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In 2009 the Journal of European Social Policy increased to five issues a year. One of these will normally be a Special Issue.
We now invite proposals for the 2013 Special Issue. Interested parties are requested to send a short proposal (no more than 1000 words) describing the scope of the proposed theme; the papers that it would contain; the timetable. They should make a case to justify the dedication of a special issue to this particular theme and its topicality. They should demonstrate that the special issue would have an overall analytical and theoretical coherence. They should also highlight any editorial experience they already have. They are also welcome to make proposals as to referees.
Proposals should be submitted not later than 31st October 2011. The Editorial Board of the Journal will decide by 30 November 2011 which, if any, of the proposals should be accepted. The material for the Special Issue will be required in final form not later than 31 July 2012. The person or group submitting the proposal will be expected to act as Guest Editor for the Special Issue, to liaise with contributors with regards to revisions and to produce an issue containing a strong and coherent collection of papers. One member of the JESP Editorial Board will be assigned to work with the Guest Editor in overseeing the refereeing process, and to ensure, on behalf of the Editorial Board, that the collection as a whole and the individual papers meet the normal quality standards of the Journal.
Proposals should be sent electronically to the JESP administrator’s office at the University of Edinburgh (jesp@ed.ac.uk).
Welfare and wellbeing have for a long time been closely connected with economical concerns, often associated with economical wealth and material standards of life. However, recent attention has been directed towards the role of various non-economical factors in promoting “mental wellbeing,” “life quality,” and even “happiness”. “Satisfaction with life” has recently been added to the otherwise quite hard-boiled economic measures of welfare according to which different societies are being compared and evaluated (e.g., Human Development Index, HDI, Satisfaction with Life Index, SLI). So far, the Nordic societies have often ranked rather high in these comparative statistics. Yet, the increase of mental and stress-related disorders and symptoms have been reported as rising in all Nordic societies. At the same time, postmaterialist discourses on happiness have increasingly merged with neo-liberal discourses on liberty and self-actualization, thereby posing a complex challenge to welfare states.
The aim of this workshop is to bring historians, social scientists and health professionals together to discuss these emerging trends. What’s new about this recent articulation of wellbeing and happiness, if anything at all, and why now? We hope that these openly formulated questions may inspire a cross-disciplinary discussion on the following broad themes:
The social and historical diagnosis of contemporary interest in happiness/wellbeing? To what extent is the current problematic of wellbeing engendered by the culture of self-help, the economy of life-management, and the therapeutic society? Are the primary preconditions of wellbeing presented as spiritual, psychological, somatic – or social or economic?
The knowledge and political economy of happiness/wellbeing? What kind of professionals and experts promote wellbeing? What is the role of competing expertise and professions in defining health, wellbeing, and happiness and how do they shape the way in which the market, the state, and individuals themselves seek to remedy stress and mental illness on the one hand and strive for happiness on the other?
The psychologization of the political—the politicization of the psychological? What does the introduction of individual and psychological categories in social diagnosis warrant for the language of politics and for political conflict? Do the preconditions for collective empathy and social dialogue change if articulated in psychological terms?
Keynote speakers:
In the context of an increasing rate in the active female workforce and the evolution in traditional male and female roles, policy formation and practice in family policy and employment policy aiming at improving the work-life balance and providing family-friendly policies is a subject for analysis. The developments under the New Labour government (1997-2010) and the Conservative-LibDem Coalition Government programme in this area will be considered either on their own or in relation to the previous governments' approaches. This day conference will look at the impact of these policies on women's participation in the labour market and the typology of women's careers, in particular in relation to working time and career continuity and development.
Contributions can start from the theoretical model posited by Esping-Andersen (1990) establishing Britain as a liberal Welfare State leaving families and the markets the greatest share of responsibility in providing care. European legislation has encouraged flexibility and the individual worker is given priority. How has the development of gendered employment contributed to the evolution of the social model? Is the emergence of an Anglo-European social model linked to family policy and/or gendered employment policy?
Proposals for contributions may explore the following themes:
In addition to gender, proposals looking at age, ethnic origins and different geographical locations in Britain are welcome.
This day conference is intended to be the first of further meetings around this theme. Please send a short CV and a 300 word proposal to Susan Finding (susan.finding@univ-poitiers.fr ) and Anémone Kober-Smith (anemone.kober-smith@univ-paris3.fr ).
Deadline is 2 May 2011.
Call for Papers
The causes and consequences of social inequality have been hot issues among social scientists of various disciplines for several decades. On the one hand, we find economic growth and increasing wealth levels, accompanied by educational expansion and high (absolute) mobility rates. On the other hand, contemporary research suggests that educational and occupational stratification largely seem to be resistant to these changes. Given these conflicting developments, examining the structures and consequences of social inequalities in modern societies thus remains among the most challenging questions in the social sciences.
Alongside the dimensions of educational and occupational careers, the international conference will bring together scientists to present new approaches and empirical evidence on the causes and consequences of social inequality and mobility.
Regarding causation, we seek insight into the role of institutional structures (e.g. preschool and educational systems, labour markets and policy) but also of personal attributes or family background for social status outcomes like educational attainment or occupational status. Key questions include:
As to consequences, we are interested in those areas of life that can be affected by educational attainment, occupational status or mobility, like family transitions, cultural, social and political participation. As social inequality is relevant in all stages of the life course and across diverse areas of life, we intend to cover all periods in the life course from pre-school, educational and occupational careers to retirement and old age:
Objective: First, we seek to develop new perspectives in stratification research by linking different aspects of social inequality and by connecting various disciplines within the social sciences. We aim to stimulate interdisciplinary exchange and encourage researchers from various fields within social sciences to participate. Second, we are planning to assemble a printed volume of the contributions with a renowned publisher and therefore strive to select participants who are prepared to provide paper drafts before and publish their work within short time after the conference.
Contributions: We invite social scientists to contribute to the conference. Papers should focus on one of the following topics regarding social stratification: Early childhood and pre-school education, General secondary and tertiary education, Vocational education and lifelong learning, Labour markets and occupational careers, Intergenerational transfer of resources and family transitions, Social inequality in old age and retirement, Social inequality and social participation. Participants apply for the conference by submitting an extended abstracts of about 2 pages (not more than 1000 words). Please cover key questions, theoretical issues, methods and some (preliminary) results.
Deadlines: Closing date for abstract submission: 10th April 2011, Information about acceptance of the paper: 20th April 2011, First draft of your paper: 30th June 2011
After the conference you will get a detailed review of your paper and get some time to prepare your manuscript for publication.
Conference Fees and Grants: There will be a conference fee of 60 Euro. Due to generous funding of the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research we are able to provide free hotel-accommodation for up to 3 nights per paper. As there will also be limited funds for travel costs, all participants are welcome to apply for a travel subsidy.
Organizing and Scientific Committee: Nicole Biedinger, Dirk Hofäcker and Nicole Tieben, Mannheim Centre of European Social
Research, 68131 Mannheim, Germany.
Venue: The conference will take place at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research of University of Mannheim in Germany (www.mzes.uni-mannheim.de). The conference will take place over three days (welcome Thursday 7th at about 2pm, farewell on Saturday 9th at about
1pm) and include paper presentations on the above topics. There will be no parallel sessions. Conference language will be English.
Please apply via the conference homepage: http://www.mzes.uni-mannheim.de/konf/simlife/