1st ISA Forum reportSociology, International

António B. Moniz

Margarida R. Paulos

English

Research Papers in Economics

Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies 
 
 
Paulos, Margarida R.; Moniz, António B. (2008): The 1st ISA Forum of Sociology on the “Sociological 
Research and Public Debate”, Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies, 4, IET, pp. 163 - 165.  
The 1st ISA Forum of Sociology on the 
“Sociological Research and Public Debate” 
 
 
Margarida Ramires Paulos (margarida.paulos@fct.unl.pt) and António Brandão 
Moniz  (abm@fct.unl.pt),  IET,  Faculty  of  Science  and  Technology  (FCT), 
Universidade Nova de Lisboa (UNL) 
 
 
 
The main theme of the 1st ISA Forum of Sociology that took place in Barcelona, 5 8 
September 2008, was Sociological research and public debate. It had the purpose of 
combining  the  different  research  committees  and  groups  in  ISA  (International 
Sociological Association) under the basis of a common subject. It was also organized 
with  the  purpose  of  holding  a  large  event  between  the  World  Congresses  of 
Sociology.  The  Forum  was  able  to  put  together  around  2600  participants  from 
different  countries  including  many  participants  from  countries  outside  Europe  like 
United  States  (249  participants),  Brazil  (119)  or  Japan  (61).  With  around  50 
different research committees, the Forum presented a great amount of presentations 
related with a great variety of areas (Research Committees) like: RC04 Sociology of 
Education; RC07 Sociology of the Future; RC09 Social Transformations and Sociology 
Development; RC11 Sociology of Ageing; RC13 Sociology of Leisure; RC23 Sociology 
of Science and Technology; RC24 Environment and Sociology; RC47 Social Classes 
and Social Movements, among many others. ISA also organized several Thematic 
Groups  (emerging  groups  that  cover  new  knowledge  fields)  and  Working  Groups 
(smaller or less active research groups, some of those that were already RCs. 
The Forum Director, Arturo Rodríguez Morató, underlined that “the call for papers 
hás  been  a  Great  success  and  the  outcome  is  a  vast  range  of  sessions.  Many 
thematic programs have been designed covering a great number of relevant social 
issues on which sociology can provide fundamental analyses and views. As it was to 
be expected, the own logic of the chosen subjects has prompted the organizers of 
those programs to move beyond the boundaries of committees and therefore many 
joint  sessions  between  them  have  been  scheduled.  This  transgression  of  border 
areas between sociological specialties will be a great experience for the organization 
of ISA and for the sociological community at large” 
36 
The  opening  session  had  the  presence  of  the  President  from  the  Generalitat  de 
Catalunya  and  the  closing  one  the  Deputy  mayor  of  Barcelona.  In  both  Michel 
                                                 
36 Rodriguez Morató, Arturo: “Welcome and Introduction to the Forum Programme” in ISA: 1st 
ISA Forum of Sociology, Barcelona, ISA, 2008, p. 6 Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies 
 
