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Newsflash No. 70 - September 18, 2019

Graduate School's newsflash is a collection of announcements, news, events, seminars and other opportunities for master's students at the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Graduate School News

Information about elective courses, internships and the third term, 30 Sept
Certificates of Registration available in the Student Portal
Open positions at the Social Sciences Student Union
Language Course Reminder

News from the Faculty of Social Sciences

Conference: From Economic to Political Informality: Exploring the Link between Shadow Practices, Policy Making and Development, 17-19 Sept
Seminar: Capitalism’s Dark Complexion: Theorizing Race, Markets and Identity, 23 Sept
Seminar: Civil Society Protests and Social Movements, 25 Sept
Lecture: Lund Population Day 2019, 26 Sept
Talk: Book Launch at the Department of Sociology, 27 Sept
Talk: Passion and Global Politics, a Conversation Series during the Autumn 2019, 30 Sept

Other News

Exhibition: Carbon Ruins, an Exhibition of the Fossil Age, 2 Sept
WINIR Conference: Institutions for inclusive societies - Global & comparative perspective, 19-22 Sept
Seminar in Copenhagen: Understanding rebellion: religion, state-making and order, 20 Sept
Seminar in Copenhagen: European defence cooperation - What do the Nordic countries think? 27 Sept


Graduate School News

Information about elective courses, internships and other third term options

Join us on September 30th in the Palaestra auditorium for an information session on elective courses, internships and your other third term options.

Time: 30 September 2019 from 13:30 to 15:00
Location: Palaestra’s auditorium, lower

Certificates of Registration available in the Student Portal

All new Graduate School students are now fully programme registered or registered to the first profile course. To check your registration status, log in to the Student Portal. If you need a Certificate of Registration, you can print one out anytime via your Student Portal account. Should you need a stamped, signed Certificate of Registration, please visit the Graduate School Student Reception during regular opening hours.

Open positions at the Social Sciences Student Union

The Social Sciences Student Union is one of the student unions at Lund University working to protect the rights of the students and to assure the quality of education. If you want to have an impact on your studies, you can apply for one of their open positions and become a student representative. The list of vacant positions is available here: https://www.samvetet.org/graduate-school19-20

If you are interested in becoming a student representative, you can apply through this form: https://forms.gle/rDr8q769daW6npSHA

Language Course Reminder

Information about the Graduate School language courses in Modern Standard Arabic and Modern Persian (including first week schedule) is now available online:

https://www.graduateschool.sam.lu.se/education/course-catalogue/language-courses-in-arabic-and-persian

Introduction days meeting times and location to the courses are also on the website. A placement test will take place in the first meeting to determine which level each individual take. Please note that you are not allowed to take both of them, only one.

The full schedule will be made available early next week on the course page.

News from the Faculty of Social Sciences

Conference: From Economic to Political Informality: Exploring the Link between Shadow Practices, Policy Making and Development

From September 17-19, Lund University will host an international conference on the role of informality in international development. The conference “From Economic to Political Informality: Exploring the Link between Shadow Practices, Policy Making and Development” will feature Prof. Alena Ledeneva (University College London) as a keynote speaker. For three days, around 50 specialists working on corruption, informality and development (including Prof. Steven Sampson, Prof. Arnis Sauka) will present their research at the conference.

This international conference, funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond and hosted by the Department of Sociology of Law, will feature presentation of a book “Governance Beyond the Law:

The Immoral, The Illegal, The Criminal” (Palgrave 2019) and two “Scopus Diaries” discussions on the current state of research-based careers. The programme is available here and attendance is free and open to everyone interested.

Time: 17 September 2019 from 12:30 to 19 September 2019 11:30
Location: Eden (various rooms, see programme for full details), Allhelgona kyrkogata 14, Lund
Contact: rustamjon [dot] urinboyev [at] soclaw [dot] lu [dot] se
For more information: https://www.soclaw.lu.se/en/sites/soclaw.lu.se.en/files/workshop_program.pdf
 

Seminar: Capitalism’s Dark Complexion: Theorizing Race, Markets and Identity

Pushkala Prasad is a professor at Skidmore College, NY United States.

Admirers and critics of capitalism remain equally colorblind in their failure to acknowledge the centrality of race in the development of global capitalism. This paper tries to rectify this oversight by examining how race inflects economic interactions and institutions in the strongest possible way, be it in trade, manufacturing, employment relations, extraction of natural resources, labor and investment flows, and rules governing property. Pushkala Prasad will be drawing on Pierre Bourdieu and the work of critical legal scholars to argue that certain racial identities function as forms of symbolic capital and status property, thereby influencing the trajectory of capitalism in a significantly racialized direction. The paper is interdisciplinary in its scope and brings together voices from sociology, economic history, cultural studies and legal studies to make these arguments.

Note that this seminar does not take place at the Department of Sociology.

Time: 23 September 2019 10:15 to 12:00
Location: Ideon Alfa1:3004, Scheelevägen 15B, Lund
For more information: https://www.soc.lu.se/en/event/capitalisms-dark-complexion-theorizing-race-markets-and-identity
 

Seminar: Civil Society Protests and Social Movements

Anders Uhlin is a professor at the Department of Political Science at Lund University.

