Annual Manchester
Postgraduate Conference
Sociology
and Intellectual Craftsmanship
WHEN /
30 JUNE 2017
WHERE /
Roscoe Building 1.009 - 1.010
The University of Manchester
M13 9PL
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“To the individual social scientist who feels himself a part of the classic tradition, social science is the practice of a craft”
(C.W. Mills, The Sociological Imagination, 1959:195).
Scroll down to see the UPDATED TIMETABLE​
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE /
Organised by a committee of PhD researchers, the annual Sociology PGR conference of the University of Manchester aims to create a supportive atmosphere for doctoral students to present and discuss their research with an audience of peers, regardless of the stage they are at.
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The conference is open to PhD students from every discipline, at any step of their craft, presenting results, problems, methods, or theory. All fields of research can be touched upon, among which (but not limited to): emotions; relationships and intimacy; gender and identity; cultural sociology; public policies; race and ethnicity; sustainability; comparative sociology; historical sociology; theory; methods; etc.
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PANEL DISCUSSION:
Public sociology / intellectualism
The panel of this annual PGR conference will discuss public sociology and public intellectualism. Bourdieu advocated that, if anything, the role of sociology was to give people weapons, not lessons. We shall explore the importance of a researcher’s political or moral stance at different stages of their research – from choice of research topic to dissemination.
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In a time of fast flowing information, when sociology seems to be most needed, what is our role as social scientists?
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Given the growing dependency on funding, can critical sociology still be possible? What is made of intellectual freedom and independence?
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What is the public perception of social sciences and how does that influence its role/craft?
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And, given the specific attention that is now paid to impact, how has this influenced the production and communication of sociological knowledge, and us as social scientists?
- UPDATED - Conference timetable
09.30 Registration and Coffee (Foyer)
10.00 Welcome (Room 1.010)
10.15 Session One
Methodology (Room 1.009) – Chaired by Charlotte Branchu
Vlad Schuler-Costa: “Tell me again: what exactly do you do here?” – notes on conducting ethnography amidst scientists
Heather Sutherland: The “Martin effect”: reflections on “emotional labor” facets in qualitative suicide bereavement research.
11.15 Comfort Break (refreshments in the foyer)
11.30 Session Two
Public Sociology (1.010) – Chaired by Ali Siles
Panel of Guest Speakers with Professor Bridget Byrne, Professor Hillary Pilkington, and Dr Kevin Gillan.
12.45 Lunch (Room 1.009)
13.45 Session Three
Structuring the social (Room 1.009) Chaired by Denisse Sepúlveda Sánchez
Ella Guest: Defining r/The_Donald: An examination of the roles of moderators and users in the norm-setting online communities.
Carlos Palma Amestoy: High education in Chile: massification, privatisation and social reproduction.
14.45 Comfort Break (refreshments in the foyer)
15.00 Session Four (Parallel Session)
Space, place, communities (Room 1.009) – Chaired by Rohini Rai
Rashida Bibi: “Home sweet home?” – Considering ambivalent notions of home and belonging for BSA Muslim women
Jessica Mancuso: The Three Non’s of Lesbianism: The Unisustainability of Lesbian Space
Angharad Williams: ‘A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed’? Negotiating Friendship and Dementia
Migration (Room 1.010) – Chaired by Leon Wai Lau
William Shankley: Polish Migration, Whiteness, and Migration Decision-Making Over Time.
Anthony Chambers: Using parliamentary written questions to study substantive representation: Do immigrant-origin British MPs address the objective interests of immigrant-origin citizens?
16.30 Closing statement
16.45 Wine reception