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CALL FOR COMMUNICATION

International Sociology Conference

Sponsored by the RC24 of the ISA (Environment and Society Research Committee of the International Sociological Association)
And organised by
The University of the Mediterranean, Department of Human Sciences, DESMID-UMR Espace and the SHADYC (EHESS-CNRS)

6-7 July 2005
Faculty of Sciences of Luminy, Marseille, France

“ENVIRONMENT, KNOWLEDGE AND DEMOCRACY”


Scientific Committee:
Anissa Lynda BENABDI, Researcher, University of Alger, Algeria; Jean-Paul BILLAUD, Director of Research, LADYSS-CNRS, France; Frederick BUTTEL, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA; C*cilia CLAEYS-MEKDADE, Assistant professor, DESMID- University of the Mediterranean, France; Suzanne de CHEVEIGNE, Researcher CNRS, SHADYS–EHESS Marseille, France; Angela FERREIRA, Professor, University of Parana, Brasil; Alia GANA, Researcher, University of Tunis, Tunisia; Matthias GROSS, Professor, University of Bielefeld, Germany; Marie JACQUE, Researcher, DESMID- University of the Mediterranean, France; Arthur P.J. MOL, Professor, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; Marc MORMONT, Professor, Luxemburg University Foundation, Belgium; Raymond MURPHY, Professor, University of Ottawa, Canada; Mercedes PARDO, Professor, University of Navarra, Spain; Luigi PELLIZZONI, Professor, University of Trieste, Italy; Eugene A. ROSA, Professor, Washington State University, USA.

Organizing Committee: 
C*cilia CLAEYS-MEKDADE (DESMID - University of the Mediterranean, Marseille), Suzanne de Cheveign* (SHADYC-CNRS-EHESS, Marseille), Marie Jacqu* (DESMID - University of the Mediterranean, Marseille)




Biodiversity, global change and risk management are among the main contemporary environmental issues. Most of the international conventions signed since 1992 on the theme reaffirm the development of democracy as a condition of sustainability. Such an “environmental democracy” rests on the mobilisation of participative democratic procedures bringing together politicians, economic actors, scientists, and citizens. In these forums, socially differentiated forms of knowledge, representations, and practices about the environment confront each other. Thus, the development of these forms of “environmental democracy” raises, as central issues, questions about the production, diffusion, and uses of knowledge about nature and the environment.

The border between scientific and popular knowledge
For the past 30 years, protectionist positions about environment have been widely developed and diffused. Scientifically based, this discourse has been progressively appropriated by the public, even among popular classes. This historical evolution raises the question of the relationship between scientific and lay knowledge. A double process of attraction/repulsion can be observed between these two forms. On one hand, an explicit hierarchy still exists between them; on the other, they seem more borderless than they used to be, with popular discourses calling on forms of scientific expertise, and scientific discourses emphasising the importance of uncertainty. Environmental issues seem particularly propitious to the development of what A. Giddens calls reflexivity. In this context, what is the place of science within environmental controversies?

Thinking the cultural diversity of knowledge about the nature and the environment
In Western countries, the wide diffusion of the environmental discourse no longer allows strong oppositions between the representation of the different social classes to be made. However, differences are still observable in social practices. Moreover, on the international level, strong differences are clear, especially between the North and the South. For instance, Western NGO's and scientists have become actors in the management of the environment in Southern countries, where they tend to impose their own conception of nature, often to the detriment of local populations. In this context, the issue of the knowledge will allow us to rethink the social and cultural relationships involved into the management of the environment. 

The place of knowledge within decision making
Management of the environment is more and more oriented towards the development of participatory democracy. Public debates, consensus conferences, local fora, etc. belong to what has become to be known as “governance.” These different forms of debate introduce a plural conception of knowledge(s). Science is explicitly replaced by "the sciences" in such debates, and the monopoly of the scientific community breaks down, leading to a hybridisation of the political, economical and juridical fields (Callon and Rip 1992, Latour 1999). The traditional dualisms—object/subject, Nature/culture—and  the old debate around realism versus constructivism are brought into question. 

The Media, Internet and the Environment 
For the "ordinary" citizen, the media are an important source of information on environmental problems; they configure and relay both local and global discussions and debates in the public sphere. Press, radio, television, and the internet frame environmental problems in various manners but also echo the different visions of nature harboured by their publics. What role do they play in enabling citizens to take part in democratic processes around environmental problems, what forms of knowledge circulate in their pages or on their screens, how are culturally diverse conceptions of the place of humans in the world reflected in the media?

