As I reflect on my last ten years of engagement with the ISA, I am struck by the continuing influence of the national on the form and content of sociology. We do have an international sociology best represented in the ISA by the array of Research Committees, Thematic Groups and Working Groups. Yet, even these […]

by Matteo Bortolini, University of Padova, Italy As Andrea Cossu and I have argued in Italian Sociology 1945-2010: An Intellectual and Institutional Profile, the early 1990s marked the end of the “heroic,” foundational period of the discipline, giving way to a less charismatic, more professionalized scientific practice, best described as a paradoxical mix of “routinization […]

by Riccardo Emilio Chesta, European University Institute, Fiesole, Italy In contemporary debates in the social sciences, critical sociology and Marxism are typically located in the same box. In fact, their relationship is hardly self-evident. The reconstruction of the discipline in Italy after the Second World War perfectly illustrates the struggle for the hegemony of the […]

by Andrea Cossu, University of Trento, Italy For scientific disciplines, the path leading to intellectual acceptance and institutionalization is almost invariably difficult, involving not only debates about boundaries, but also the creation of a complex, and sometimes exclusive, infrastructure through which the discipline can establish itself and, hopefully, flourish. Post-World War Two Italy was no […]

by Flaminio Squazzoni and Aliakbar Akbaritabar, University of Brescia, Italy Italian sociologists work in a wide range of educational and research institutions located in different regions of Italy. Established hiring and promotion practices – developed through a complicated mix of top-down regulations, co-existing and conflictual “paradigmatic” schools and local “cliques” – have allowed sociologists to […]

by Annalisa Murgia, Leeds University Business School, UK and Barbara Poggio, University of Trento, Italy   Italian sociology’s relationship with gender studies is rather complex, linked as it is to a series of phenomena and events that have characterized both the Italian academic context and the development of the feminist movement in Italy. Gender perspectives […]

by Massimiliano Vaira, University of Pavia, Italy   Long contested, the recognition of sociology as a scientific and academic discipline in the Italian university is a recent event. As a latecomer, its recognition and institutionalization, within the academic field and at the societal level, cannot yet be considered fully established. Consequently, even today, sociology occupies […]

Martin Albrow, the eminent British sociologist, made an early name for himself as a scholar of Max Weber and author of the widely read monograph Bureaucracy (1970). An early theorist of globalization, he published the pioneering The Global Age: State and Society Beyond Modernity (1996). His other books include Max Weber’s Construction of Social Theory […]

Ibrahim Berisha was born in the Republic of Kosova. He completed undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and Sociology in Prishtina, and then went on to postgraduate studies in Zagreb, Croatia, where he earned a PhD in sociology of communications. After working as a journalist and editor in Kosova and abroad, he now teaches at the Department […]

by Steve Matthewman, The University of Auckland and President of the Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand On a rapidly urbanizing planet facing unprecedented wealth disparities, global warming, and the prospect of mass extinction, the question of how to live sustainably and equitably in cities assumes world-historical significance. The majority of the world’s populations are […]

by Holly Thorpe, University of Waikato, Aotearoa New Zealand In contexts of war and natural disaster, children and youth are often considered the most vulnerable. Yet although children and youth may be exposed to particularly high levels of physical, social, psychological, and political risk, simply treating children and youth as “victims” may overlook their unique […]

by Elizabeth Stanley, Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand In the wake of the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s ascendancy, New Zealand’s immigration website has seen a barrage of interest from people wanting to escape their homelands. New Zealand (NZ) certainly has appeal: filmmakers love to capture our dramatic backdrops, and the country is, […]

by Dylan Taylor, Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand Parliamentary politics in Aotearoa New Zealand is in a state of torpor. The country’s Fifth National Government, for whom another term looks likely, has continued the neoliberal project ushered in by the Fourth Labour Government in 1984, predictably pursuing tax cuts, creeping privatization, and employer-focused […]

by Robert Webb, The University of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand In Aotearoa New Zealand, the social marginalization of Māori is apparent in disproportionate rates of criminalization and victimization – a situation that parallels that of other Indigenous peoples who have experienced widespread dispossession in Anglo-settler countries. A minority population of only 15% of the general […]

Leisure Studies was his Passion It was early morning on Tuesday, May 23 in Ahmedabad (India) when I received a distressing call from Professor B.K. Nagla about the sad passing of Professor Ishwar Modi at the age of 76. There are certain personalities who never die even after death because their ideas, memories and affectionate […]

A Source of Inspiration and Encouragement Professor Ishwar Modi’s passing in May 2017 came after a long struggle with cancer, in which he continued to provide support and guidance to a new generation of Indian sociologists, and to a new generation of sociologists of leisure. His death is a sad loss to Indian sociology, sociology […]

by Gül Çorbacıoğlu and Irmak Evren, Middle East Technical University, Turkey We became the Turkish editorial team of Global Dialogue (GD) in January 2015. Our team comprises a core of two, Gül Çorbacıoğlu and Irmak Evren, both PhD candidates at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. Our friend, Ahmet Seyhan Totan, has also been […]