Call for Papers
From regular newspaper proclamations of a ‘lost generation’ of politically apathetic and disengaged youth, to government initiatives to inculcate a sense of citizenship and civic duty amongst school-age children, the picture of young people’s relationship with politics is somewhat troubled. Meanwhile, low voter turnout and decreasing trust in politicians are considered to contribute to disenchantment with the formal political system.
Yet in spite of this negativity the last decade has seen an increase in young people’s participation in community and social movement activism. From the Arab Spring uprisings and student protests in the UK, Chile and Canada, to women’s resistance to sexual violence across Africa and Asia, young people have been at the heart of the most prominent movements for social change. Such episodes have opened up the discussion of young people’s political participation and engagement, and highlighted areas that would benefit from greater scholarly focus. In particular, the need to broaden definitions of participation and recognise the ways in which young people’s practices can be read as political. For the purposes of this conference ‘youth’ is defined as under the age of 30.
This conference seeks to provide a space for reflection on recent events and consideration of future directions for young people’s political mobilisation and participation. It will provide the opportunity for postgraduate students to showcase their research and engage in scholarly debate that considers the sociological aspects of young people’s activism and resistance.
The organisers emphasise the importance of academics engaging directly with young people and the need to speak with them rather than for them. As such in addition to papers from postgraduate students the conference will bring together a group of self-identified young activists from a range of campaigns for a roundtable discussion addressing the problems and potentials of young people’s activism.
Applications for 10-15 minute paper presentations addressing the theme of youth activism and resistance are invited from Master’s and PhD students. Suggestions for topics include, but are not limited to:
We are limited to inviting a maximum of 30 delegates. There are spaces available for up to 16 presenting delegates who should apply with a 250-word abstract and a brief biographical note. Non-presenting delegates are welcome and we ask that they submit a 250 word summary of their current research. Details of all delegates will be included in the conference programme.
Applications should be sent to the organisers Rose Holyoak (reh28@le.ac.uk) and Oli Williams (osw1@le.ac.uk). The deadline for applications is 5pm on Monday 31st March.
Conference registration fee includes lunch, refreshments and wine reception. £10 BSA Members, £25 Non-BSA Members.
Yet in spite of this negativity the last decade has seen an increase in young people’s participation in community and social movement activism. From the Arab Spring uprisings and student protests in the UK, Chile and Canada, to women’s resistance to sexual violence across Africa and Asia, young people have been at the heart of the most prominent movements for social change. Such episodes have opened up the discussion of young people’s political participation and engagement, and highlighted areas that would benefit from greater scholarly focus. In particular, the need to broaden definitions of participation and recognise the ways in which young people’s practices can be read as political. For the purposes of this conference ‘youth’ is defined as under the age of 30.
This conference seeks to provide a space for reflection on recent events and consideration of future directions for young people’s political mobilisation and participation. It will provide the opportunity for postgraduate students to showcase their research and engage in scholarly debate that considers the sociological aspects of young people’s activism and resistance.
The organisers emphasise the importance of academics engaging directly with young people and the need to speak with them rather than for them. As such in addition to papers from postgraduate students the conference will bring together a group of self-identified young activists from a range of campaigns for a roundtable discussion addressing the problems and potentials of young people’s activism.
Applications for 10-15 minute paper presentations addressing the theme of youth activism and resistance are invited from Master’s and PhD students. Suggestions for topics include, but are not limited to:
- Political socialisation and ‘coming to’ politics
- Intergenerational alliances of resistance
- Responses to austerity
- Problems and potentials of educating for engagement
- Riots and politicised violence
- Privilege and intersectionality in youth movements
- Challenging narratives of apathy and disengagement
- Contemporary feminist activism
- Embodying resistance
- Citizenship and participation
- Methodological approaches to researching activism
We are limited to inviting a maximum of 30 delegates. There are spaces available for up to 16 presenting delegates who should apply with a 250-word abstract and a brief biographical note. Non-presenting delegates are welcome and we ask that they submit a 250 word summary of their current research. Details of all delegates will be included in the conference programme.
Applications should be sent to the organisers Rose Holyoak (reh28@le.ac.uk) and Oli Williams (osw1@le.ac.uk). The deadline for applications is 5pm on Monday 31st March.
Conference registration fee includes lunch, refreshments and wine reception. £10 BSA Members, £25 Non-BSA Members.
