to overpower scientific consensus, public opinion, and human rights, which

disproportionately harms working-class and rac ial minority children.

Narrating Crisis in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences of Patients, Carers, Staff and Senior

Managers of Hospice Palliative Care in the UK

John MacArtney

(University of Warwick )

Background: Hospice palliat ive care emphasises quality of life, timely interventions, and holistic care.

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic hospices in t he UK had to adapt their approach and practic es of

caring and supporting people with terminal illness es. As Covid-19 becomes endemic, hospices continue

to adjust their approach to supporting terminally ill people, many of whom remained vulnerable to Covid-

19 affecting the quality and amount of time they had left.

Aim: To explore hospice palliative care patients, carers, staff and senior managers stories to identify

how pandemic narratives affected participants’ understanding of hospice palliative care.

Methods: Narrative analysis of interviews wit h patients, carers, staff and senior managers (n=70)

recruited from hospices ac ross the W est-Midlands, UK.

Findings : We identified four ‘pandemic narratives’ in the participants’ accounts of giving and rec eivin g

hospice palliative care support in the first two years of the pandemic. In each narrative we explore how

the associat ed pandemic protections affected participant’s quality of life and care; how timeliness of

care was disrupted at different points in the palliative care journey; and, how holistic focus care was

affected by protections that were in place. We als o reflect on some of the potential tensions hospic es

face in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Disc ussion: Covid-19 pandemic brought signific ant challenges to hospic e palliative care, with eac h of

core themes c hallenged in ways t hat provided opportunities t o reflect on what they mean not only t o

hospice palliative c are, but also their significance to the wider ongoing covid and healthcare polit ical

landscape.

Viral Memories: How Ha s COV ID-19 Changed How Gay Men Remember HIV?

Sophie Atherton, Jaime García-Iglesias

(Usher Institut e, University of Edinburgh)

COV ID-19 profoundly changed our ways of life. For gay men, who have historically been

disproportionately impacted by HIV since the 1980s, COVID-19 became a stark reminder of viral

disruption. Some scholarly work has already discussed the many similarit ies and differenc es between

both pandemics , including the role of s tigma, soc ial distancing, governmental respons es, and

biomedicine (Braksmajer and London, 2021; Garcia-Iglesias and Ledin, 2021). Whilst some work has

focused on exploring how gay men’s experienc es of COVID-19 are shaped by their memories and

experienc es of HIV (Quinn et al, 2021; Handlovs ky et al, 2023), little attention has been paid to how

current experienc es of COVID-19, and the responses to it, have profoundly altered how gay men

remember and experience HIV. This paper discus ses findings from the E SRC-funded project “Viral

Memories.” Relying on semi-structured interviews wit h younger and older gay men in the UK, we will

discuss how COVID-19 alters gay men’s memories and experiences of HIV, from the ‘AIDS cris is’ of

the 1980s to the current ‘post-crisis’ moment. Drawing on the theory of haunting (Kagan, 2018) and the

sociology of memory (Conway, 2010), we highlight how gay men conceptualise different social and

government responses, navigate social distanc ing given the different t ransmission routes between HIV

and COVID-19, and experience stigma. W e conclude by exploring what this means for gay men’s

understandings and perceptions of risk and safety as they continue to negotiate COVID-19 and HIV in

their everyday lives and consider some implications for sexual health policy and practice.

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Medicine, Health & Illness 2 - Room 7

Don’t Hit the (Psychiatric) Panic Button: Interrogating and Resisting Logics of Crisis and Cure

in Lived Experience of Self-Harm

Sarah Redik opp

(York University)

In contemporary Canada, self-harm is inc reasingly c haracterized as a public health c risis

disproportionately affecting y oung people. A growing body of evidence s uggests that disclos ures of self-

harm are often met with respons es which are frightening and disempowering t o those who identify with

self-harm. Drawing on findings from a series of narrative interviews with young women, trans, and

nonbinary people in Canada who identify with s elf-harm, this presentation c onsiders the effects of

treating young peoples’ self-harm as a “cris is ” in need of medic al treatment, cess ation, and “cure”. I use

a series of case studies to illuminate the ways that research participant s experience and navigate

responses to their self-harm which, in the words of one participant , “hit the panic button”. Drawing on

insights from mad studies, critical suicidology, and c ritical disability s tudies, I explore the relationshi p

between crisis and cure at the site of self-harm. I suggest that logics of cure – that is, understandings

of self-harm as a medical problem best responded to by medical ex perts to be treated and eradicated

(Clare, 2017) – undergird c risis responses to self-harm, and that these underst andings deny alt ernat i ve

readings of self-harm as a practice in survival and continuity. More broadly, this presentation asks , what

kinds of engagement with self-harm bec ome pos sible when we resist logics of cure and crisis in self-

harm?

Towards An Over-Pharmaceuticalization of Adolescent Mental Health?

Ellen Lagast, Melissa Ceuterick

(Vrije Universiteit Brus sel)

Multiple recent s tudies show the steep increas e in (the risk of) mental health problems in adolescents

such as anger symptoms, depression, anxiety, stress related conditions and substanc e mis use since

the Covid-19 pandemic. This is both reflected in the increased prescription rate of psychot ropic

medication: benzodiazepines and antidepressants and the long waiting lists to ac cess (non-

medicaliz ed) mental health services in Flanders, Belgium. General practitioners (GP) fulfil an importan t

role in the mental health care as they are usually the first point of contact for patients s truggling with

their mental health but have the least knowledge about adequate t reatments. Therefore, goo d

cooperation with mental health professionals is important but although Belgium implemented mental

health care reforms to integrate c are and to optimize continuity of care, children and adolescents are

still confronted wit h long waiting lists to access (non-medicalized) mental health services which was

exacerbated by the clos ure of several mental health services during Covid-19. Thus, if difficult

access ibility delays this cooperation, GPs may presc ribe psychotropics – such as benzodiazepines and

antidepres sants - in the meantime as a quick solution which might lead to an over-pharmaceutic aliza t i o n

of adolescent mental health. Since the use of psy chotropic medic ation affects t he (development of the)

adolescent’s self, this research aims to study how this interplay between the organization of the Flemish

mental health care and general practitioners at the meso level co-determines the adolesc ent' s

experienc e with ps ychotropics at the mic ro level.

