Am I Really Here? Faculty from Working-Class and Poverty Backgrounds in Academia

Both the American Sociological Association and individual researchers have reported on a tendency toward increasing internal stratification within the discipline of sociology. Mirroring sizable and growing inequality in society at large, academic sociology is becoming divided between plum positions occupied by blue-chip incumbents, versus an academic scut labor force who face growing teaching and service requirements for flat or declining compensation, with little or no institutional support for research. Accordingly, the theme of the South Carolina Sociological Association's annual conference for 2020 will be the difficulties faced by such faculty and whether our field will be structured in the future to be made more exclusionary or more inclusive. Theoretical and empirical articles, as well as state-of-the-discipline reports, are welcome. Among possible topics are the following:

• The meaning and relevance of meritocracy within academic employment
• The vulnerability of faculty from working-class and poverty backgrounds to casualized academic employment
• The intersectionality of class, race, and sex with academic marginalization
• The legitimacy and realism of mobility expectations for social class-challenged faculty

Contributors to the conference are invited to submit papers on these or broadly related topics. In addition, submissions are being solicited for a general session on research and a poster session, and participants are sought for a pedagogical session on the appropriateness, benefits, and disadvantages of the use of rubrics in grading. Persons interested in submitting papers should send an abstract of fewer than 150 words to scsociology@protonmail.com Persons interested in participating in the poster session or the panel on online teaching should submit a brief e-mail indicating their interest to the same address. Preference will be given to proposals received before December 31, 2019.

The conference will be held at Hickory Knob State Park and Resort, outside McCormick, South Carolina. Rooms are available at a special rate of $80.61 per night, including taxes, for Friday 2/14 and Saturday 2/15. Please notify the resort of your participation in the conference when booking reservations to qualify for the special rate (use the code 271321, or mention that you are with the South Carolina Sociological Association). Rooms must be reserved by October 1 to qualify for the special rate. Reservations may be made by calling (864) 391-2450. A reception will be held at 6 PM Friday 2/14 in the lodge great room, with the conference sessions to follow on Saturday 2/15. A program will be posted here once it is finalized. Registration on site, Saturday 2/15, will take place between 8:30 and 9:00 AM, and costs $50, which includes conference attendance and a one-year membership in SCSA.