Building upon the inspiring ESSA Conference 2023 at the Department of Development Studies, University of Vienna/Austria, we aim to continue the debate on our very subject matter ‘development’. The canon of sociology and social anthropology have ever since played their parts in conceptualizing development, the ‘Other’ and particular pathways to modernity. Despite questioning the universality of classical sociological imaginations and its dire call for socio-historical contextualization, development sociology, nevertheless, remained a child of its time: embedded in the sociological canon and in Western-centric ontologies of world history and future. However, the writing of history and the claims for futures get ever more complex, contested and polycentric. In the context of geopolitical rearmament, climate change and environmental degradation, and overall alarmingly growing global social inequalities, academia, activism and international development cooperation search for alternatives and for new meaningful ways of collaboration. Given the multiple global crisis, the conference will particularly address alternative concepts of development and visions for sustainable and socially just futures. We will discuss what a predominantly sociological lens can contribute to the envisioning of futures and to socio-ecological transformation and critically engage with the epistemological and methodological frameworks and tools with which we operate in our work. Furthermore, how can academic knowledge be meaningfully co-produced in transdisciplinary collaborations with activism and development praxis?

>>> Find the preliminary programme here