“I t just clears your mind” : Young Wom an Skateboa rders Ta lk about Mental Health and Personal

Development Benefits of Skateboa rding

Carrie Paechter, Michael K eenan, Lyndsey Stoodley, Chris Lawton

(Nottingham Trent University)

Skateboarding is a popular lifestyle s port which is increasingly being taken up by girls and young

women. The Girl Skateboarder Project, funded by The Leverhulme Trust, set out to explore the

experienc es of young woman skateboarders in two cities and as sociated locations in England. The data

reported in this paper come from interviews with 32 young woman skat eboarders, aged 8-28, across

the whole range of ability from beginner to expert, and from a recorded discussion by skat eboarders at

a local managed sk atepark , and a focus group arranged in conjunction wit h a skatepark exchange trip.

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In common with other lifesty le sports suc h as parkour, skateboarding has s ome signific ant ris ks to

physical safety, especially when particular s ty les are used, such as deep bowl skating, use of high

ramps, and fast downhill runs down busy s treets.

Most of our respondents had experienced injury, in some cases serious, and many had been hassled

both in s kateparks and on the street. However, they were all s till enthusiast ic and active skateboarders,

due t o their enjoyment of the sport and ment al health benefits t hey felt that they gained from

partic ipating. In this paper we explore the mental health and associated personal development benefits

of skateboarding, as perceived by our young woman respondents. We analyse their enjoy ment of the

sport, their sens e of achievement and purpose, their social c onnection, their c laims to improved mental

health from participating, and the ways in which t he deep focus required for skateboarding alleviated

stress coming from other aspects of their lives.

Rights, Violence & Crime - Room 10

The Hidden Crisis in the Workplace: Sexual Misconduct, Pow er Structures and Why Victims

Don’t Report.

Christina Julios

(The Open University)

Agains t a bac kdrop of widespread s exual mis conduct at work, this paper ex amines the routine unde r -

reporting of offences by victims, together with the organisational cultures and power dynamic s that keep

them silent. Viewing t he problem through an intersec tional lens, the work draws on the author’s origina l

findings from her recent book, Sex ual Harassment in the UK Parliament: Lessons from the #MeToo Era

(2022) along with ongoing research. Evidence consis tent ly show t hat unwelcome behaviour of a sexual

nature is rife across Brit ain’s labour market. While the extent of the problem is difficult to asc ertain,

various estimates point to half of women and a fifth of men being affected, yet less than a third report

the incidents. The underlying reasons are well-documented and inc lude: victims ’ fear of not being

believed, lack of faith in inst itutional complaint s syst ems, concerns about repercus sions to t heir jobs,

reputations and c areer prospec ts along with lack of financial resources if they choos e to tak e legal

action. Non-disclosure agreements are also used by employers t o settle cases of sexual misconduct ,

effectively gagging victims . In suggesting ways forward, the paper focus es on four areas: first,

redressing workplace’s power imbalances that benefit those in positions of authority; sec ond, reformi n g

organisat ional cultures and procedures that perpetuate the prevailing status quo; third, s trengtheni ng

the law to protect employees ’ rights; and finally, c losing the knowledge gap afflic ting the discipline. The

paper ult imately shines a light on this contemporary hidden crisis, the continuity of power behind it and

the difficulties in effecting lasting c hange.

The Disclosing Stories Project: A Qualitative Study with Working Class Women on Sexual

Violence and Health

Karen Lorimer, Pamela Ritchie, Lesley Mcmillan

(Glasgow Caledonian University)

Globally, progress on gender equality is slowing or even st alling, such that the 2022 SDG Gender Index

‘sounds the alarm on gender equality’ (EM2030 2022). Tackling gender inequality, and specific ally

gender-based violence, requires an intersectional approach, whic h the 2022 SDG Gender Index calls

for. Such an approach is embedded within Scot land's W omen's Health Plan, published August 2021.

But while gender is obviously central to our understanding of sexual violence, we should not focus solely

on gender, as this can obscure the lived realit y of women from low-income backgrounds. This study

sought to develop a rich picture of the ‘healthcare journey’ of working-class women, to better understa n d

the nex us between gender, c las s and sexual violence, and develop a sense of needs, s upports and

barriers. The Disclosing Stories project engaged 19 working clas s women who had experienced sexual

violence in qualitative episodic interviews. Women who identify as working class are not a homogeno us

group with similar experiences and needs. Women who located class as economic AND psyc ho-social

saw class in everyday life, offered episodic knowledge of being a working-class woman with a body that

holds no value, as an object to castigate and with a voice to be dismissed. We cons ider the connec tions

of this project to existing work on class and gender, and discuss the implication of these findings for

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healthc are respons es to working class women. How do we dismantle the ‘brick-encased world’ one

woman des cribed she lived in?

Crisis, Continuity a nd Change Regarding Viole nce a gainst Women: An Examination of How

Government Policy Affects Violence against Women

Michele Lloyd

(Independent Researcher)

This paper will provide an analysis of government policy in relation to how it has affected violenc e

against women. Britain’s shift towards a neoliberal state following the election of a Conservat i ve

government in 1979, c oupled with austerity measures s ince 2010, have disproportionat ely impacted

women. The implications of the neoliberal model of femininity, capable of achieving a work-life balance,

will be dis cussed. Acc ording to t his ideology , women’s employment is beneficial if it does not undermi ne

their role as a good hous ewife and mother. Deviations from this model of ‘balanced’ femininity

(Rottenburg, 2018) are often policed including through punitive welfare measures. A c ase in point is

the government’s current two-child limit for certain welfare benefits meaning that pay ments will only be

given for s ubsequent children who have been conceived by rape or a coercive controlling relationship.