Interdisciplinarity: background, perspective
Environmental issues break down the borders between scientific and popular knowledge, between sciences and society, between North and South. They also affect the internal partitions of scientific knowledge. The classical divisions between the scientific disciplines do not always manage to catch the complexity of environmental issues. Then, pluridisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity—even transdisciplinarity—tend to be developed. What can we learn from these experiences? Are these borderless sciences an appropriate answer to the implication of scientific knowledge in the management of the “environmental flows” (Mol and Spaargaren 2003)?

 


SUBMISSIONS OF ABSTRACTS AND DEADLINES:

        We seek contributions from sociology, but also from different fields in the social sciences to stimulate interdisciplinary debate on the topics of the conference. 
        All paper submissions will be reviewed before being accepted for the conference. The criterion of selection will be the originality and the scientific quality of the abstracts, and particular attention will be paid to diversity (gender, age, nationality, North/South …).
        All the accepted papers will be published on a CD-ROM and a selection of papers will be published in a journal or a collective book. 
        Deadline for submission of abstract (1 page in English): December 31rst 2004.
        Evaluation of the proposal of paper by the scientific committee: January and February 2005
        Registration: reduced rate until April 30th 2005.
        Full paper: two weeks before the conference

Further information about the conference : 
http://www.vcharite.univ-mrs.fr/shadyc/accueil.html, [log in to unmask]


REGISTRATION

        Registration fees, before April 30th 2005: 
- Normal fee: 275 Euro (the fee includes accommodation, meals and coffee poses from the July 5th evening to the July 8th morning (3 nights)).
– Students, developing countries and East Europe: 200 Euro
        Registration fees, after April 30th 2005: 350 Euro

The following registration form can be send by Email, by traditional mail or by Fax:
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Fax: (00)3.4.91.82.93.55
Address: International Conference of Sociology, D*partement de Sciences Humaines, Facult* des Sciences de Luminy, CASE 901, 163 av. de Luminy, 13288 Marseille, cedex 9, France.

 
REGISTRATION FORM

International Conference of Sociology
Sponsored by the RC24 of the ISA (Environment and Society Research Committee of the International Sociological Association)
And organised by
The University of the Mediterranean, Department of Human Sciences, DESMID-UMR Espace and the SHADYC (EHESS-CNRS)
July 6 and 7, 2005
Faculty of sciences of Luminy, Marseille, France

“ENVIRONMENT, KNOWLEDGE AND DEMOCRACY”

Name ……………………………………………………………………………………………….……
First Name ………..……………………………………………………………………………….……
Title (Pr/Dr/Mrs/Ms/Mr)
Position …………………………………………………………………………………………….……
University/Institut ……..………………………………………………………………………….……
Postal Address …….…………………………………………………………………………….……
Country ………………………………………………………………………………………….……
Telephone ……………………………………………………………………………………….……
Fax ……………………………….……………………………………………………………….……
Email ……………………………….…………………………………………………………….……

Do you need a formal letter of invitation for your visa ?       Yes/No

Fee (please circle the amount concerning your statute):
Before April 30th 2005:         - Students (please provide a copy of your student card), Developing Countries and East Europe:   200 Euro
- Others:   275 Euro
Late registration (After April 30th 2005):  350 Euro

To allow all the participants to attempt the whole conference, it is advised to arrive the day before and to leave to day after. Therefore, the fee includes accommodation, meals and coffee from the July 5th evening to the July 8th morning (3 nights). 

Method of payment: International Bank Transfer or Visa Card (for a better organisation of the conference, please respect the deadlines)

Banking Information
Account holder  PROTISVALOR MEDITERRANEE SAS
Jardin du Pharo, 58 BD Charles Livon
13007 MARSEILLE, FRANCE
Bank branch       
        Caisse d’Epargne Provence Alpes Corse
Place Estrangin Pastr*
13006 MARSEILLE, FRANCE
Bank account number:    08000472902 Code BIC (SWIFT address) : CEPAFRPP131
Currency :  €UROS             	
Reference required with payments :  SOCIOLOGY2005

Payment by card (please send by ordinary mail) 
-O-  Visa       -O-  Mastercard
Cardholder's name :
Card number :	

Expiration date :
Signature :	
 

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