National Level Young Researchers Workshop, 22-23 JAN, 2015, Hyderabad

CALL FOR PAPERS 

National Level Young Researchers Workshop 

"Against Method? Methodological Challenges for Social Science Research Today".

Dates: 22-23 January 2015.
Organiser: Research Scholars Forum, Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad.
Venue: Conference Hall, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad.
Last Date: 30/11/2014.

About: Research Scholars Forum at the Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad is organising a Young Researchers Workshop on “Against Method? Methodological Challenges for Social Science Research Today” between 22 and 23 January 2015.  With this workshop we wish to provide a platform for the fellow young researchers in their MPhil/PhD programmes to debate and dialogue on the methodological challenges in doing empirical research in social sciences in a postcolonial country like India. It would be immensely helpful for us, if you could get this invitation circulated in your department.

Social inquiry, as a pursuit of truth, usually attempts to locate itself within the existing debate in the area of research, while engaging in a critical dialogue with the theoretical and methodological standpoints that have taken precedence. Meanwhile, what it means to think sociologically and to practice sociology have been points of contestation amongst scholars over generations. What is more, there is a conscious endeavour on the part of the academia to clearly mark the boundaries of sociological pursuit, whereby debates on subjectivity and objectivity, value biasedness and value neutrality, induction and deduction, among others, are strongly prevalent. These essential dimensions lead us in asking, whether sociological research has succumbed to a theory-practice binary?
 

Furthermore, can method be restricted to enquiry and theory to justification? Or can tools of inquiry be independently developed and deployed without theoretically positing them on the bedrock of the social context? In other words, how organic is the relationship between the researcher, the researched, the methods and the theory?
 

Keeping the above concerns at the backdrop, the Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad is organizing a national-level Young Researchers’ Workshop from 22 to 23 January, 2015. This workshop will offer research scholars a) an opportunity to deliberate on how to imbricate their fieldwork with decisions about which theoretical perspectives to deploy; b) receive feedback on their fieldwork and initial findings from experts who have worked in their subject areas; and c) provide a context for young researchers from around India to present their work and debate with their peers.

We invite abstracts from scholars enrolled in MPhil and PhD programmes in universities in India. Preference will be given to MPhil scholars who are close to submitting their dissertations and PhD scholars at middle to advanced stages of their research. We have limited number of slots and as the emphasis of the workshop is on methodological implications of imbibing emerging paradigms, researchers working on newer orientations, and methods will be given preference. Scholars are invited to submit abstracts deliberating the impact on methods/theory in such a scenario, particularly those who work on the interface between social sciences

Abstract details: Kindly submit via e-mail a 300 words abstract, with a title, your name, institutional affiliation, email address and phone number. The deadline for abstracts is 30th November 2014 and you will be intimated about selection by 7th December 2014. Full papers of 5000 words should be submitted by 30th December 2014.
E-mail your abstracts to socio.uhyd@gmail.com

Use the following format to submit your abstracts.Name:
Institutional Affiliation: Research Programme details: Email address:
Phone number:
Title of the paper:

Abstract:

 

Participation details: Travel and accommodation will be provided to out-station participants (presenters only) which include sleeper-class railway fare, and accommodation in the university guest-house. Lunch on the two workshop days is available to all presenters.
 

Workshop format: Each day of the workshop will have four sessions with a lunch break and two tea breaks. Each session will have two presentations by research scholars of about 30 minutes each, followed by the response of the expert/ senior scholar. The expert’s response will be followed by an open discussion of about 20 minutes when the other participants can raise questions and offer suggestions to the two paper presenters.

The last date for receiving abstracts is 30th November 2014.

CONTACTS:

Ms.Ipsita Pradhan, Workshop Coordinator, Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad. Email: ipsita860@yahoo.co.in Phone: +91-7680890077

Ms.Aleena Sebastian, elizaaleen88@gmail.com Phone: +91-9885106006