Society for the Study of Power Relations

This conference will explore three interlocking sets of questions, in addition to several
overarching themes and topics related to previous conferences sponsored by the Society for the
Study of Power Relations.

First: what is hierarchy in human life? How does it structure the motivation and justification of
action? How should scholars approach the experience of hierarchy and its opposites or
counterpoints (e.g. equality, reciprocity, or heterarchy)? Papers may consider whether there are
different processes or experiences that create hierarchy and how social scientists should
conceptualize and study them (e.g. power as distinct from authority as a source of hierarchy;
economic versus political inequality; status as a concept in sociology; embodiment and
hierarchy). Papers may also consider comparisons between kinds of hierarchy, large
hierarchical structures, and/or the relationship between these patterns social relations and
experience.

Second: Many social scientists consider meaningful action (in contrast to behavior) as central to
social life. But this raises the question of how action should be conceptualized, and with this
question comes (meta)theoretical dispute. Papers in this thematic may consider different
perspectives on action and how these perspectives inform the empirical study of power and
politics: pragmatist, psychoanalytic, hermeneutic, or performative (for example). Of particular
interest are papers that develop links across conceptualizations that have been viewed as
mutually exclusive–e.g. semiotics and (pure) phenomenology; pragmatism and structuralism;
psychoanalysis and principal-agent theory; rational choice and cultural sociology; etc.

Third: Is “power” enough? This essentially contested concept has allowed social and political
theory to theorize structure and conjuncture, historical continuity and transformation, and the
relationship between political economy and culture. But one might also argue that the human
sciences have been seduced by the concept of power and its related family of concepts
(interest, exclusion, conflict, capacity, control, domination, exploitation) to the exclusion of other
ways of thinking about action, social structure, and history. Each of these other concepts–for
example, authority, violence, understanding, complexity, differentiation–has its own family of
related concepts, and might provide a new angle on the study of power relations. How might we
disrupt, and thereby expand and make more precise, the study of “power” in the human
sciences?

These questions will be discussed at the 9th Power Conference, which will take place at the
University of Virginia, January 9-12, 2025.
The conference will involve keynote addresses by
Julia Adams, Yale University
Kevin Duong, University of Virginia
Eeva Luhtakallio, University of Helsinki
Risto Heiskala, Tampere University

Proposals
We invite proposals for either (1) papers or (2) panels with three or four interrelated papers, on
these three themes and/or related topics. The deadline for proposals is October 4th, 2024

(1) Proposals for papers should include title, author, author affiliation and email, and a
three-paragraph extended abstract. They may be submitted here.

(2) Proposals for panels should include a one-paragraph abstract for each paper, in
addition to a one-paragraph description of the overall theme of the panel. They may
be submitted here.

Scholars will be notified if their proposal has been accepted or not on a rolling basis, and by November 11, 2025 at the latest.

Organizers
Isaac Ariail Reed, University of Virginia (iar2c@virginia.edu)
Pertti Alasuutari, Tampere University (pertti.alasuutari@tuni.fi)
Risto Kunelius, University of Helsinki (risto.kunelius@helsinki.fi)
Mitchell Atkinson III, New York University (atkinson.mitchell@gmail.com)
Julia Dessauer, University of Virginia (jl4hn@virginia.edu)


Power Conference 2025 is organized by the Society for the Study of Power Relations, and supported by the Sociology Department at the University of Virginia. Conference attendees will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation, and tenured faculty may be asked to pay a small fee to help offset costs, depending on university funding. Questions? Email powerconference2025@gmail.com