Dear RC02 Members,

Since our last newsletter, the ISA Assembly of Councils met and decided to postpone the World Congress to June 25-July 1, 2023 (originally scheduled for 2022). The current aspiration and plan is to have the conference be in-person in Melbourne, Australia, with accommodations for those unable to travel due to COVID. The decision was preceded by consultations across ISA as well as lengthy deliberation within the Assembly of Councils. Although very strong arguments were made in favor of not postponing the conference—and moving it online—the majority across the ISA were in favor of postponing the conference. In the ISA-wide survey, 72% were in favor of postponing the Congress, with similar percentages from both the global North and South. These polls were roughly consonant with my own surveys within RC02. 

Linked to the decision to postpone the conference, the ISA also decided to extend the tenure of the RC/WG/TG elected officers for an additional year because the responsibilities of elected members (and the election cycle itself) is tied to activities conducted in the World Congresses. For example, most of the groups within ISA, including our own RC02 Bylaws, are tied to the temporal cycle of the World Congresses. This is a good opportunity to ask each of you to consider thinking of ways to provide service to our community, including elected office. Regardless of the uncertainty regarding whether the World Congress will ultimately be held in-person, on-line, or in a hybrid format, I am committed to ensuring that our next round of elections will continue to be transparent and as inclusive as possible.

In the near future, the ISA will be experimenting with having a fully online major conference, not only as a response to COVID, but also due to concerns of environmental sustainability and an attempt to enable greater global participation in ISA. Following a split vote of the Research Council (in which I represented RC02), the decision was made by the ISA Executive Committee to have the V ISA Forum of Sociology be held entirely online, most likely in 2025. The Executive Committee’s vote was almost evenly split, but with two more votes in favor of an online Forum.

In Melbourne prior to the World Congress, RC02 is currently making plans to hold a multi-day pre-conference as well as an international mentoring laboratory for junior scholars. However, the capability to hold the Congress and these events remains tenuous because the state of COVID remains uncertain and dynamic. As I write this, Australia continues to prohibit travel unless one is in a narrow range of exempt categories or is eligible to be granted an individual exemption. Even within this narrow range of exempt travelers, in reaction to the recent global circulation of the Omicron variant, Australia has begun barring any travelers—including its own citizens—who have in the previous 14 days visited South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique or Malawi. I think it is self-evident that the viability of holding a genuinely international conference in Melbourne is conditional on the trajectory of the COVID pandemic over the next half year and the Australian government’s dynamic response to it.

I also have one potentially momentous bit of news to share. If you have organized sessions, had questions about your ISA membership, or other diverse matters anytime over the past four decades, you may have corresponded with the ISA General Secretary, Izabela Barlinska. She has announced that she will be retiring in 2023. Truly, Izabela’s departure marks a significant milestone and challenge for the ISA at every level. I can attest from working with her in many capacities over the past decade to her efficiency, expansive knowledge, and level headedness in often stressful situations.

In closing, these are challenging times for many of us, both personally and professionally. How can we help each other publicize your research or make connections with colleagues? RC02 can help. Please send your research citations and abstracts to Dustin Stoltz (dss219 [at] lehigh.edu) for publicity in our Friday broadcast or newsletter. Please send your proposed ideas for public sociology to promote your research in the public sphere to Karen Shire (karen.shire [at] uni-duisburg-essen.de). Please send your idea for conferences, as well as any ideas you have on RC02 activities to myself (Aaron.Pitluck [at] IllinoisState.edu). I look forward to hearing from you in the weeks ahead.

In aloha and solidarity,

Aaron Pitluck
President, Economy & Society Research Committee (ISA RC02)
Associate Professor of Sociology
Illinois State University

PS: Since this letter was written, Australia’s travel restrictions have eased.