Affect, Subjectivity and Social Order/Disorder -

The 4th Conference of the Psychosocial Studies Network  

CALL FOR PAPERS

To be hosted by the School of Applied Social Science, University of Brighton, June 10th-11th, 2011

Keynote papers will be given by:

Professor Valerie Hey (The University of Sussex) Notes Towards Decoding The Affective Economy of Austerity in Higher Education

Professor Lynn Froggett (University of Central Lancashire) Reparative conservatism: the fourth way?

Professor Julian Henriques (Goldsmiths College) Rhythms, vibrations and affect: a case study of the Jamaican Dance Hall Scene

Conference Rationale

Attention to the affective dimensions of social dynamics and social order has been a core characteristic of recent psychosocial research in a number of disciplines. This 'turn to affect' amongst critical scholars reflects a growing societal preoccupation with emotion, feeling, sentiment, passion and affection. Happiness, for example, is now a prominent policy concern and an established feature of 'human resources' management, whilst health systems are eager to take account of 'subjective wellbeing'. Educational and business practices alike are concerned with 'emotional intelligence' whilst lawyers consider 'emotional harm' as a factor in judicial decisions and advertisers specialise in 'emotional branding'.  Whether such social developments are grasped in relation to ‘emotionalisation’, ‘psychologisation’,  ‘informalisation’, ‘de-traditionalisation’ or some other theoretical orientation, it is clear that there is a need for modes of thought and research practice capable of grasping the manifold ways in which affectivity and sociality combine and interpenetrate. We thus invite submissions of individual papers, workshops, practical sessions and symposia that deal with this issue. Core themes might include:

·        Evaluating different theoretical approaches (e.g. psychoanalytical, constructivist, feminist, queer theory, systems theoretical, ANT)

·        Empirical studies of affect in specific fields such as social welfare, criminal justice, education, politics, media, management, human resources, health and medicine, consumption, violence and human rights.

·        Methodological issues in the social scientific study of affect and emotion.

·        Comparing the ways affect and emotion are approached in different social science disciplines (e.g. cultural studies, geography, social psychology, sociology, anthropology, history)

·        Explorations of the subjective embodied and experiential aspects of socially ordered affect.

These are merely suggestions, however, and all relevant proposals will be considered by the conference committee.

Please submit your proposal - by Feburary 15th 2011 - in the form of an abstract not exceeding 250 words as an email attachment to the following e-mail address: [log in to unmask]

Conference Fee:

£100 full conference plus conference dinner and entertainment

£50 concessionary rate for students

The Psychosocial Studies Network is a network of researchers, teachers, students and practitioners interested in the relationship between the psychic and the social. More information on the network can be found at http://psychosocial-studies-network.blogspot.com/.  The network is not exclusive, and we encourage paper proposals from all interested parties.

The conference is organized by the University of Brighton Psychosocial Research Group, details of which can be found at: http://www.brighton.ac.uk/sass/research/programmes/psysoc/index.php?PageId=90

Further details and conference booking forms can be found at http://www.brighton.ac.uk/sass/research/conferences/psn.php