CLASS AND NATION IN CONTEMPORARY SCOTLAND CONFERENCE
September 17th-18th
The Renfield Centre, 260, Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4HZ
Last September the Sociology Department at Glasgow University held a successful conference on ‘Racism: from the Labour Movement to the Far Right’. We are pleased to announce that we are holding a second conference next month, with a slightly broader remit this time. The aim of our event is to provide a platform for academics, different kinds of activists (political, community, trade union), and for people simply in their capacity as citizens to debate and discuss the meaning of ‘Class and Nation in Contemporary Scotland’ following last year’s independence referendum. We are hosting a key note lecture on Thursday 17 September, followed by a one-day conference on Friday 18 September. We have attached a programme for the conference which details the panels and speakers confirmed.
We very much hope that you will be able to join us this year. We will be providing lunch as well as tea & coffee throughout the conference, and a wine reception on the Thursday evening. You can book tickets via the Eventbrite link below.
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/class-and-nation-in-contemporary-scotland-tickets-16912659219?aff=eac2
The Independence Referendum campaign of 2014 and the British General Election of 2015 have transformed Scottish politics: the former giving rise to a social movement comparable to those of Spain and Greece, the latter consolidating the rise of the SNP signalling the collapse of the once-mighty Scottish Labour Party into electoral irrelevance. Yet the underlying sociological changes beneath these events have received relatively little attention. In particular,while fantastical claims about Scotland being dominated by increasingly affluent middle-class professionals have not survived the recession, nothing has replaced them, and discussions of the Yes vote and SNP’s current hegemony simply assume that this is the result of a turn to ‘nationalism’ when in fact it reflects, at least in part, a search for a social democratic alternative to Labour. This conference seeks to address these issues of class structure and national identity, and related issues of racism, sectarianism and mass movements. Open to both academics and activists, we intend that our programme of lectures, panels and debates – all followed by open discussion – will contribute to deepening public understanding of the ‘New Scotland’.
The proceeds will go towards providing lunch, teas and coffees during the conference.
PROGRAMME
THURSDAY 17 SEPTEMBER
6.00-6.30pm
Registration
6.30-8.30
Opening remarks and welcome
Speaker: Maureen McBride
Setting the Scene: the Continuing Relevance of Class
Speaker: Bridget Fowler
Lecture: Britishness in Scotland: Past, Present – and Future?
Speaker: Richard Finlay
Chair: Neil Davidson
8.30-9.30pm
Wine Reception
***
FRIDAY 18 SEPTEMBER
9.30-10.00am
Registration and Tea/Coffee
10.00-11.30am
Session 1: Contemporary Racisms
Speakers: Colin Clark, Nasar Meer, Gina Netto and Suki Sangha
Chair: Ashli Mullen
11.30-11.45am
Break
11.45-1.15am
Session 2: Sectarianism – or anti-Irish Catholic Racism?
Speakers: Maureen McBride, Michael Rosie, Satnam Virdee
Chair: Minna Liinpää
1.15-2.15pm
Lunch (provided)
2.15-3.45pm
Session 3: Class, Inequality and Gentrification
Speakers: Ewan Gibbs, Gerry Mooney and Kirsteen Paton
Chair: Maureen McBride
3.45-4.00pm
Break
4.00-5.30pm
Session 4: Movements and Neoliberalism
Speakers: Jeanne Freeman, Robin McAlpine, Jonathan Shafi
Chair: Neil Davidson
5.30-5.45pm
Break and Tea/Coffee
5.45-7.15pm
Session 5: Did the Yes Campaign Represent the Triumph of Nation over Class?
Speakers: Neil Davidson and John Foster
Chair: Satnam Virdee
7.15-7.30pm
Concluding remarks and close of conference
Speaker: Bridget Fowler