Research in the Time of Challenges: Searching for Methodological and Theoretical Horizons
The 9th Annual Conference for the Doctoral Programme in Social Science and the Doctoral Programme in Political, Societal and Regional Change (24-25 October 2022) explores horizon-raising methodological and theoretical approaches in response to contemporary challenges and their outcomes. During this time of pandemic, we have seen further evidence that we live in a globally connected world; our overreliance on economic growth and increasing levels of consumption have resulted in new challenges, including the rise of authoritarianism, climate change crisis, social and spatial polarization in urban and rural areas, socio-economic inequalities, and increased racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination. Homelessness, precarious working conditions, a lack of access to food, and violations of human rights are global outcomes of these challenges. The critical role of social scientists lies in their constant engagement with these social, economic, and political changes. Thus, our goal at this conference is to stimulate a discussion on enhancing theoretical vantage points and methodological innovation in an era of challenging times.
We welcome theoretical, empirical, and methodological papers discussing the impacts of crises on research activities and new departures for future research. Contributions from diverse methodological and disciplinary perspectives are also strongly encouraged, particularly those describing the challenges and strategies encountered by researchers engaged in and open to working with alternative critical methods beyond the West-, North-, and Euro-centric paradigm. A set of guiding questions to address the main discussion points are: What are the challenges and benefits of developing research designs that move beyond established methodological toolboxes? In times of challenge, how do we engage with new tools and methodologies for conducting research? What role do new theoretical interventions play in our understanding of emergencies, crises, and insurgencies? In what ways can we redefine popular concepts while retaining an understanding of the broader theoretical web in which they are embedded? In the context of an emerging situation, what challenges do we face when reorganizing research projects and publications?
Possible themes (non-exclusive) to be addressed include:
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- Reflections on doing research during the pandemic
- Research in open and restricted settings
- Dislocating fieldwork: decolonial approaches
- Radical epistemologies and future directions
- New sources and types of data
- Digital media analysis and digital research
- Scholar activism
- Research at the time of conflict, wars and catastrophes
- Interdisciplinary challenges in analyzing societal transformations
- Evidence, interpretation and the positionality of the researcher
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We warmly welcome doctoral candidates from the Doctoral Programme in Social Sciences and the Doctoral Programme in Political, Societal and Regional Change and the others get interested to propose papers.
The deadline for abstract submissions: 22nd August 2022.
Submit your abstracts of 250 words here
After the abstracts are accepted, participants will be expected to submit a broader paper by late September (the date will be specified later).
The size guideline for the final paper is 4 000 words max, excluding references.
The purpose of the papers is for discussants to have an extended version of the presentation beforehand, to engage critically with. It will not be distributed further or available publicly. It should not necessarily be perfectly formal, but it must be a coherent piece with a well-defined structure and argument.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact email address: psrcssconference@helsinki.fi