A Step Forward
Seyed Hossein Serajzadeh[1]
Iranian Sociological Association is holding the “Regional Conference on Social thought and Sociology in Contemporary Middle East” in cooperation with International Sociological Association (ISI) and with the support of other domestic and foreign research institutes, whose names can be seen in the conference introduction page. The idea of holding this conference goes back to 2008. With the expansion of the Association’s international scientific relations, its membership in ISA and the visits of Professor Michael Burawoy, former vice-president and current president of ISI, and Seyed Farid Al-Atas, former member of the executive committee of ISA, to Tehran, the Board of Iranian Sociological Association decided to hold a regional conference through the cooperation of the two associations to expand the scientific relations of sociologists in the region. This conference was scheduled for February 2009, but for some reasons was postponed and now we are witnessing it.Iranian Sociological Association has organized several national conferences on social sciences up to now which have provided opportunities for critical and reflective dialogue regarding social sciences and sociology. All of these conferences were met with significant contributions and participations, and have yield several publications[2]. The present conference is an opportunity for Iranian social science researchers to review, criticize and evaluate comparatively the issues and problems of their discipline in a broader regional context. Unfortunately, sociology in Iran has been to some extent isolated and localized in respect to international and, particularly regional relations, and therefore is or less informed about social thoughts and knowledge, experiences and achievements, issues and challenges, and the works of social scientists and thinkers in the region. Scientific and university congregations of countries in the region also have a limited relations and knowledge of social sciences and thinkers in Iran. Iranian, Turkis, and Arab students and academics of social sciences have no or very limited knowledge about each other’s sociologies, social thinkers and sociologists. Such conferences can lead to acquaintance and scientific interactions between sociologists and social thinkers in the region.
In this context, the “Regional Conference on Social thought and Sociology in Contemporary Middle East” can furthermore fulfill two long term requirements and necessities. First, social theory and knowledge is generally the result of thought and research about social problems and crisis. Neighboring countries and countries of close culture and civilization which have similar and sometimes common historical experiences, encounter with quite similar social problems and issues. The current crisis through Middle East countries and democratic movements in these societies are examples of common issues of these societies. Therefore, regarding to social theories explaining social problems and empirical studies on these issues and problems, and also obstacles and limitations they are facing with in the process of social research, social scientists and researchers of the region have many things for sharing and learning from each other.
Second, social sciences and sociology as a university field, while being universal and requiring to follow general rules and principles of scientific methodology, also have an indigenous and cultural nature and their formation is very much related to the intellectual capacities and cultural traditions of societies. The Middle East is the origin of ancient civilizations and has rich religious and cultural traditions and therefore, when exposed to the intellectual achievements of Western civilization, including new knowledge, the contexts of these cultures have actively and influentially entered the stage. In this context, the role of Islamic culture and civilization, as a commonality between these societies, is very significant in the formulation of social sciences. As a result, in these societies social thinkers have either entered into an interaction and critical dialogue with the outputs of modern times, as Islamic social thinkers who benefit from religious cultural and ideological sources, or they have been faced with serious questions and challenges from the dominant religious culture. In order to play a significant role in their own society they need to address these debates. In such common contexts, scientific and intellectual relations between social thinkers and sociologists in the Middle East societies and their awareness of the works and views of each other are beneficial to the growth of social science at national and regional levels.
In regard to the above mentioned points, the “Regional Conference on Social Thought and Sociology in Contemporary Middle East” can be a starting point to bring together sociologists and social thinkers of the region, to establish and enhance regional scientific relations, and to take advantages of common intellectual, cultural and religious contexts to extend social sciences and sociology and the scientific consensus movement towards the adaptation of social sciences with local and cultural issues.
This conference, as the first experience of Iranian Sociological Associations in organizing a transnational conference, was limitedly programmed so as to be a small step in the start of a journey. In this conference a certain number of local and foreign senior social scientists and sociologists and experts on the subject of the conference were invited to present their views in the form of a paper or speech. In addition to this, a number of foreign experts who were informed of the conference showed their interest to participate in this event. A national public call was also made to attract wider participation. Unfortunately, A number of foreign invitees, who had submitted papers, were unable to attend the conference. Fortunately the conference call was also well received by local experts and researchers and by the time of scheduling the conference program 127 abstracts and 33 full papers were submitted. Unfortunately, it is not feasible to schedule the presentation of all the abstracts and full papers. In the papers to be presented were prioritized based on the submission of full papers, topic novelty, and diversity of topics and views. We thank all participants who have submitted abstracts and full papers.
This conference is the result of a group activity. In addition to those who submitted abstracts and full papers, many people and organizations have cooperated and supported this activity in various ways, which you can find their names in the conference profile page and the list of paper presenters. The cooperation and efforts of these companions and colleagues and the executives of supporting and cooperating organizations are worthy of many thanks and appreciation.
In accordance with the previous conferences of Iranian Sociological Association, questions related to the subject of conference have been made and put to debate with various experts. These interviews, which are a kind of dialogue about the themes of the conference, have been published in the Website and Newsletter of Iranian Sociological Association. The interviews reflect the diverse views of the thinkers and experts. We thank all those who warmly accepted our invitation for interview.
Finally, I hope the conference could meet the aims of the organizers. Your suggestions and critiques will result into a better performance in the future events and will be greatly appreciated.
[1] Scientific Coordinator of the Conference
[2] In recent years, in addition to conferences on social issues in Iran, the association has held five major national conferences about the situation and problems of social sciences including the conferences of “Problematic issues of Social Science in Iran” (2006), “Local and Global Science” (2007), “Theoretical and Conceptual Reflections on Iranian Society” (2008), “Social Science in Iran: Achievements and Challenges” (2009), and “The first National Conference on Social and Cultural Research (2009).
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