The neoliberal model of femininity reinforces evaluative dis courses on motherhood. When violen c e

occurs, morally c harged discourses on idealised motherhood can be mobilised to regulate women’s

behaviour. The paper will dis cuss how ‘neoliberal mothering-blaming’ holds women responsible for

violence leading to the ‘good mothering’ dis course being conceptualised as one of the gendered drivers

of domestic and family violence (Maher et al, 2021). Although there has been some progress i ve

legislation, patriarchal des ign and implementation persist such as the gendered consequenc es of

government COVID-19 lockdown measures. A resurgence in patriarchal values, including in respons e

to the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domes tic

violence, will be examined, highlighting both the importance and fragility of progress.

Science, Technology & Digital Studies -

Room 11

Digital Exclusion or Digital Rejection? Exploring the Rejection of Digitalised Social Rights by

Racialised Individua ls with Migration Backgrounds in the UK

Sara Bailey, Agnes Kuk ulsk a-Hulme, I rina Rets, Elizab eth Fitzgerald

(The Open University)

In the cont ext of the digitalisation of social rights across the world – a process accelerated by t he Covid-

19 pandemic – a growing body of research sets out to ex amine the soc ietal implications of this

phenomenon, especially for marginalised communities . These studies have found that many

marginalised individuals are unable to use digital channels t o acces s social rights becaus e of barriers

such as digital poverty and inadequat e digital literacy; as such, these individuals could be

conceptualised as being 'involuntarily exc luded' from digitalised social rights. However, few of t hese

studies have looked specifically at the experiences of racialised individuals wit h a migration background .

The UKRI-funded PRIME research project aims to address this gap. Drawing on 100 interviews, we

explore the lived experiences of racialised individuals with migration backgrounds of digit alised primary

healthc are and social housing. A k ey finding that emerged from this study was the phenomenon of

‘voluntary non-use’ of digitalised soc ial rights . This concept desc ribes a sit uation in which individual s

choose not to use digital channels to access social rights, even though they have the resources and

skills to do so. We identify and explore a number of factors underlying ‘voluntary non-use’, including

data security concerns and the perception that it is more difficult to negotiat e access to social rights

digitally than through ‘t raditional’ channels s uch as the telephone. Our findings have implicat ions for

policy makers, and for research taking place at the intersec tion between c itizenship studies and digital

sociology .

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The Left Behind of Digitalization

Anson Au

(Hong Kong Polytec hnic University)

In an age of digitaliz ation, who still refuses to use digital technology? Drawing on nationally -

representative Chinese General Social Survey data, my research finds that about half of Chines e

households do not actively use t he Internet or e-payment s ystems, despite their ubiquity. This study

estimates the effects of socioeconomic resources on these technologies’ (non-)use across urban,

resident but previously urban, resident but previously rural, and rural huk ou household registrations in

China. Educational at tainment is ass ociated wit h higher odds of use among rural hukou, but the size of

this effect is nearly double compared to urban hukou. Additionally, being female inc reases the odds of

use among urban and resident but previously urban hukou, and lowers the odds of use in rural hukou,

but whic h are at tenuat ed by the mediat ing effects of education. The results give credenc e to education

as a direct and indirect mec hanism for digital skills development, especially for rural households .

Individuals proximal to rural living conditions have fewer opportunities to learn about digital t echnology,

result ing in greater dependency on education as a rare source of skills training. Simultaneously ,

education indirec tly creates opportunities for women to learn digital skills by improving chanc es for

higher-status job participat ion that require information management skills, espec ially in rural regions

where traditional cultural norms constrain opportunities for upward mobility. Ultimately , digital

technology non-use is traced not to lack of interest, but to lack of skills development opportunities

among the socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Social Divisions / Social Identities 1 - Room 8

Gender, Sexuality and Islam in Contemporary Indonesia: Queer Muslims and their Allies

Diego Garcia Rodriguez

(University of Nottingham)

This paper present s an ethnographic exploration of the experiences of queer Muslims in contemporary

Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country and the world’s fourth mos t populous nation. Utilising

semi-structured interviews, participant obs ervation, and media analysis , the study scrutinises the

nuanced interactions between gender, sex uality, and religion, specifically within the framework of

Indonesian progressive Islam. The paper identifies t he processes by which queer Muslims construct

their gender, sexual, and religious subjectivities through daily interactions with family, education, media,

and peers. Drawing upon the conc ept of 'agency' as a modality of action, the study uncovers the

every day practic es contributing to the development of queer religious agentic systems. The finding s

reveal the critical role that Islam play s in providing emotional s trength, guidance, and social support for

gender and sexual minorities in Indonesia.

The Political Economy of Trans Women: The Potentia ls of Social Reproduction, Trans

Materialisms and ‘Trans Survival’

Sylvia Mccheyne

(University of Sheffield)

This presentation will focus on establishing a (c ritical) political economy s urrounding the lives of trans

women and their own communities . This will include discussing the potentials in soc ial reproduc ti o n

theories , t rans materialisms, and contrasts between precarity and s urvival in contributing towards this

understanding of political economy.

Precarity will be understood not as an exclusive class formation, but s omething in which trans women

face in a wide range of structural and institutional circumstances, that produce the conditions of

‘subject ive’ precarity in trans communities. Survival, specifically ‘trans survival,’ will be analys ed as an

interpretation of queer theory in understanding the severity of precarit y for trans women, establis hed

against the c ontex t of rising trans-antagonism and how ‘trans survival’ itself bec omes ‘near life.’

