SEMINAIRE CITIES DU 22 janvier 2014 : Paolo Graziano : Sustainable Communities and Political Consumerism

20 janvier 2014
By

SEMINAR

Sustainable Communities and Political Consumerism

 

Wednesday 22 January 2014

5 – 7 pm

Sciences Po

Rooms 711A and B

117, boulevard Saint-Germain

75006 Paris

 

In the current economic crisis, social movements face two types of challenges: firstly, they are confronting institutions which are less able (or willing) to mediate new demands for social justice and equity emerging from various sectors of society; secondly, giving the highly individualized structure of contemporary society, they are also experiencing difficulties in building bonds of solidarity and cooperation among people, bonds which are a fundamental resource for collective action. It is in this context that protests waves which may be very relevant are in fact often short-lived, and it is in this context that we detect the rise and consolidation of new mutualistic and cooperative experiences within which (similarly to the past) new ties and frame for collective action are created. This presentation discusses and analyses social movement organisations which focus on both the intensification of economic problems and the difficulties of rebuilding social bonds and solidarity within society, emphasizing solidarity and the use of ‘alternative’ forms of consumption as means to re-embed the economic system within social relations, starting from the local level. While discussing what is new and/or what has been renewed in new Sustainable Community Movement Organisations (SCMOs), it develops an analytical framework which combines social movements and political consumerism theories by focusing on two basic dimensions: consumer culture and identity; organisational resources and repertoire of action.

 

Speaker

Paolo R. Graziano is Associate Professor at Bocconi University. He is the author of three books and several articles published in leading political science, public administration and social policy journals such as European Journal for Political Research, The Annals of the American Academy of Social and Political Science, European Political Science, Regional and Federal Studies, Social Policy and Administration, Governance, Global Social Policy, Journal of Social Policy.

 

Discussants

Sophie Dubuisson-Quellier is CNRS Research Professor at Sciences Po and works at the CSO.  She teaches economic sociology and sociology of markets at Sciences Po. Her research is situated in the field of economic sociology, and focuses on the social construction of consumers and markets.  She recently published Ethical Consumption (Protest Series, Fernwood Publishing), and “A market mediation strategy”, (Organization Studies, 34, n° 5-6).

 

Thomas Aguilera is a PhD candidate in political science at the CEE of Sciences Po. His thesis is about public policies towards illegal housing in Paris and Madrid. His main research interests are public policies, social movements, informality and urban marginality. He teaches political science and sociology (ATER) at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Toulouse (LaSSP). He has recently published « Gouverner les illégalismes. Les politiques urbaines face aux squats à Paris », Gouvernement & action publique 2012/3 (3), p. 101-124.

 

Free entrance according to available places – Contact: josuegim@gmail.com