5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

This paper presentation session proposes to discuss how sociological theories can contribute to a better understanding of “the digital”; in particular to the study of the digital transformation of societal phenomena (big and small) and the emergence of the so-called digital society. Hence, the session aims for a theoretical engagement with sociology as a discipline and participant of contemporary society, and how sociological theory can and needs to move forward. The session, therefore, does not aim for a discussion of how sociology can use digital means for empirical research but rather for an exploration of “the digital” as a topic of sociological theorization. This inquiry can involve a wide variety of approaches, ranging from the reinterpretation of sociological classics to the development of completely new theories.