Social reproduction theories will be acknowledged in their influences on the politic al economy of trans

women and how they have cons idered the narratives on how, in states of precarity and survival, trans

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women (re)produce labour power in communities and processes of care. Trans materialis ms will be

analysed in how they can be helpful for trans studies in applying new understandings towards the usage

of social reproduction theories as well as considering other potential ideas for a political economy of

trans women, including uneven development theories.

This will all be considered as theoretical frameworks towards understanding the LGBT+ charity sector

in the UK as an ‘employment s anctuary,’ and what these frameworks say about the sector and trans

women’s own c ontributions and positions in these workplaces and in the wider political economy.

Sensing Gender: Examining the Sensory Regulation of Gender in Discourse about the U.K.

Gender-Segregated Bathroom

Lizzie Hughes

(Birk beck , University of London)

Hostilit y towards trans people is now at cris is point in the U.K., such that the Prime Minister can endors e

misgendering as “common s ense” and be applauded. This paper examines t he heightened surveillan c e

of trans women’s bodies in the women’s public bat hroom as one aspect of this hostility. High-profi l e

“gender critical” figures have claimed t hat gender is an innate “common s ense” experience, implying

that telling who does not belong in women’s toilets is straightforward using sensory percept ion. To

further existing feminist critiques of thes e claims, I analyse two viral online posts that describe

encountering trans women in women’s toilets : the first a now-deleted Mums net post and the second a

Daily Mail artic le written by a Conservative councillor. I argue that both show how gender is informall y

detected and affectively regulat ed at the level of the sensory body via visual, aural, olfactory , and haptic

regimes of governance. Moreover, that the sens ory s urveillance encouraged by t hese narratives polic es

the spatial, somatic, and symbolic parameters of “the women’s”, but also of “woman” in ways that shore

up ideal embodiments of “women” as normatively sexed, white, and able-bodied, whilst criminalising

the figure of the trans woman and encouraging hostility. These narratives present gender as fixed and

coherent, legitimising problematic bio-ess entialist ideas about the body as a site of truth. By contrast, I

emphasise t he relational experience of becoming in everyday lifeworlds, as humans are s ensing and

being sensed, made and being un-made, endlessly.

Social Divisions / Social Identities 2 - Room 12

Interfaith Marriage in India: Dilemmas of Sexuality, Secularism and Democracy

Nivedita Sinha

(Jawaharlal Nehru University)

This paper investigates interfaith marriage through the ambit of t he Special Marriage Act and Anti-

Conversion laws agains t t he backdrop of increasingly pro-Hindutva rhetoric in India. Interfaith marriage s

without conversion are legitimiz ed under the Spec ial Marriage Ac t of 1954. However, there exists a

compulsory thirty-day notice period starting from the date of registering for the intended marriage, durin g

which all personal information about the couple is public ized and the marriage is open to public

comment. This notice period is pec uliar to the Special Marriage Ac t and is not compuls ory in other

Indian marital legislations. This law which forc es interfaith couples to compromis e on privacy is

contextualiz ed within the larger discourse on "Love Jihad" and Anti-Conversion laws which have been

enacted by the BJP government in the las t few years and have explicit c lauses prohibiting convers i on

for the purpose of marriage. Anti-Mus lim policy and propaganda have been a tool of Hindu nationalis t

statecraft to curb their anxiety concerning a supposed demographic swing in favour of the Muslim

population. This paper draws upon narratives of couples from the news that have faced harassment

because of the notice period or have been arrested upon accusations of “love jihad” to argue that

women’s bodies have become a tool for electoral campaigns and a sit e for communal politics. In this

way, Hindu women’s reproductive bodies have become the strategy to count er the demographic swing,

leading to an ex cessive surveillance of Interfaith marriages in India.

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Competing Perceptions and the Politics of Sacredne ss: The Case of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia

Umur Kosal

(University of Aberdeen)

In 2020, Turkey's most visited museum, Hagia Sophia, underwent a transformation into a state mosque.

This trans formation resulted from a politically informed decision by a Turkis h high court, which revers e d

a century-old decree that had allowed Hagia Sophia to function as a museum instead of being used as

a sac red Imperial Mosque and had long been a subject of historical contention. Considering that Hagia

Sophia is a place rich in meanings and memories with various competing demands regarding its

historical sacredness, this paper argues that this shift in its status, from a mos que to a museum and

back to a mosque, can be understood by focusing on three k ey soc iological as pects of historically

contested sacred places. First, the paper explores the c ompetition among religious histories and

traditions striving for legitimacy in Hagia Sophia's s acredness, especially among devout Muslims.

Secondly, it uncovers that the sources of this competit ion can extend beyond religious factors. Even

when the c auses appear to be religious, they can be influenced by broader political considerations .

Finally, the paper demonstrates how political actors can s trategically focus on the sacredness of any

place to enhance their control over spec ific cases or exert influence over broader political affairs.

Drawing on these three primary as pects, the paper c oncludes that individuals can amplify the sacred

significanc e of any plac e. However, contestations over suc h signific ance are often generated and

perpetuated through a cac ophony of competing percept ions, which are transformed by political powers,

as evident in the case of the transformation of Hagia Sophia.

