Marginalized Communities As Agents of Social Change

Regular Session :

The concept of agency relates to the thoughts and actions by individuals to exercise their power. Such thoughts and actions are arguably confined by the structures, namely the interconnected social forces, relationships, and elements of social structure. The opposite is also arguably true – that the agency may affect the change in the structures, hence the dialectic relationship between the agents and the structure. Though this concept is not a new one, the changing society demands for imperative revisit and continued discussion among clinical sociologists. This session calls for papers that engage in discourse and narrative on agency and current structure especially during COVID-19 and post pandemic society. The intersectionality of race, religion, ability, in addition to political instability, to name a few, are also important factors that can be addressed in this session as they may contribute towards the agency of marginalized communities and their effort to push for social change. The discussion on the role of clinical sociologists in this focus area is also welcome.