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CALL FOR PAPERS

Geographies of Health, Wellbeing and the Social Economy: Practices, Tensions and Prospects

Session Organizers:

Joshua Evans, PhD (Athabasca University)

Robert Wilton, PhD (McMaster University)

Abstract:

This session will focus on the social economy broadly defined, thinking critically and geographically about (1) the different ways in which social economy organizations contribute to individual and collective health and well-being, (2) the tensions organizations face in their efforts to sustain their social missions, and (3) prospects for the future.

The ‘social economy’ is generally distinguished as an alternative to the public sector of the state and the private sector of the market. It encompasses economic activities undertaken by organizations (i.e. cooperatives, non-for-profits, associations, etc.) that are guided by social and/or environmental goals; engage in market activity; re-invest profits into the organization and/or community; and are democratically governed.

Social economy organizations have been celebrated as a means to re-socialize the economy by harnessing the market to promote sustainability and wellbeing; however, some have cautioned against viewing the social economy as a panacea to problems of environmental destruction and social inequity. The social economy is not without its own tensions as organizations struggle in practice to balance social goals with economic imperatives while negotiating evolving state contexts, market conditions and social needs. Despite these tensions, organizations within the social economy can constitute an important space for “other ways of organizing economy and society, and indeed of re-conceptualizing what we mean by the economic, the social and the relations between them” (Hudson 2009, 509).

In this session, we invite papers that examine a wide range of substantive topics relating to health and well-being in the social economy.  These include, but are not limited to:

·         the delivery of formal and informal kinds of care (both health and social);

·         the cultivation of sustainable food systems;

·         the provision of affordable housing;

·         the creation of paid/unpaid work opportunities

·         the sourcing and distribution of renewable energy;

·         the conservation of environmentally sensitive land; 

·         the establishment of alternative financial systems. 

Moreover, the papers might engage a number of cross-cutting themes including:

·         the evolving relationship of the social economy to the state and the market in the context of (post)neoliberalism;

·         the situated and relational character of social economy organizations and their practices;

·         the realized potential of the social economy and/or social economy organizations to promote social inclusion, citizenship and democracy;

·         the relationship of the social economy to oppositional politics and broader social movements;

·         the prospects for, and challenges associated with, ‘scaling up’ social economy practices. 

We invite abstract submissions that engage with any one of these topics and themes. In addition, we are open to social economy topics and themes not mentioned herein. If interested, please email abstracts (250 words) to Joshua Evans ([log in to unmask]) or Robert Wilton ([log in to unmask]) by October 16th, 2012. Selected abstracts will be accepted by October 18th.