Symbolic Boundaries in Humanitarianism: The Co-Production of Vulnerabilities and Resilience

by Syrian Refugee ‘Volunteers’ in Turkey

Nisha Zadhy

(Bilk ent University)

This paper scrutinises how boundary-making occ urs in the Turkish humanitarian field, where const ructs

that are gendered, racialised, and ageist often produce simplistic categories of deservingness and

create a hierarchy of vulnerabilities amongst Syrian refugee women, c ompounding the macro-level

cris is of war, conflict and violence at intimately pers onal levels. Qualitat ive data drawn through in-depth

interviewing and participant observations indicat e that Syrian refugee women can become c o-produce rs

of such c ategories of des ervingness as informal 'volunteers' in the humanitarian field wherein they co-

opt and challenge existing humanitarian understandings of vulnerabilities and resilienc e. In embedding

themselves in aid dis tribution c entres, negotiating their positions and providing gendered labour, they

became mediators between the aid workers and refugees, complicating the binaries of receivers and

providers. This paper mak es two key contributions: (1) it foregrounds the agentive attempts of refugee s

to counterac t the humanitarian crisis , providing an example of how vulnerabilit y can become a c ommon

ground for building community and communal resilience; (2) in att ending to this communal aspect, it

also paves the way to a deeper analysis of vulnerability and resilience in the face of cris is ; inst ead of

treating them as s tatic descript ors of individuals, the former is treated as something situational while

the latter is treated as dynamic process of boundary work.

Sociology of Education - Room 13

From Mont Pelerin to the Corporate University: How a Neoliberal Movement Came to Define the

Contemporary Role of Educators and Universities

Nathan Rousseau

(Indiana University)

This presentation provides a social his tory of the actors and act ivities that led to today’s neoliberal

hegemony. Nasc ent neoliberals in the 1930s -40s began organizing to create a new global order based

upon free trade in response t o both the collapse of the global order following World War I and threats

to liberty posed by National Socialism and the Soviet Union. The neoliberal definition of freedom is not

concerned with the political freedom of persons but with t he free flow of capital. This was an attractive

ideology for corporate leaders and c onservative politicians , and neoliberalism became the dominan t

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organizat ional principle throughout much of the world by the latt er part of the twentieth c entury. As part

of its global dominanc e, neoliberalism in higher education defines the role of educators, the measures

used to define student succ ess, and the purpose of an education. To protect the free market, alon g

with the assumption that markets are self-correcting due to the rational demands of cons umers,

educators must become entrepreneurs who sell education to s tudents, parents, and donors. In this

way, university personnel become a part of the neoliberal apparatus. A principle means of gaining

complicity is by decreasing permanent faculty, emphasizing faculty and staff as “stakeholders,” and

keeping faculty busy by routinely introducing new fads to be marketed. This pres entat ion shows how

we got here and offers recommendat ions for faculty in the UK and the US to regain their professional

status.

Authorial Power, Au

Zeina Al Azmeh

(Selwyn College, University of Cambridge)

How does a crisis of the state and its ‘emergency politics’ lead to a crisis of the intellect ual, or what

does it mean to be an intellec tual in our contemporary conjunc ture beyond Wes tern c lichés and the

universalistic bias of their declinist arguments? In responding to thes e questions, we draw upon dat a

collect ed from exiled Turkish and Syrian ac ademics to argue that the crit ical commitments ex iled

intellectuals presume are under threat as rising authoritarianisms take hold globally and advanced neo -

liberal practices tighten their grip on universities. The promis e of S aid’s figuration of the ‘intellec tual in

exile’ and its political pot ential is also under threat as displaced s cholars navigate democratic

backsliding and structural precarity in the contemporary university and in the nation-states to which they

have found themselves tied, eroding even further the conc eptual idea of the crit ical intellec tual and the

potential power of the ‘post-colonial intellectual’. In our research, this crisis of the intellec tual is

recounted by exilics paradoxically in both the autocratic and t he ‘nominally democratic’ higher educ ation

(HE) context where in s ome cases the very idea of the intellectual can represent, at least in part, a

banal political figuration epitomised in what Nancy Fraser refers to as progressive neo-liberalism. This

is largely so becaus e both authoritarian and nominally democratic states, whilst different in political

charge, are s imultaneous ly invoking ‘st ates of emergency’ and culture wars that are eroding their own

intellectual c onstituencies’ ability to disturb existing institutional norms and the taken for granted

problems that emerge in everyday HE prac tices .

Shaping Mindful Citizens: Practitioners’ Motivations and Aspirations for Mindfulne ss in

Education

Peter Hemming

(University of Surrey)

Mindfulness meditation has enjoyed growing popularity in the UK over the las t few decades and is

increasingly found in many educ ational settings. To date, existing empirical researc h on mindfulness in

education has focused primarily on its efficacy, rather than more sociological concerns . This artic le

draws on qualitative data from a major research study ent itled ‘Mapping Mindfulnes s in t he UK’ to

investigate the motivations and aspirations of mindfulnes s practitioners for promoting and deliveri n g

mindfulness in educ ational context s. The analy sis argues that some of the existing theoretical critiques

of mindfulness as a neo-liberalising self-technology are too reductive and do not take adequate account

of the views and experiences of practitioners. For participant s in this study, mindfulness in educ ation

was more than an individualised self-help therapeutic tool, but was instead a uniquely versatile practice,

representing multiple possibilities for individuals and societ y. The research makes s ignificant

contributions to several fields of sociological inquiry, including on mindfulness, mental health and

wellbeing, and education and c itizenship.

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Theory - Room 5

The Greek Crisis a s an (In)Adequately Processed Trauma: A Psychosocial Approach

Giorgos Bithymitris

(National Centre for Social Research)

Despit e its idiosyncratic features, the ex perience of the Greek crisis of the 2010s was dec isively

mediated from academic and non-academic discourses articulated at the global, European, and

national level. Notwithstanding the numerous sociological ac counts that have focused on spatio-

temporal continuities and discontinuities of the Greek crisis, only few scholars have employed the

concept of trauma to make sense of what has been different and has been the same, before and afte r

the default. From a ps ychosocial angle, t his is a missed opportunity , not least becaus e trauma is one

of these liminal concepts that instead of typifying -and thus reifying- changes and discontinuities it rather

seeks to understand the interc onnections between past and present, self and other. With an eye on

building bridges between third-person and first-person perspectives, which also means linking micro

with macro-level analyses , the paper discusses the trauma of the Greek crisis drawing both from

psychoanalytical studies and from the cultural trauma scholarship. The aim of the paper is twofold: First,

to discuss the sociological findings of previous st udies on the Greek crisis, shedding light on the

question of whether it could be described as a cas e of adequately explored trauma, while also

examining the social conditioning of such an exploration. Second, to expound the epistemological and

ethic al implic ations of such questionings. What does adequately explored t rauma mean, and how c ould

sociologists productively as sess this adequacy at the various levels of analysis, while also

acknowledging their partiality as psychosocial s ubjects ?

