23
Sociology and Social Movements in the Global South
Language: English
Integrative session of RC08 History of Sociology, RC32 Women in Society, RC47 Social Classes and Social Movements, RC48 Social Movements, Collective Action and Social Change
Social and intellectual movements have coexisted during the last decades in a cognitive and geopolitical critique that has questioned the classic Western narratives of sociology and the forms of knowledge production. The labels used (Southern theories; alternative epistemologies; peripheral sociology; post-colonial theories, etc.) are diverse and take on distinct epistemological, theoretical and methodological assumptions and local/national/regional traditions, projecting also different interpretations of modernity, the legacy of colonialism and the role of sociology and social movements.
This integrative session aims to bring together different perspectives and fields (gender, social movements, history of sociology, among others) and well-known sociologists to critically address the relationship between social movements and epistemologies of the South in the last decades as well as pointing out challenges and possible paths for the future. It’s expected that a critical assessment of this discussion could contribute to move forward from some impasses and dilemmas related to the reification of the North; the global transition of the social sciences; the new geo-political and economic scenario; the spaces and frontiers of knowledge; the permanent dynamic of canonization, reception and legitimation within universities; the construction of alternative theoretical proposals and the emerging conceptions of social change linked to contemporary social movements.