Anders Uhlin is professor of Political Science and chair of the Department’s Research Committee (2018-2020). His main research interests are in the fields of civil society, transnational activism, global governance, and democratization. Uhlin’s most recent monograph analyses the role of civil society actors in a possible democratization of international organizations and other forms of global governance arrangements. More specifically, it is about civil society engagement with the Asian Development Bank and ASEAN: Civil Society and Regional Governance: The Asian Development Bank and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Uhlin is currently active in three research programs or projects: 1) LegGov where he studies the legitimation and delegitimation of international organizations; 2) Civil Society Elites? Comparing Elite Composition, Reproduction, Integration and Contestation in European Civil Societies; and 3) Civil Society Elites: New Perspectives on Civil Society in Cambodia and Indonesia. Uhlin has been teaching and supervising widely on all levels, for example within the fields of development studies, international politics, and democratization.

Time: 25 September 2019 13:00 to 16:00
Location: Sociology of Law Department House M, Room M331, Allhelgona Kyrkogata 18 C, Lund
Contact: mans [dot] svensson [at] soclaw [dot] lu [dot] se
For more information: https://www.soclaw.lu.se/en/event/sociology-of-law-research-seminars-civil-society-protests-and-social-movements

 

Lecture: Lund Population Day 2019

Lund Population Day 2019 is arranged by the Centre for Economic Demography (CED) & Lund University Population Research Platform (LUPOP). It will take place on 26 September 2019. The main theme is reproduction.

There is a very exciting keynote in the morning at 10:15-12 in Eden with Tomas Sobotka (Wittgenstein Center for Demography and Global Human Capital). The title is “Fertility in rich countries: trends, surprises and underlying factors“. Sobotka is one of the most prominent demographers in Europe today with a keen sociological interest. The keynote is open to everybody.

Then in the afternoon, researchers at LU working on reproduction in various ways will present their research (including Marie Larsson and Lisa Eklund, and Johan Sandberg will chair). For this you need to register (and then you also get a free lunch). Please do so here, and soon, as there is a limited number of seats:

Click here to register for the event. The programme can be found at: https://www.sam.lu.se/event/lund-population-day-2019

Time: 26 September 2019 10:00 to 17:00
Location: Paradiset, Lund
Contact: lisa [dot] eklund [at] soc [dot] lu [dot] se
For more information: https://www.soc.lu.se/en/event/lund-population-day-2019

 

Talk: Book Launch at the Department of Sociology

Knowledge Resistance by Mikael Klintman

Why do people and groups ignore, deny, and resist knowledge about society’s many problems? In a world of ‘alternative facts’ and ‘fake news’, which some believe could be remedied by ‘factfulness’, the question has never been more pressing. After years of ideologically polarised debates on this topic, this book seeks to further advance our understanding of the phenomenon of knowledge resistance by integrating insights from the social, economic and evolutionary sciences. It identifies simplistic views in public and scholarly debates about what facts, knowledge and human motivations are and what ‘rational’ use of information actually means.

The examples presented include controversies about nature–nurture, climate change, gender roles, vaccination, genetically modified food and artificial intelligence. Drawing on cutting-edge scholarship as well as personal experiences of culture clashes, Knowledge resistance is aimed at the general public as well as students and scholars interested in the interface of human motivation and the urgent social problems we face today.

Time: 27 September 2019 15:00 to 16:00
Location: Room 335, Department of Sociology (House G), Sandgatan 11, Lund
Contact: Malin [dot] Akerstrom [at] soc [dot] lu [dot] se
For more information: https://www.soc.lu.se/en/event/book-launch-at-the-department-of-sociology-knowledge-resistance


Talk: Passion and Global Politics, a Conversation Series during the Autumn 2019

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University is holding a conversation series on passion in relation to contemporary global politics, with a focus on the Middle East, North Africa and citizens in the Diaspora.The series will focus on affective politics. Rather than taking macro-level politics and changes of the geo-political map as our point of departure, the conversations aim at exploring political processes, values and relations from the vantage point of passion.

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies is bringing together five prominent international scholars for conversations with Associate Professor Maria Frederika Malmström. The series will begin on 30 September, with Arjun Appadurai.

Arjun Appadurai is the Goddard Professor in Media, Culture and Communication at New York University, where he is also Senior Fellow at the Institute for Public Knowledge. He serves as Honorary Professor in the Department of Media and Communication, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Tata Chair Professor at The Tata Institute for Social Sciences, Mumbai and as a Senior Research Partner at the Max-Planck Institute for Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Gottingen. He was previously Senior Advisor for Global Initiatives at The New School in New York City, where he also held a Distinguished Professorship as the John Dewey Distinguished Professor in the Social Sciences.