Micropolarization: The Affective and Interpersona l Expe rience of Political Antagonism

Matthias Revers, Stephen Coleman

(University of Leeds)

This article theorizes the intricate dynamic s through which political divides become personal in local

contexts. W e believe conventional polarization measurements of issue-based disagreements and

cross-group resentments in representative surveys only scratch the surface. We contend that

polarization is only ‘real’ when people perceive and experience a genuine s ense of political antagonism

towards others and enact this antagonism. Polariz ation materializes in social interaction imbued with

the perception and proces sing of publicly mediated polit ical conflict.

Our focus on the dynamics of interpersonal politic al conflict offers a less elusive lens though which to

comprehend public polit ical dis cord. Adopt ing a performance theoretic al perspective, we introduce the

concept “micropolarizat ion,” denoting the incorporation of the drama of public political conflict in social

interac tion. The mic ropolariz ation dramas which transpire from this incorporation encompass the

complex c horeography of navigating interpersonal c onflict avoidance and eruption. These dramas are

fueled by political emotions and feature scripts composed of public modes of identification,

misrecognition and mutual s tigmatization between social groups. We will s hed light on these three key

elements of mic ropolariz ation—political emotions, s cripts and s tigmatization—by analyzing intervi e w

data about family and friendship disputes arising from divergent COVID-19 vaccination beliefs in

Germany and the UK. As a research agenda, examining micropolarization dramas offers valuable

insights into the intric ate interplay between public discours e and personal relationships in the context

of contemporary political polariz ation.

The Conception of Volunteering Within the Historical Context of Social and Political Culture in

Turkiye

Zehra Zeynep Sadik oglu, Nursen Tek göz, M. Fazil Bas, Aynur Erdogan Cosk un, Murat Senturk

(Istanb ul University)

Cross-cultural studies rely ing on the definition of volunteering as activities under t he auspices of c ivil

society organisations (CSOs) misinterpret the meanings at tributed to volunteering and lead to

underestimation of volunt eering rates in non-Western societies. Address ing this lacuna, we explore how

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volunteering is c onceived within the historical c ontex t of social and political culture in Turkiye through

an interpretative phenomenological approach. 22 focus group discus sions were carried out with 10

groups (CSO managers, CSO professionals, CSO volunteer coordinators, academics, public

bureaucracy, local adminis trations, international organis ations, volunteering initiatives, volunteer s ,

people without volunteering experience) that have a high potential to provide information on

volunteering in Turkiye. Our findings reveal that volunteering in Turkiy e, whic h is associated with

benevolence and mostly carried out with altruistic motivations, is seen as spontaneous activities

embedded in everyday life. This historical conception, fuelled by cultural norms and values and the

Islamic t radition, renders volunteering under the auspic es of CSOs futile and is reinforced by the strong

state tradition of Turkiy e that ass umes a vertical relationship between the s tat e and civil society, based

on the understanding that the state has both a transc endent power over society and a duty to protect

people. The ideologically polarised s truc ture of CSOs, whose ac tivities are embedded in broader s ocial

visions rather than being problem-based in scope and content, under the shadow of this tradition, which

functioned as the regulating variable of Turkish polit ics until the 1980s with periodic military coups, also

backs this conception.

Work, Employment & Economic Life 1 -

Room 14

Hard Choices: Navigating Risk in the Freelance Labor Market

Deepa Kylasam Iyer

(Cornell University)

This study set out to understand how freelance media workers confront these risks individually and

collect ively in the United States. The researcher used an inductive approach to explore the question by

operationalizing the construct of ‘risk’ from the theoretical framework of Ulrich Beck and Jacob Hacker.

This was followed by 41 semi-structured interviews with freelance media workers, union and politic al

leaders and experts. Since the media sector and the use of freelanc ers are concentrated in New York

and Los Angeles, most of the interviewees were based out of these locations. Snowball sampling was

used. From the interviews, it was clear that freelance media workers us ed individual and collective

strategies to navigate risks at work. At an individual level, freelancers found work through existing

professional network. For social security risks such as health ins urance, freelancers relied on personal

networks of family, spouse or partner by being part of their insurance. The collective strategy involved

fi ve different strategies to navigat e risk with t he help of a labor organization. This study has many

implicat ions. At one level, it brings out the workplace reorganization in the media sec tor that pus hes

more workers into freelancer st atus as a part of financial downsiz ing. At another level, the problem s

and s trategies used by freelance media workers is helpful in understanding the workplace is sues of

other forms of prec arious workers s uch as gig and platform workers. Finally , the precarity of media

workers has implic ations on the healthy functioning of democracy.

“Who understands whom?”: An Exploration of International Sign Conference Interpreting from

Deaf Professionals’ Perspectives

Karolien Geb ruers

(Heriot-Watt University, PhD student)

International Sign (IS) is “a complex multilingual translanguaging phenomenon where individuals draw

upon their sign language, language and gestural repertoires to engage in communic ative ‘foreigner

talk ’” (De Meulder, Napier & Stone, 2018, p. 10). IS typic ally occurs when signers, often from Europea n

countries, with diverse linguistic backgrounds meet and it is c urrently used in a wide range of

institutionalised settings , s uch as at conferences and in academic courses (Kusters, 2020). IS

interpreters are increasingly provided in 'hearing contexts', e.g., in political institutions and at academic

conferences (Kusters, 2021). In the past, mostly hearing white heritage signers from mainly Englis h-

speaking countries in the global North became IS conference interpreters. Although the IS interpreting

profession is gradually becoming more diverse, deaf and hearing int erpreters of c olour, and from the

global South are still underrepresented.

