Coordinators:
Diogo Guedes Vidal (UAberta)
Elisabete Melo Figueiredo (UAveiro)
João Guerra (UBI)
In a context marked by the intensification of climate change, ecological degradation, biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, energy and food insecurity, as well as the deepening of social and territorial inequalities and the erosion of democratic values in various parts of the world, the relationships between environment and society have assumed an inevitable centrality in sociological debate. Contemporary socio-ecological challenges raise decisive questions concerning ways of life, models of development, forms of governance, and processes of public participation, calling upon Sociology to reflect critically on its role in understanding these processes and in constructing more just, sustainable, and democratic futures.
Within the broader theme of the XIV Portuguese Congress of Sociology – “Futures in Construction: Sociology in the Public Sphere” – the Thematic Section on Environment and Society aims to establish itself as a space for debate on the contributions of Sociology to the analysis of the complexity and multidimensionality of socio-ecological crises, as well as to the formulation of socially relevant alternatives. In particular, we aim to discuss how sociological knowledge may contribute to enhancing public debate on environment and sustainability, informing public policies, strengthening participatory processes, and giving visibility to the experiences, vulnerabilities, conflicts, and aspirations of different social groups in the face of the ecological transition.
Current transformations require approaches that can link global and local scales, scientific knowledge and situated knowledges, academic research and social intervention.
In this context, it is also important to consider multispecies relationships, acknowledging that contemporary socio-ecological challenges involve complex forms of interdependence between humans and non-humans, with implications for sustainability, justice, and modes of collective coexistence.
The Thematic Section on Environment and Society welcomes proposals that explore how environmental problems are experienced, represented, contested, and politically framed in the public sphere, as well as the opportunities for co-designing more inclusive and democratic responses.
The Thematic Section welcomes proposals for oral communications in the following topics:
- The Anthropocene (and related critical concepts), socio-ecological crises, and contested futures
- Climate change, social transformation, and climate justice
- Environmental governance, public policies, and citizen participation
- Socio-ecological transitions, energy, and decarbonization
- Territories, natural resources, environmental justice, and socio-environmental conflicts
- Cities, mobility, and urban sustainability
- Consumption, lifestyles, and social practices
- Knowledge, communication, and public perceptions of the environment
- Health, environment, well-being, and multispecies relations
- Biodiversity, nature conservation, and sustainability
- Social movements, climate activism, and collective action
We invite you to submit proposals for research summaries located in academic and non-academic contexts in response to this call for proposals.
Proposals, in addition to theoretical essays, must be formulated presenting their theoretical framework, objectives, methodologies used, results and conclusions.
Professional contributions can take the form of experience reports, including context, objectives, actors involved, methodologies, activities developed, and key learnings.
Proposals must be submitted via the personal area by the deadline specified in the submission guidelines.
Evaluation will consider the clarity of objectives, methodological adequacy, relevance of results, and the overall quality of the proposal.
Proposals may be submitted in Portuguese, English, Spanish or French.
The maximum length of the abstract is 2,500 characters (excluding spaces).
The Congress will take place in person at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Algarve, in Faro, from 23 to 25 March 2027, and may include online sessions on 22 March. At the time of submission, authors must indicate whether they intend to participate in person or online.
All the authors will be invited to submit the full papers for publication in the Congress Proceedings.
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