Thursday, November 12, 2015

Call for Papers: Session on Methodologies of Sociological Discourse Research at RC33 Conference 2016



Call for Papers
RC 33 Session: Methodologies of Sociological Discourse Research
Session organizer: Reiner Keller (Augsburg University)

RC33 Conference 2016
9th International Conference on Social Science Methodology
11-16 September 2016
University of Leicester, UK
The University is looking forward to extending a warm welcome to all delegates for the 9th International Conference on Social Science Methodology in September 2016. The University of Leicester is an ideal venue for the 2016 RC33 Logic and Methodology in Sociology given our location in the heart of England with great transport links and connections. The Department of Sociology Conference Team will host the conference for up to 500 participants.

RC 33 Session
Methodologies of sociological discourse research
In her influential book “Situational Analysis”, American sociologist Adele Clarke (UCSF) argued that in today’s societies, every social phenomenon including social actors are awash in a sea of discourses. Nevertheless, and despite the groundbreaking works of Michel Foucault, sociology has to date been hesitant in developing methodologically sound ways for approaching discursive phenomena that have been adequately reflected upon. This is due in part to the dominance of a rather loosely defined concept of discourse in cultural studies, and of other, more widely used linguistic tools and devices in discourse research across the humanities.
In this context, the proposed session intends to discuss methodologies of discourse research that are adapted to sociological purposes and are able to address the complex discursivity of today’s orders of discourse and knowledge production, accounting for actors as well as discourse structuration in methodologically substantiated ways by using sociological methods and tools for inquiry. In addition to a general discussion of such methods, the session will offer and in-depth focus on the methodology and methods of the sociology of knowledge approach to discourse (SKAD) which combines elements of the sociological interpretive paradigm with Foucauldian concepts and strategies of qualitative research for doing discourse research today. Papers addressing the methodology and methods of sociological discourse research in SKAD or related approaches via theoretical reflection or analytical and empirical cases are welcome. In this way, the session aims to strengthen genuinely sociological methodologies of discourse research.
Please note: Abstract submission is only possible via the conference homepage (see above). Abstracts are limited to 5000 characters. The deadline for abstracts is 21st January, 2016.