Special Issue Call for Papers: Public Sociology

The Sociologist

Deadline for submissions: March 31st, 2020

Contact email: Emily McDonald (emcdon15@gmu.edu)

Guest Editors: Emily McDonald (emcdon15@gmu.edu), Amber Kalb (akalb@gmu.edu), Briana Pocratsky (bpocrats@gmu.edu), and Maria Valdovinos (mvaldovi@gmu.edu)

Publication Schedule: May 2020

In 2004, Michael Burawoy gave his presidential address, “For Public Sociology,” to the American Sociological Association (ASA). He called for a sociology that would engage the multitude of publics, “…reaching beyond the university, to enter into ongoing dialogue with these publics about fundamental values” (Zussman and Misra 2007: 5). In doing so, Burawoy’s address served as a lightning rod in revitalizing the debate on the future direction of the discipline that situated his vision amongst a long line of scholars advocating for active engagement in political and social issues (Lee 1976; Gans 1989; Cox 1993; Feagin 2001).

With this Call for Papers for a special issue of The Sociologist, we aim to explore the many questions and debates surrounding public sociology including but not limited to the following: What is public sociology? What does public sociology look like? Why is public sociology important? How is public sociology different from other public-facing disciplines/(sub)fields, such as public history? More specifically, what are some sites of public sociology in the DMV area?

We are interested in how public sociology may be understood, articulated, and practiced and welcome a range of submissions including but not limited to research articles, think pieces, interviews, and/or other creative submissions (e.g. photography, poems, and short stories). We encourage graduate students, faculty, practitioners and individuals of all experiences and backgrounds with an interest in public sociology to submit.

The Sociologist does not consider multiple submissions or work that has been approved elsewhere. Submissions can vary in length but should not exceed 3000 words, excluding references. Accompanying images are highly encouraged. All submissions should follow the ASA guidelines and will be reviewed by the guest editors. Single author and co-authored pieces will be considered. Please send your submission to Emily McDonald (emcdon15@gmu.edu) with the email subject “The Sociologist-Public Sociology Submission” by Tuesday, March 31st, 2020.

The Sociologist is a magazine of public sociology and the mouthpiece of the District of Columbia Sociological Society (DCSS). The Sociologist began as a newsletter for members of DCSS. Beginning in 2014, we transformed the newsletter into a periodic magazine of public sociology for a general audience. The magazine is an open-access online publication supported by DCSS and George Mason University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Our aim is to continue to foster our project as a meeting place for all sociologists in the Washington, D.C. area. To learn more about The Sociologist, please visit https://thesociologistdc.com/.

 

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