Summer/Fall Newsletter 2019

Editors: Rebecca Blackwell and Arthur McLuhan

Message from the Chair:

Dear Social Problems Theory Division Members,

This newsletter offers division members an opportunity to look back and ahead.

I hope members are settling back into their personal and professional routines after an engaging meeting in NYC. Our division sponsored 7 sessions, held its annual business meeting, participated in the SSSP reception and new member breakfast, and recognized the outstanding contributions of two members to social problems scholarship through our division awards.

I would like to acknowledge everyone who participated in the life of the theory division this yearÑthank you. The continued contributions and commitments of members to conference sessions, networking events, and scholarly awards maintain the division as a Ògoing concern.Ó There will be further calls for participation in division business this term, so please consider becoming involved.

Please join me in welcoming Rebecca Blackwell to the division administration team as our Manager of Communications and Membership Strategy. Rebecca is a Sociology PhD candidate at the University of South Florida. She has an academic background in linguistics, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, extensive work experience as a specialized translator and a research passion for narrative analysis and emotions in society.

In this issue, we highlight our division award winners as well as other division announcements.

Arthur McLuhan 
Chair, Social Problems Theory Division
Department of Sociology 
York University, Toronto, Ontario

Award Winners 2019:

Each year, the Social Problems Theory Division recognizes the research work of its members. This year there were two awards: the Graduate Student Paper Award presented to Mai Thai, for her paper ÒSocial Control Beyond Deviance: The Process of Valorization in Policing,Ó and the Outstanding Article Award presented to Paul Joosse, for his article ÒExpanding Moral Panic Theory to include the Agency of Charismatic Entrepreneurs.Ó As a result of the award, the British Journal of Criminology made JoosseÕs article available open access. The award committee commented that ÒJoosseÕs article made a significant contribution toward social problems theory É providing scholars of social problems with new insight, and new questions to be answered.Ó On behalf of the division, I would like to congratulate Paul and Mai on their excellent work, and acknowledge award committee members for their effort, wisdom, and service. OAAA committee: David Lane (Chair), Peter Ibarra, Keith Johnson, and Elena Polush. GSPA committee: Arthur McLuhan (Chair), Michael Halpin, and Morena Tartari.

Paul Joosse is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at The University of Hong Kong. His research and teaching interests engage criminology, social theory, media studies, and the globalization of social movements. His work has been published in Social Forces, Sociological Theory, British Journal of Criminology, Journal of Classical Sociology, Crime Media Culture, Terrorism and Political Violence, among others.

Mai Thai is a Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology at Indiana University and studies youth, deviance/social control, and race, class, and gender. Her dissertation examines junior police academiesÑschool-police partnerships that expose youth to law enforcement careers and academic resourcesÑto advance the theorizing on governance and social control. Her work has been supported by agencies such as the Ford and National Science Foundations.

Publications and other announcements:

Symbolic Interaction invites article submissions from members of the SSSP Theory DivisionÑespecially manuscripts that draw on or address interactionist work on the construction of social problems.Ê The journal also publishes book reviews (approx. 1000 words) as well as longer review essays.Ê Contact the editor,ÊScott.Harris@slu.edu, for more information.
Recently accepted works include ÒChildhood?Grounded Explanations for Personal Troubles: Social Problems Work in Radio CounselingÓ by Nataliya Thell;Ê ÒEmotions into Disorder: Anxiety Disorders and the Social Meaning of FearÓ by Jennifer Esala and Jared Del Rosso;Ê and a review essay by Joel Best on ÒBig Pictures: Three Books on Social Progress.Ó

Research in Social Movements, Conflict, and Change is calling for papers for a special issue on Commemorating Violent Conflicts and Building Sustainable Peace. 
Documenting violence, delivering accountability, and providing evidence-based insight into the causes, consequences, and ways forward are critical steps in peacebuilding following violent conflicts on campus and in communities. As the Kent State experience demonstrates, memorializing, commemorating, and understanding are equally important responsesÑparticularly when the violence has been nation-states using violence against their own citizens. Scholarship on memorialization, peace activism, state responses, and peacebuilding have blossomed in recent decades. This volume seeks to further this key work.  
Paper submissions due January 15th

The 37th Annual Qualitative Analysis Conference will return to Brescia University College in London, Ontario, Canada, June 24-26, 2020. The conference theme is Conceptualizing Theory: Analytic Practices in Qualitative Research. The Keynote Address will be delivered by Eviatar Zerubavel, Board of Governors and Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University. The Featured Speaker will be Iddo Tavory, Associate Professor of Sociology at New York University.
Abstract submissions due October 9th