Academic Freedom in a Fearsome Age
August 9, 2024
5:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Academic freedom has been under attack across the globe, at the same time that programs aimed at supporting “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice” have also been limited or entirely defunded. Authoritarian political movements aimed at restricting faculty and students’ rights to freely conduct research, teach and support diverse students, and express their ideas, undercut the ability of universities to produce knowledge and new understandings, which are critical for intellectual inquiry. Efforts to challenge academic freedom reflect political movements who wish to quash debates that may upset existing power structures. This plenary panel includes the voices of leaders focusing on academic freedom, fighting against censorship in higher education, from a variety of angles. This session is also a gateway to the sessions and workshops focused on building community around academic freedom at the 2024 meetings.
Participants: (Session Organizer) Joya Misra, University of Massachusetts-Amherst; (Presider) Victor E. Ray, University of Iowa; (Panelist) Karma Chavez, University of Texas, Austin; (Panelist) Kaja Gadowska, Jagiellonian University; (Panelist) Jeremy Young, PEN America; (Panelist) Jennifer Hickes Lundquist, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Transnational Feminist Solidarities
August 10, 2024
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Transnational feminist sociology, which recognizes both intersectional and relational inequalities is one of the most vital and exciting areas in the discipline. Transnational feminist research draws from a long history of decolonial and intersectional theorizing, as well as feminist activist work, to create understandings grounded in the real world that are cognizant of the effects of capitalism, colonialism, racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, and other forms of marginalization. Transnational feminist activism analyzes both structural inequalities, and the potential of agency in reworking both local and global structures. In this panel, scholars engaging in transnational feminist work will discuss both the challenges and the joys of working to build solidarities across borders.
Participants: (Session Organizer) Joya Misra, University of Massachusetts-Amherst; (Presider) Tannuja Rozario, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; (Panelist) Ginetta Candelario, Smith College; (Panelist) Pei-Chia Lan, National Taiwan University; (Panelist) Siri Suh, Brandeis University
Abolition Feminism and Building Communities of Justice
August 12, 2024
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.
How do we ensure the kind of society that promotes safety and justice for everyone? In particular, what practices, policies, and systems must we keep, abandon, or develop in order to eliminate the harms of violence in our communities? Traditionally, carceral practices suggest that we use the criminal legal system to arrest and imprison our way out of interpersonal harm. Yet, dominant forms of criminal justice intervention often fail to reduce violence significantly, while simultaneously upholding racist and patriarchal systems of oppression. In this plenary session, participants will explore an alternative perspective – Abolition Feminism – which suggests that rather than applying the punitive power of the state, new systems of care and collaboration are crucial for creating a safe, humane, and equitable world. This plenary will challenge the field of sociology to reconsider its assumptions, methods, and activities, while employing a radical imagination grounded in the work of Black and Indigenous women.
Participants: (Session Organizer) Joya Misra, University of Massachusetts-Amherst; (Presider) Lucius Couloute, Suffolk University; (Panelist) Brittany Battle, Wake Forest University; (Panelist) Vicki Chartrand, Université Bishop’s; (Panelist) Dorothy E. Roberts, University of Pennsylvania