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In this on-going PhD st udy, I explore how deaf professionals, with diverse bac kgrounds in terms of

gender, race, sex uality and language, experience working with IS interpreters and how these

inters ectional experienc es s hape their aspirations and practices. Drawing on mind map narrat i ve

interviews, I will discuss the challenges and successes shared by deaf professionals, whic h are

entangled in conversations around power, privileges and oppressions. I will highlight who benefits (or

does not benefit) sufficiently from IS conference interpreting services, or as one participant put it “who

understands whom?”, and why. Furthermore, I will discus s whether the hybrid working opportunities

that arose in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic enhanced the ex periences of thes e deaf

professionals.

Precarious Mobilities and the Uses of ‘International Capital’ in Academia.

Aline Courtois, Theresa O'keefe

(University of Bath)

International mobility is typically understood as a beneficial and nec essary feature of ac ademic life,

especially for thos e known as ‘early-career’ ac ademics. These are often advised to go abroad for a

period in exchange for an improved CV and better career chances upon return. W hile the scholarly

literature has begun t o draw attention to the inequalities , uncertainties and significant personal costs

associated with international ac ademic mobility, the notion that mobility is a potential solut ion to

precarious employment endures and is less frequently challenged. Drawing on 40 biographic interview s

with ac ademics with experience of long-term prec arity in Irish higher educ ation, and using a

Bourdieus ian framework, we identify the specific conditions, uses and impacts of int ernational mobility

for thes e workers. This met hod offers a unique retros pective advantage for an analys is of the utility of

international capital for a cohort of workers typically exc luded from studies of international mobility.

Among t he specific obstacles we identify are faced by precarious academic s in the accumulation and

conversion of international c apital are the lack of or c ompromised initial social capital; the dubious val ue

of international capital in Irish academia, especially when associated with precarity, and the difficulty for

workers to construct ac ceptable career scripts when both precarity and mobility have led t hem off-script.

We suggest that the ability to accumulate and convert usable forms of international capital while working

abroad is in part predetermined by prior struggles in the national field.

A Qualitative Research on Women’s Paths towards the Position of Full Professor: Merit or

Opportunity?

Anna Uboldi, Marianna Filandri, Silvia Pasqua

(University of Turin)

The study investigates the career paths of Italian women towards the position of full Professor. A

consolidat ed line of researc h highlights the persistence of a significant disadvantage of women in Italia n

academic c areers. It also show how this gap refers to structural dynamics of disc rimination.

We conducted 34 discurs ive interviews with female academic s of STEM and SSH disciplines (only

chemist ry and economics ; by means of Miur register) from universities in central, northern and souther n

Italy; women united by having reached t he qualific ation s tage, but differentiated by grade and career

path.

We examine how female ac ademics make sens e of the obstacles and opportunit ies that shaped their

careers, and how they interpret everyday dy namics through, or not, the lens of gender inequalities.

Within a common framework of general recognition of both forms of everyday s exism and conciliation

problems, different discurs ive and practical strategies can be seen, aimed at facing, naming and givin g

meaning to the difficulties encountered. Plural reproductive modalities of gender inequalities are als o

identified, whic h refer to different dynamics of tacit adhesion to an unfair social order. We identify fi ve

ideal types that cut s across the STEM and SHH: a-problematic optimists , (a)problematic acquiescents,

ambivalent moderates, radical critic s, and resigned critics.

The study shows how gender inequalities are produced and inherent in the same ac ademic ’conditions

of work’, permeated by a hegemonic male and neoliberal value sy stem.

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Work, Employment & Economic Life 2 -

Room 15

Labour Process and Occupations: A Critical Journey into the Sociology of Work

Paras k evi-Viviane Galata

(Hellenic Open University)

Work-life boundaries are becoming increas ingly blurred through work transformations and

organisat ional processes that merge t he moral and personal spheres of life. A series of quantitat ive and

qualitative changes in work during the 1970s and 1980s emphasis ed the growth of the tertiary s ector,

the reduction of wages and the supply of unskilled jobs without explaining how work and life merge.

Sinc e then, the emphasis has been on qualitative aspects of work, suc h as generic s kills , emotions and

the employer-employee relationship, which explain how work and life become indistinguis hable .

Migration also helps to understand how migrant work is related to moral and personal life. Hence,

qualitative exploitation has prevailed, c ollec tivity has weakened, work and life have merged, leading to

alienated work, isolation and self-alienation. The article ex amines changes in the labour process and

occupations and how organisational strategies , in relation to wider socioeconomic processes, blur work -

life boundaries for the need of capital acc umulation. The analysis will be theoretically framed by labour

process theory debates and sociological debates on oc cupations and skills. Focusing on Greece as an

exemplary case of changes in working conditions since the 1990s and reusing qualitative data

generated from previous s ociologic al studies, the paper makes the following contribut ions. First, it

thoroughly analyses why, how and with what c onsequences the phenomenon of blurring work-life

boundaries threatens human life. S econd, it provides an empirically grounded analysis of labour

process theory that relates workers' ex periences to the wider socioeconomic contex t and prompt s

further reflection on the future of work and human life.

