XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

939

Glocal Aspects of Subsistence Activities

WG01 Sociology of Local-Global Relations (host committee)

Language: English

This session explores the mechanisms of “glocal” development of subsistence activities. Most of the previous studies on subsistence activities, such as agriculture or fishery, have presupposed them as local phenomena, which have been gradually exposed to the menace of globalization today. However, it is inadequate to set things local over against things global. In fact, there have been various subsistence activities, which have been developed and sustained in the intersection of global and local, even since before the acceleration of globalization in the late 20th century. Furthermore, as some scholars have been argued, locality itself has often been socially constructed as local. It is important to investigate the processes and mechanisms of the social construction of the local always in the global-local context.

How did fishermen from small villages along the Pacific coast of Japan use their knowledge and techniques to survive in the global tuna business? How were the technique and philosophy of the natural farming of Masanobu Fukuoka dis-embedded and re-embedded in various parts of the world? How did a Japanese migrant jako-ten merchant succeed as the most beloved supermarket in the USA? These themes would also reveal the uncertainty and complexity of the glocal processes. Submissions are welcome to offer diverse approaches.