Duration
24 Apr 2015 - 25 Apr 2015
Huntington’s ideas have experienced a revival among journalists and scholars who have tried to explain current violent conflicts around the globe. Indeed, despite its shortcomings and problematic normative assumptions “The Clash of Civilisations” still inspires social scientists
dealing with violence. Both civilisation and violence are highly contested terms as is their mutual relationship. Some identify civilisation with progress, order and the pursuit of perfectibility. For others civilisation is a euphemism for domination and a sense of ideological superiority. Similarly there is no agreement on what constitutes violence: while for some authors a violent action inexorably entails the use of physical harm, for others violence incorporates a variety of actions – from mental injuries to social inequality. These different understandings are particularly pronounced when analysing the relationship between civilisation and violence. For some scholars civilisation and violence are mutually exclusive phenomena. For example, both Norbert Elias and Steven Pinker see the apparent gradual world-wide decrease of violence as the result of long term civilising processes. In contrast, other social scientists see violence as the key constitutive ingredient of civilisation.
Michael Mann and Charles Tilly, among others, argue that all world civilisations are built on violent foundations: the modern state is a product of economic, ideological and political power but most of all of warfare and military might. The aim of this conference is to provide cutting edge analyses of these complex relationships between civilisation(s) and violence. Conference participants will address questions such as: Are violence and civilisation inherently linked? Why, when and how are some forms of social action deemed violent and others civilised? How can one differentiate between civilised and non-civilised and violent and non-violent processes? Is organised violence universal or historically and culturally specific? What are the social and historical sources of violent acts? etc.
Academic board:
Saša Božić, University of Zadar, Croatian Sociological Association, Croatia
Emilio Cocco, University of Teramo, Italy
Simona Kuti, Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, Zagreb, Croatia
Michal Vašečka, Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Daphne Winland, York University, Toronto, Canada
Mitja Žagar, Institute for Ethnic Studies, Ljubljana, Slovenia
The conference is organised under the auspices of:
Croatian Sociological Association (HSD)
International Sociological Association (ISA)
Keynote speakers:
Siniša Malešević, University College Dublin
Larry Ray, University of Kent
Conference fee: 160 €
Please send the title and abstract (200 words) of your presentation by 1st March 2015 to
iuc.conference@hsd.hr
Participants of IUC conferences may obtain reduced rates in some Dubrovnik hotels
(Please check: http://www.iuc.hr/accomodation.php)
For any further information please contact the conference organiser at: iuc.conference@hsd.hr
Contact person: Margareta Gregurović, conference organiser