164 
Wieviorka,  as  ISA  President  was  present  as  well  Oriol  Homs  as  President  of  the 
Sociological  Association  of  Catalunya.  The  opening  session  was  focused  on  the 
theme of “Contributions of sociology to public debate”. This active role of sociology 
was also very present in almost all committees, thematic groups or working group 
sessions. Thus it was a common topic that was discussed from very different points 
of  view,  and  from  distinctive  approaches  from  specialized  areas  of  sociology.  The 
plenary  sessions  were  on  the  “Contributions  of  sociology  to  public  debate”  with 
Saskia  Sassen  (Columbia  University,  NY,  US)  among  others,  on  “The  intellectual 
profile of sociology in the public space” with Salvador Giner (University of Barcelona) 
and  “The  sociological  intervention  in  public  debate”  with  Michael  Burrawoy  (Univ. 
California, US), Alain Touraine (EHESS, France) and Alberto Martinelli (Univ. Milan, 
Italy). 
One paper was present from IET in the Conference: The globalisation in the clothing 
sector and its implications for work organisation: a view from the Portuguese case, 
António Brandão Moniz and Margarida R. Paulos, in the session on “Globalisation and 
its  impacts  on  forms  of  work,  territorialities,  work  organisation  and  job  content”, 
included  in  RC30  Sociology  of  Work.  This  paper  presented  some  results  from  the 
European  project  WORKS  (Work  organisation  restructuring  in  the  knowledge 
society), funding under the Sixth Research Framework Programme of the European 
Union, focusing the Portuguese case studies in several clothing companies in what 
concern implications of global context for the companies in general and for workers 
in particular, in a comparative analysis with some other European countries 
37. 
Between walks from the lively Barcelona’s ‘Ramblas’ and the mystic Gothic quarter, 
we were able to attend some interesting sessions and presentations. One of them 
was  called:  Current  issues  on  environment  and  society  (RC24 Environment  and 
Society), where main questions like, environmental conflicts, environmental stress 
and nanotechnology presented as a sustainable technology were discussed. Another 
one was the session Industrial districts and Territories (RC30 Sociology of Work), 
which focus themes like globalisation versus local development, regional clusters of 
innovation or local R&D competencies. Other example was the session Lifestyles and 
work-life  issues  (RC30 Sociology  of  Work),  focusing  the  impact  of  global 
restructuring on different occupation groups, new lifestyles and working conditions, 
the youth in Japan and its supports, and finally the importance of unions conflicts in 
work and social rights. And another interesting session was organized by the TG04 
on  Sociology  of  Risk  and  Uncertainty  on  Power,  Democracy  and  Risk  chaired  by 
Ortwin  Renn  (Univ.  Stuttgart,  Germany).  It  covered  topics  like  risk  governance, 
environmental risks (nuclear power and trust communities. 
                                                 
37  Published as working paper: António B. Moniz & Margarida R. Paulos, 2008. "The 
globalisation in the clothing sector and its implications for work organisation: a view from the 
Portuguese case," IET Working Papers Series 05/2008, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, IET 
(http://ideas.repec.org/p/ieu/wpaper/09.html) Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies 
 
 
Paulos, Margarida R.; Moniz, António B. (2008): The 1st ISA Forum of Sociology on the “Sociological 
Research and Public Debate”, Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies, 4, IET, pp. 163 - 165.  
Also  one  could  follow  some  joint  sessions  from  different  ISA  committees.  Usually 
they were about new concepts or new theoretical topics. And they were covering 
different fields like “Intellectual Copyright, Digital Inequality and Global Hegemony” 
or “The Internet: from Utopia to Nightmare?” (both involving RC07 Research on the 
Future,  RC14 Sociology  of  Communication  and  RC23 Sociology  of  Science  and 
Technology),  “Gender,  Science,  Technology,  Innovation  and  the  Future”  (RC07  
Research  on  the  Future,  RC23 Sociology  of  Science  and  Technology  and  RC32 
Women and Society). 
We had also the opportunity to attend two sessions lead by two major sociologists of 
our  time:  Alain  Touraine  and  Manuel  Castells.  The  first  session  called  Dialogue 
around Alain Touraine’s penser autrement was a very interesting and rich session, 
where also other sociologists like Michel Wieviorka (EHESS, France), Manuel Castells 
(Open Univ. Catalunya) and Craig Calhoun (Social Science Research Council, US) had 
an important contribution to the discussion. Some major problems of our century 
were theme of debate and also the role of this great sociologist, Touraine, and his 
theories  to  the  construction  of  contemporary  sociology.  The  second  session  with 
Manuel Castells called Sociology and Society in the 21
st Century was an interesting 
session also, although in our opinion it didn’t focus the more important points of the 
discussion but only more technical aspects like methodologies and conceptualisation.  
As Rodríguez Morató described in the introduction to the Forum “following the aim 
that has been stated from the very start – to open ourselves to society and to face 
its main concerns – this programme also includes a series of debates open to the 
citizes” (idem). Following this same idea the President of the Catalan Sociological 
Association,  Oriol  Homs,  said  also  that  “sociological  research  requires  a  greater 
visibility  in  public  areas  and  we  hope  that  this  Barcelona  Forum  can  be  a  good 
opportunity to know the contributions that sociology may provide to the interests 
and hopes of the citizens in our societies” (idem, p. 12). They succeeded with this 
first major event where also several dozens of Portuguese sociologists participated 
actively.

The 1st ISA forum of sociology on the “Sociological Research and Public Debate”

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