Distant Encounters: Emotional Management and Emotional Capital in Offshored Services

Carlos Pineda Ramos

(University of Bris tol)

The workplac e, particularly in the service industry, provides a fertile ground for examining the role of

emotions in labour, not just in its contribution to profitability but also in individuals ' efforts to manage

them. Given its relational nature, t he service indus try involves the acc umulation and interaction of

relationships governed by divers e rules and motivations within industry practices. Cons equently, my

research aims to delve into emotional strategies in the workplac e and how workers' prior soc ioeconomic

backgrounds influence them.

To achieve this, my work seeks to put Bolton's emotional management t ypology in dialogue with the

concept of Emotional Capital, connecting broader socioeconomic disc ussions with the nuances of

emotional management analysis. Specifically, it explores how soc ial, economic , and cultural display s

outside the workplace influence the emotional strategies employed to meet commercial, organizational,

and social demands. These strategies are viewed not only as products of past conditions but also as

reproducers of inequality.

With this in mind, my res earch centres on Colombian c all centres as a c ase s tudy where the rapid

growth of the region's Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry has led to a more diverse labour

force. Consequently, it argues that workers with varying socioeconomic and cultural back grounds are

confronted with s imilar emotional norms , task s, and challenges, highlighting differences in their

emotional strategies and their connect ion to structural conditions. Therefore, this s tudy aims t o

illuminate how emotional capital is shaped by socioeconomic forces and how specific jobs and

industries exac erbate disparities within their workforce.

Thursday 4 April 2024

Paper Session 6

14:45 - 16:15

60

BSA Annual Conference 2024

“Extremists” and “Weirdos”: Office Culture and Experiences of Women Vegans in the UK and

Croa ti a

Martina Topic , Marija Geiger Zeman, Gabrielle Round

(Universit y of Alab ama, College of Communicat ion and Information Sciences )

Organisational experiences of women are a well-documented area of research with soc iologists arguing

women often suffer from discrimination, exclusions as well as career barriers s uch as t he lack of

progression opportunities, tokenism, lac k of networking opportunities etc. Bourdieus ian scholars also

argued that the organisational world functions as a masculine habitus in which masc uline meanings

and ex pectations are so entrenched into everyday practice that many women no longer notice them or

recognis e them as problematic (e.g. , behavioural expectations of women such as assertiveness ,

aggression and other characteristics that commonly come natural to men but not women due to early

socialisation process).

In this study, we are exploring women vegans as a distinctive group looking at their work experiences

respective to their c onsumption lifestyle. We interviewed 20 women vegans in Croatia and 30 in the UK.

A particular iss ue transpired from data respective of interactions at work and in after-work net working

and event s where women reported dismissive ques tions and c omments as well as being seen as a

problem for ot hers along with being labelled as ex tremists and weirdos. Therefore, we analy se the work

experienc es of women vegans in the context of masculinity in lifesty le (in this case food consumption )

that seems to feed into the organisational world, thus further extending Bourdieu’s work on masc uline

domination. W e argue that being able to fit into the organisation, including into eating cult ure, presents

organisational masc ulinity that is pervasive even in informal structures such as eating at the office and

networking and event s.

61

BSA Annual Conference 2024

PLENARY

16:15 - 17:15

Lynne Segal

A Politics of Radical Care

Life at present is plagued by drama and emergencies. We see rampant inequality and careless ness

entrenched, ensuring that essential resources are ever harder t o acces s for many, while environment al

disasters continue to threaten us, even as continuous warfare around the globe results in ever more

people on the move in search of asylum. One response is evident in the rise of the Right, with its

populist nationalism and policies of exclusion. A second involves more inclusive practices of resistance

and hope, whic h nowadays often address the need not just to prioritiz e care, but to explore its

complexities and signific ance, noting its constant devaluation. In this presentation I draw upon my

lates t book, Lean on Me, which argues that the only way to c ombat the pessimism feeding reactionary

movements is by insisting upon our globally entwined interdependence and s hared vulnerability . We

know that the recent and still ongoing Covid pandemic spotlighted exact ly this global interdependenc e,

along with our lifelong needs for differing forms of care and support. At its height t he pandemic did

stimulate heroic efforts from care workers globally, as well as generating a host of grassroots practic es

of mutual aid for those in want of care and companionship, some of which continue today. However,

the recognition of our mutual dependency is always threatened by people's deep fear and dis avowal

of dependency, encouraged by illusory rhetoric of personal autonomy along with market promises of

individual fulfilment, irrespect ive of others. In reality our human condition is one in which our bodies

frequently fail us, jus t as our desires are often thwarted or dismissed. This means that none of us

survive without the care and kindnes s of others, underpinned by diverse social infrast ructures that

either enable or curtail the flouris hing of all living c reatures, and the world itself. Embracing the

interc onnected vulnerability of human existence c an help us to cement our ties to others, near and far,

while encouraging us t o respond to the persistent perils of the present and fatalistic forebodings of the

future by deepening our commitment to a compassionate, inclus ive soc iality , placing expanded notions

of care at the very heart of our politics and democratic survival.

Lynne Segal is a feminis t writer and activist, publishing for many

decades in the area of gender, sexuality, feminism, ageing, and

care. She taught in higher education for fifty years, her last twenty

in Ps ychosocial Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, where

she is Anniversary Professor, Emerita. Her books include I s the

Future Female? Troub led Thoughts on Contemporary Feminism;

Slow Motion: Changing Masc ulinities, Changing Men; Straight

Sex: The Politic s of Pleasure; Why Feminism? Gender;

Psychology & Politics; Ma k ing Troub le: Life & Politics; Out of

Time: The Pleasures & Perils of Ageing; Radic al Happines s:

Moments of Collective Joy; The Care Manifes to: The Politics of

Interdependence (co-authored); Lean on Me: A Polit ics of Radical

Care.

Chair: Finn Mackay, University of the West of England, BSA Public Engagement Tr u ste e

Cinematic cities, cinematic public spaces: Crisis, Continuity and Changes through representations of urban public spaces in movies

Abstract

Supplementary resource (1)

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