Participating in RN Activity: RN Call for Papers
Research Network: Stratification and Inequality
Social Change and the Transformation of Stratification and Inequality
These sessions aim to explore how contemporary social changes are reshaping the mechanisms, patterns, and consequences of stratification and inequality across societies.
Rapid transformations in technology, economy, labor markets, and institutions have generated new forms of inequality while also transforming existing structures of class, mobility, and social stratification. In particular, digital transformation, including the development of algorithms, platform economies, and digital infrastructures, has become an important force reshaping the distribution of resources, opportunities, and risks.
The RN welcomes theoretical and empirical contributions addressing various dimensions of stratification and inequality. We particularly encourage presentations related to the following themes:
Session 1: Digital Transformation and New Forms of Stratification and Inequality
- Digital technologies, algorithms, and emerging inequalities;
- Platform economy and new forms of labor stratification;
- Digital capital, data resources, and unequal opportunities.
Session 2: Social Change, Social Mobility, and Stratification in Contemporary Societies
- Class formation, reproduction, and social mobility;
- Labor market transformation and changing patterns of inequality;
- Institutional change and its impact on social stratification.
We especially welcome comparative and interdisciplinary research examining how contemporary social transformations are reshaping stratification and inequality in different societies. Scholars from diverse backgrounds and career stages are warmly invited to submit their presentation proposals.
Contact person:
Prof. Jingqian Bi
Email: bjqjwfl@163.com
Research Network: History of Sociology
The History of Sociology Research Network invites presentation proposals for its sessions at the EASA Tokyo Congress this fall. The RN will organize two sessions: a special session on Post-Western Sociology (PWS) and a session on the history of sociology.
Special session on Post-Western Sociology (PWS)
(1) Title:
Post-Western Sociology (PWS): Past, Present, and Future
(2) Purpose of the session:
This session aims to situate PWS within the history of sociology, assess its achievements, and consider its future directions. We welcome presentations that engage with these questions from theoretical, historical, or empirical perspectives.
(3) Possible Presentation Themes:
• The origins of PWS and unresolved epistemic injustice following the post-WWII wave of national independence.
• Large-scale social transformations since the 1960s and the re-examination of social action.
• The integration of reflexive modernity and alternative modernities ("manifest PWS").
• Future directions for developing a manifest PWS through the integration of theory and empirical research.
Session on the History of Sociology
(1) Title:
To be announced.
(2) Purpose of the session:
This session explores perspectives and methods that can deepen our understanding of the history of sociology. Research in historical sociology and the history of sociology encompasses diverse subjects, approaches, and methodologies. By bringing these varied perspectives and interpretations into conversation, the session seeks to sharpen our collective understanding of sociology's history through discussion and exchange.
(3) Possible Presentation Themes:
We welcome presentation proposals on a broad range of topics related to the history of sociology. By bringing together diverse research findings and approaches, the session will explore perspectives and methods that can enrich future research in the field.
How to Apply:
Please include the following in your proposal:
• Proposed presentation title
• Abstract (150-300 words, in English)
• Up to four keywords
• Current institutional affiliation and contact email address
Please send your proposal to:
Shujiro Yazawa (syazawa[at]seijo.ac.jp; please replace [at] with @)
Contact:
Shujiro Yazawa (syazawa[at]seijo.ac.jp; please replace [at] with @)
Research Network:Digital Transformation, Capitalism, and Social Development
Purpose and Objectives
The Digital Transformation, Capitalism, and Social Development Research Network brings together scholars from Korea, Japan, China, ermany, and beyond to examine how digital transformation - platform economies, artificial intelligence, and new forms of industrial policy - is reshaping apitalism and social development across East Asia and the wider world. Chaired by Professor Hyun-Chin Lim (Professor Emeritus, Seoul ational University), the RN builds on a long tradition of comparative, historically grounded analysis of capitalism and social structure, extending that ens to the digital-era transformations now reshaping states, markets, and societies. At the 2026 Tokyo Congress, the RN aims to convene esearchers whose work advances comparative and empirically grounded understanding of these transformations and their social consequences.
