Happiness Symposium 4th June 2015 Leicester – Call for Papers

This looks interesting:

Call for Papers
Is well-being the most appropriate measure of the state of post-crisis societies in the West? Can different tools that assess it provide useful and meaningful information about societal prosperity which can be used by the policy makers? What sociology can add to the discussion about appropriate indicators of human flourishing in modern times?

These questions require thorough evaluation of the state of society today which can be enriched by the research findings from quantitative and qualitative studies that complement each other in order to provide full picture of the society today. Current recession and austerity measures that were implemented in most Western countries as a result of it challenged the view that the standards of living dominating in the past decades can be sustained in an unchanged form. What followed was the rise of the popularity of well-being measures that aimed to evaluate broadly understood life satisfaction of people in societies that were already being transformed by the economic crisis and its repercussions, in order to define happy life and what matters to it.
Furthermore, both theoretical and empirical perspectives can contribute to the broadening of the concept of well-being in relation to the post-crisis society.

The participants of the event will be looking to assess the relevance and usefulness of well-being indicator as a measure of the progress of society in modern times and will seek to answer the question: in what other terms should we evaluate our societies if well-being is not enough?

The event will give the opportunity to engage in scholarly debate and exchange views and ideas within the sociological framework that will enrich and broaden sociological perspectives on societal well-being. Suggestions for presentation topics include, but are not limited to:

·         Sociological approach to researching well-being

·         Consequences of current crisis on modern society

·         Welfare policies and their role in building thriving society

·         Theoretical perspectives on the concept of societal well-being

·         Methodological issues with researching well-being

·         Components of the well-being of the society

·         Gender roles in the post-crisis society: winners and losers

·         Inequalities in well-being – inequalities in the post-crisis society

·         What do quantitative and qualitative methods contribute to the research of well-being and society?
We are limited to inviting a maximum of 30 delegates. There are spaces available for up to 8 presenting delegates who should apply with a 300-word abstract and a brief biographical note. Details of all delegates will be included in the conference programme. Applications should be sent to the organiser of the event:  Katarzyna Kucaba (kk237@leicester.ac.uk<mailto:kk237@leicester.ac.uk>).  The deadline for applications is 5pm on Sunday 15th March.