Conference Theme - 2013

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Student Conference

The 3rd Annual Sociology & Criminology Undergraduate Student Conference will be held on Friday, November 1, 2013 at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.  The theme of this year's conference is Oppression, Resistance, and Activism.

We invite papers, posters, art projects, media analysis, and discussion panels from various disciplines that discuss and explore how inequalities take shape and affect peoples and groups across the globe, how groups and individuals resist various forms of oppression, and the consequences of social and grassroots movements on the life chances of groups in modernity. 

There are many forms of oppression that affect individuals and groups around the world. Central to the process of oppression is how people of marginalized backgrounds resist the systems of power and attempt to democratize the societies in which they live in and reside at. Despite the effects of structural inequalities on various groups around the world, people in different parts of the globe have been drawing on their agencies to affect change and to bring about freedom and democracy, and implement equity and equality programs that aim at ameliorating the effects of inequalities based on factors, such as gender, “race”, ethnicity, sexuality, ability, religion, age, and class.

Workers around the world have been organizing to promote better work conditions, wages, and health benefits. Women have been organizing to promote gender equity and fight the consequences of patriarchal relations and androcentricity. Gay, lesbian, and transgendered communities have played an influential role in promoting laws and policies that promote their rights and attempt to put an end to hate crimes based on sexuality. Racialized groups have been resisting the colonial and post-colonial policies of Euro-Western and their host countries. Migrant workers in various parts of the world have been organizing to bring attention to their plights in the context of the neo-liberal global economic system. Aboriginal peoples, through social movements such as Idle No More,  have played a central role in anti-colonial activism by problematizing how our natural, spiritual,  and physical environments have been negatively affected by years of exploitation and mismanagement.

The aim of this conference is to provide a space for multidisciplinary and multidimensional approaches to better understand how various forms of oppression and resistance are interconnected and linked. We ask several interrelated questions:

1) How can we resist powerful groups and promote democratic principles that are inclusive of various needs and perspectives of marginalized peoples?

2) How do various marginalized groups conceptualize resistance and organize themselves? What have been the consequences of such forms of resistance? What can we learn from these social movements in terms of future approaches to activism?

3) What is activism? What are its many manifestations? How do people practice activism? What can be learnt from the active participation of marginalized peoples in various parts of the world in resisting powerful global and national structures and organizations and promoting local grassroots movements that are attentive to the social, economic, political, and cultural needs of local people?

We seek theoretical, historical, analytical, descriptive, and statistical analyses of resistance, domination, and oppression in various parts of the world. We invite all social sciences and humanities students to submit their proposals to SSC@kwantlen.ca by September 27, 2013.

You can submit your proposal to any of the following types of sessions: paper, poster, roundtable,performance and demonstration, symposium, and prearranged.