Types of Presentations Sought
We welcome paper proposals on topics including, but not limited to:
- Platform capitalism, digital labor, and algorithmic governance
- AI, automation, and the transformation of work and welfare
- Comparative capitalism and varieties of capitalism in the digital era
- State-market-society relations amid digital and industrial transformation
- Social inequality and labor markets under digital capitalism
- Historical, theoretical, and empirical perspectives bridging sociology, political science, and economics
Contact:
Interested presenters should contact the RN Secretary, Miongsei Kang (miongsei@snu.ac.kr), with a tentative title, brief abstract, and a few eywords.
Research Network: Social Movement and Civil Society
Across East Asia and beyond, rapid social, cultural, demographic, and economic changes are generating new forms of public debate and social engagement. Issues such as gender equality, labor and employment, migration and social inclusion, environmental sustainability, peace, and social justice have become important subjects of discussion among citizens, civic organizations, policymakers, and public institutions. At the same time, these changes have produced a wide range of responses, including support, concern, and disagreement.
This session examines how societies respond to such changing values, expectations, and policy agendas. Rather than approaching these developments from the perspective of any particular political position, the session seeks to understand the processes through which social concerns are articulated, contested, negotiated, and incorporated into public debate and institutional practice.
We invite papers addressing questions such as: How do civic organizations and other collective actors communicate their concerns to the wider public? How do governments, political institutions, and communities respond to competing social demands? Under what conditions can disagreement lead to constructive public dialogue, policy innovation, or new forms of social cooperation? How do digital media, generational change, demographic transformation, and transnational connections shape these processes?
The session particularly welcomes research that helps illuminate the implications of these developments for governance, social cohesion, public communication, and institutional responsiveness. Comparative, transnational, and theoretically informed studies are especially encouraged.
Please complete and submit the Google Form below if you would like to give a presentation:
https://forms.gle/ii1ty2e614Dsghwh9
Please contact us by email if you have any questions:
・ Dai Nomiya: d-nomiya[at]sophia.ac.jp (please replace [at] with @)
・ Jin-Wook Shin: socioshin[at]gmail.com (please replace [at] with @)
Research Network: Social Theory
Purpose and Objectives
The Social Theory Research Network invites proposals for its session, “Social Theory in the Age of AI,” at the EASA 2026 Tokyo Congress. The session asks how social theory can interpret—and itself be renewed by—the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and algorithmically mediated social life. Rather than treating AI solely as a technical innovation, we seek to place it within longer histories of modernity, communication, moral transformation, and civilizational encounter. The session will examine how AI reshapes agency, social structure, temporality, intimacy, morality, culture, and the production of knowledge. It aims to connect classical and contemporary social theory with emerging developments such as generative AI, autonomous agents, human–AI relationships, and generative social simulation. A particular objective is to encourage dialogue between East Asian intellectual traditions and international debates on digital society, while keeping questions of human flourishing, cultural difference, and moral subjectivity at the center of analysis.
Types of Presentations Sought
We welcome theoretically ambitious presentations, including conceptual, historical, comparative, and empirically informed work. Relevant topics may include: AI and classical or contemporary social theory; algorithmic agency and emergent social order; human–AI intimacy, memory, and social time; morality and ethical subjectivity in digital society; communication technologies and transformations of social thought; generative social simulation as a method or experimental field for theory; cultural self-awareness and civilizational learning under technological change; and critical perspectives on power, inequality, governance, and the commodification of attention or time. Contributions that develop new concepts, revisit major theorists, or bring East Asian experiences into wider theoretical conversations are especially encouraged.
How to Express Interest
Prospective participants are invited to submit a presentation title, an abstract, up to four keywords, and their name and institutional affiliation. Please direct submissions and inquiries to the session contact listed below.
Contact email: liyuan_ist[at]163.com (please replace [at] with @)
