Call for Papers:

5th Annual Conference, School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork

 23rd January 2015

Critical Social Thinking offers students an important opportunity to speak about their social research which interrogates contemporary issues of injustice, exclusion and inequality.  The event is an occasion to reflect not only on diversity of social issues raised, but to foster the ambition among our students to contribute to social and public knowledge, to challenge the causes of everyday unhappiness, to give voice to those who are unheard, and to encourage reflection and discussion about pertinent social and political issues in Irish society. 

We wish to celebrate and promote the capacity of our students to transform the society in which we live.  The proposed theme of the 5^th Annual Critical Social Thinking Conference is:

‘[Why] does politics matter? Critical Questions for Brand Ireland.’

In the current climate where economic policy dominates to the detriment of social considerations, this conference aims to foreground social issues.  Conference themes will address contemporary social issues within the three main School fields of Social Policy, Social Work and Youth and Community Work.

The conference will primarily comprise a student audience and as such, we hope that papers will motivate and stimulate undergraduate and postgraduate research interest in the social sciences.  We invite papers (20 minutes duration) that explore contemporary social issues.  Invitees are both recent and current students within the School of Applied Social Studies and postgraduate students from cognate disciplines, whose research is relevant to social policy and welfare.  Conference themes will address issues including, but not limited to:

• Social Policy in Times of Crisis
• Gender, Sexuality and Social Policy
• Poverty and Social Exclusion
• Housing Policy
• Health and Well-being
• Education and Welfare
• ‘Race’ and Ethnicity
• Culture and Society 

We are particularly keen to invite participation from social research students from institutions across Ireland who are also interested in taking part in our first symposium.  This event will take place on Thursday, 28th November, and invites students to develop inter-institutional links through the formation of a national Critical Social Thinking postgraduate network.  

Visitors to UCC will find information here.

Submission details

Please submit an abstract of maximum 250 words by 9th of January to the Conference Committee by registering your details here.