XVIII ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 13-19, 2014)

July 13 - 19, 2014

648

Concepts of Inclusion from a Biographical Perspective. Part I

RC38 Biography and Society (host committee)

Language: English

Sociological theory has paid much attention to concepts of exclusion and exclusionary practice. In our session, we would like to discuss in which ways concepts of inclusion have come to address inequalities in society, and how the concepts relate to forms of exclusion. Inclusion is interesting for biographical researchers because it raises questions about individuality and differences; what is ‘normal’; and the ways practices of exclusion and inclusion are mutually dependent. Given the backdrop of – rising – social inequalities and concomitant exclusions, “inclusion” has come to be written into policies, as a critical corrective to previous policies of “integration,” thereby becoming a kind of ‘feel-good’ term for thinking about difference and diversity. In this session, we want to critically explore “inclusion” from a biographical perspective, focusing on how individual strategies of inclusion (for example, ‘passing’) actually work, the social constraints that prevent inclusion of some, while enabling it for others (for example, inclusion as privilege of the powerful or as symbolic capital), as well as the policies and practices which change society and restructure institutions in the direction of less inequality and more recognition and acceptance of difference.