Challenging Orthodoxy: The Public Function of Sociology?

A two day conference at The University of Liverpool Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work on 8th and 9th September 2005. Conference rate: £10

This conference welcomes community groups, and activists from Liverpool to attend and join in debates on the city, culture, crime, disorder, inequality, the role of academics ….
Can universities work with grassroots organisations to influence positive social change?

Darren Guy talks with Roy Coleman and Stuart Wilks-Heeg, from The Liverpool University Sociology Department to find out what the conference is all about.
The conference marks the centenary of the Department of Sociology at Liverpool University.
British Sociology has been significantly enriched by the University of Liverpool. Over the past 100 years, Liverpool's contribution to Sociology has been highly distinctive, rooted particularly in applied, critical social research that directly seeks to influence politics and policy. It's important to challenge some of the self-inflated nonsense that goes on in many universities and attempt to make a difference. This can mean challenging the ivory tower of academic work which is often funded by powerful local and national organisations with vested interests in seeing particular types of 'safe' research. However, good academic work strives to remain independent and offer alternative viewpoints, not only to other academics, but also to a wider public constituency. In this conference, we tackle local issues which have a global significance and we ask what is going on in our cities, how is local politics changing and what about inequality? Should not sociologists tackle these kinds of issues?
Whether we work inside or outside of the university we live in the same environment and confront the same issues. We are all trying to grapple with and get a handle on things like capital of culture, housing problems, democratic accountability in an age of 'partnership' and how these things relate to the continuance of gender divisions, racism, poverty and homelessness. The city of Liverpool is continuing to see dramatic changes that are transforming people’s lives for better and worse. Many feel disaffected and alienated from these changes as even a quick glance at the Echo will tell you and this is affecting what local people are doing to organise their own lives in the face of political change.

Conference Administrator: Dianne Webb
Email: dianne.webb@liv.ac.uk Tel: 0151 794 2972
More information on our webpage: http://www.liv.ac.uk/sspsw