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

The four principle pathways for analyzing and advancing sustainable transitions are proving unsatisfactory; 1) Science and evidence (rationality), 2) participation, social inclusion, and empowerment (democratization), 3) market-based strategies (commodification of nature and ethical consumption), and 4) efforts to create cultures and practices of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) are proving thoroughly unconvincing in relation to the scope and scale of social and ecological problems. We identify a diverse set of emerging methodologies/strategies that have potential for destabilizing established sociotechnical trajectories and conventional thinking regarding production, consumption, and socioecological relations. Speculative design, design fiction, interactive serious games, art, performing arts, and co-design are examples of innovative interventions advancing an ontological ‘turn’ in agrifood studies and in sustainability, more generally. In relation to agrifood studies and sustainability studies, these methodologies rely on new media, new ways to engage a broad range of people, and new thinking. We aim to theorize emerging avant garde interventions and share experiences and ideas regarding methodologies, in terms of advancing both research and social change.

What is gained and what is lost when social scientists collaborate and perhaps incorporate fiction, humor, and humanities in their work? How do the objectives and commitments of academic fields such as design, art, and the relevant humanities align with those of critical agrifood studies and environmental sociology? Which methodologies could be useful in what contexts and in relation to what objectives? What can we know/say about the outputs and outcomes of this work?