Dear list members,

We would like to draw your attention to the Call for Papers for the Research Stream 'Sociology of Spatial Mobilities', which will take place again at the 16th Conference of the European Sociological Association (ESA) in Porto, 27-30 August 2024.

As in 2019 in Manchester and 2021 in Barcelona (online), the Research Stream (RS) will provide a broad forum for current research on topics related to spatial mobility.

Details of the Call for Papers for the RS can be found below and in the attachment.

The deadline for submitting abstracts is 15 January 2024.

Abstracts (max. 250 words) must be submitted via the conference platform: https://www.conftool.com/esa2024/

General information about the conference is available here: https://www.europeansociology.org/conference/2024

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Best regards, Knut, Heiko and Gil

RS11 - Sociology of Spatial Mobilities

Coordinators: Knut Petzold, Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, Germany Heiko Rüger, Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), Germany Gil Viry, University of Edinburgh, UK

Recent decades have seen the emergence of more complex forms of spatial mobility, such as long-distance commuting, circular migration, multi-residential living, studying abroad, intensive travelling and virtual mobility via the Internet. Major social changes, such as migration and refugee flows, the pluralisation of living arrangements, labour market deregulation and digitalisation have made the study of spatial mobilities increasingly important for a broader understanding of many sociological issues. Spatial mobility is linked in many ways to key sociological concepts. For example, it is often considered a prerequisite for upward social mobility and social participation. However, access to spatial (digital) mobility is unequally distributed, resulting in different barriers to movement among diverse social groups, in particular across gender, ethnic or class lines. This unequal propensity to benefit from (im)mobility is particularly visible in times of crises, such as wars, pandemics and climate change. The Research Stream will bring together researchers from different sociological fields and investigate how spatial (im)mobilities can be conceptualised from different perspectives and how these mobility-based concepts can be integrated into existing sociological traditions.

Possible session themes include: • Theories, concepts and methods of studying spatial (im)mobilities • Spatial (im)mobilities, residential choice and decision-making processes • Practices of spatial (im)mobilities and organisation of everyday life • Spatial (im)mobilities over the life course and interrelations with various life domains • Spatial (im)mobilities, social mobility and social inequalities • Meanings and ideologies connected with spatial (im)mobilities • Virtual/digital spatial mobility and its relation to corporeal spatial mobility • Work-related travel, working from home and housing • Mobilities and inequalities during crises, including the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Gaza crisis