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> > Dear all, > > > > This is to announce a conference at Glasgow University on the 16th and 17th September 2014, intended to honour and discuss the work inspired by the eminent sociologist: John Eldridge. Eldridge was for many years both Professor of Sociology and Head of Department at the University of Glasgow and is a renowned figure in the discipline through his research; most notably his contribution to three areas. > > The first of these is the sociology of work and industry. Eldridge wrote or co-wrote many highly-influential texts in this field, such as Industrial Disputes, and Just Managing: Authority and Democracy in Industry (with Cressey and MacInnes),whilst also co-founding the Centre for Research in Industrial Democracy and Participation. > > The second is social theory where Eldridge has published key texts on thinkers such as Max Weber, Raymond Williams and C. Wright Mills. > > The final is the sociology of media. Eldridge was one of the founders of the Glasgow Media Group which continues to produce internationally-renowned research. His contributions can be found in multiple texts, including the path-breaking Bad News, as well as other important volumes produced by the Group. > > In addition to this, he was also President of the British Sociological Association from 1979-1981 and central to discussions with the UK government which led to the reorganisation of the Economic and Social Research Council in 1983, after a threat to remove the ‘Social’ entirely from the title. > > Throughout, Eldridge has had an intellectual debt to Mills’ conception of the sociological imagination, which inspires the title of this conference. Such a debt is demonstrated not just in his monograph on Mills, but in the many fertile theoretical arguments in his other works, as well as his much-loved teaching. > > Over the years Eldridge has been hugely admired by his students for his accessible and succinct formulations of sociological thought and we hope the conference will emulate this spirit. In particular, a celebration of his work provides a valuable occasion to reflect on what it means to apply the sociological imagination today. > > Conference website https://eldridgeconference2014.wordpress.com/ > To register for the conference, which is free, go here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/stretching-the-sociological-imagination-john-eldridge-festschrift-conference-tickets-12149237697