Call for abstracts: International Research Seminar on 'Professions and professional organizations in contemporary society: New research approaches' (April 6th-8th, 2010). The deadline for application is February 15th, 2010

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

An International Research Seminar on 'Professions and professional organizations in contemporary society: New research approaches'

to be held on 6-8 April 2010 at the Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

Seminar background

The transformation of contemporary labor markets leads to changes in social parameters and cultural meanings of professionalism. These processes are related to both classic professions and new professional groups and occupations, manifesting themselves in the revision of borders and between professional groups, evoking the formation of new social structures. Along with academic scholarship in the contemporary debates on the professions and professionalism, the state, business, third sector and mass media compete. They invade the certification of professionals, destroying the monopoly of professional knowledge in various spheres - from IT and journalism to philosophy, architecture, health care and sport. Changing social realities of professions require scholarly revision and interpretation. This changes intra- and inter-professional hierarchies of various occupations in aspects of their function, status and symbolic meaning.

The goal of this Seminar is to discuss new perspectives open for the researchers of everyday life of the professions and professional organizations in the context of recent changes, including structural dimensions and everyday life. The following issues are planned to be discussed at the Seminar:

• New realities of professions and professional organizations: The impact of social transformations in post-Soviet societies, global crisis and the developing public sphere of civil society.
• Intra- and inter-professional hierarchies in contemporary societies.
• Modifications of professionalism under the reforms of welfare state, higher education, transformation of labor market and models of service provision.
• Autonomy, power and identity of professionals in new conditions.
• Human rights and professional hierarchies: Rhetoric and everyday life.
• Peculiarities and perspectives of ethnographic, visual, biographic methods, social history and discourse analysis approaches in studying professions.
• New research perspectives in the sociology and anthropology of professions.

Participants are invited to submit abstracts of not more than 200 words and information about the authors including first name, surname, degree(s), position and affiliation by 15 February 2010 to Pavel Romanov at pavel.romanov@socpolicy.ru.

Seminar will be held with support of: International Sociological Association, European Sociological Association, Community of Professional Sociologists, Russian Society of Sociologists

in association with the Centre for Social Policy and Gender Studies, the Centre for Modern Philosophy and Social Sciences and the French-Russian Centre of Humanities and Social Sciences

A limited number of travel grants will be provided by the French-Russian Centre of Humanities and Social Sciences (CFRRSHS) for participants from Europe.

The decision about abstract selection will be made by 28 February 2010. In order to participate in the Seminar a full text of the presentation should be prepared in advance to be sent to the participants and discussants.