Time: 30 September 2019 17:00 to19:00
Place: Eden Lecture Hall, Lund
For more information: https://www.cmes.lu.se/about-cmes/news/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2427&cHash=4b66d430f440a6f28263f2f8281924d8

Other News and Events

Exhibition: Carbon Ruins, an Exhibition of the Fossil Age

‘Carbon Ruins’ aims to transport the visitor into a future where transitions to post-fossil society has already happened. By focusing on recognisable objects the exhibition bridges the gap between the daily lives of humans and the abstract impacts of climate change. The choice of the objects and the associated stories are based on climate models and expertise from the Narrating Climate Futures network. The characters and events which construct the story have been generated through participatory workshops with researchers and practitioners in food, transport, steel, energy and plastic. After Eden and Medborgarcenter Kristallen, the exhibition is on tour in Domkyrkoforum.

Time: 2 September - 29 September 2019
Location: Domkyrkoforum, Kyrkogatan 4, 22 222 Lund
Contact: sylvia [dot] lysko [at] svet [dot] lu [dot] se
For more information: https://www.lu.se/event/carbon-ruins-an-exhibition-of-the-fossil-age-1


WINIR Conference: Institutions for inclusive societies - Global & comparative perspective
The rise of new growth poles and the emergence of new global institutional dynamics are challenging the old divide between the developed and developing world. At the same time as a majority of the world population have experienced improved living standards, there seems to be rising popular discontent with globalization as economic inequalities both between and within nations are rising throughout most of the world.

As many now question whether globalization is compatible with inclusive societies, we must ask what lessons may be drawn from previous waves of globalization. What can be learned from the institutional changes involved in terms of both economic development and the distribution of the effects of globalization on the standards of living and capabilities of people? We must also ask if inclusive institutional strategies such as a renewed role of the welfare state can play an active role in contemporary societies.

Organised in collaboration with the Department of Economic History at Lund University, Sweden, the Sixth WINIR Conference will explore these and related issues. Contributions from any academic discipline or theoretical approach that address the challenges and dynamics of the economic, political, legal and social institutions of our time are welcome.

The conference will open on the afternoon of Thursday 19 September 2019 and end with a dinner on Saturday 21 September. Delegates may stay for a guided tour on Sunday 22 September. Thursday sessions will be held in the historic city centre and the following two days will be held in the Ideon Science Park.

Time: 19–22 September 2019
Location: Aulan, Universitetshuset Paradisgatan 2, Lund
Contact: tobias [dot] axelsson [at] ekh [dot] lu [dot] se
For more information: https://ekh.lu.se/en/calendar/winir-conference-institutions-for-inclusive-societies-global-comparative-perspective

 

Seminar in Copenhagen: Understanding rebellion: religion, state-making and order
Armed non-state actors (ANSAs) – also referred to as rebel or insurgent groups, terrorist organizations, or resistant movements - constitute a considerable part of contemporary armed conflicts and rebellions across the globe. Examples include FARC in Colombia, Islamic State or Al Qaeda affiliated movement across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, the Mai-Mai groups in the DRC, and the Karen National Union (KNU) in Myanmar. Understanding these actors’ ideological mobilization, and state- and order-making practices is crucial to not only grasp the dynamics of conflict but also to consider the pathways to peace and stability.

The ambition of this seminar is to facilitate a comparative view on the dynamics and characteristics across regions and countries, but also to bring into dialogue different parts of the scholarship. This includes the growing body of scholarship that focuses on ANSAs as alternative state- and order-making actors and the scholarship that explores the ideological and religious narratives, worldviews and collective emotions that drive these actors and their capacity to mobilize and expand.

The seminar will be in English and live streamed on diis.dk. Participation is free of charge, but registration is required no later than Thursday 19 September 2019 at 10.00. The link to the registration form and the programme can be found here: https://www.diis.dk/en/event/understanding-rebellion-religion-state-making-and-order

Time: Friday 20 September 2019, 13:30 to 16:30
Location: DIIS Danish Institute for International Studies - Gl. Kalkbrænderi Vej 51A 2100 Copenhagen
For more information: https://www.diis.dk/node/14972

 

Seminar in Copenhagen: European defence cooperation - What do the Nordic countries think?
In a time of uncertainty, not least concerning Brexit and concerning the Trump presidency’s NATO policy, these past few years have seen EU cooperation on security and defence significantly picking up speed. Indeed, security and defence also look to be a clear priority of the current Finnish EU Presidency, whose stated aims include to ensure efficient implementation of existing goals and targets to deepen EU security and defence cooperation and to pursue an active strategic debate on security and defence within the EU.
What do the Nordic EU members think of this new development in European defence cooperation, and how do they see European defence cooperation going forward? This seminar brings together defence practitioners and researchers from Finland, Sweden and Denmark to discuss the state of European defence cooperation now and going forward.

The seminar takes place at DIIS’s auditorium and is hosted in cooperation with The Finnish Embassy in Copenhagen and the Finnish EU Presidency. Register no later than Thursday 26 September at 10:00.

Time: Friday 27 September 2019, 9:30 to 12:00
Location: DIIS Danish Institute for International Studies - Gl. Kalkbrænderi Vej 51A 2100 Copenhagen
For more information: https://www.diis.dk/node/15001