London School of Economics

26^th May 2017

Over the past twenty years, the study of revolution has lost the centrality it once enjoyed. Yet the study of revolutions has never been so important: in thinking through the aftermath of the Arab uprisings, exploring the ideology of ISIS and other Islamist groups, understanding self-proclaimed revolutionary movements in the West, and interpreting the experience of states that continue to see themselves as revolutionary, such as China, Iran, and Cuba. The study of revolution needs to catch up with the actual experience of revolutionary movements and states.

One barrier to this endeavor is the fracturing of the study of revolutions into different disciplines and sub-fields. This workshop seeks to bring together scholars and students working on revolutions from different disciplinary backgrounds (e.g. Sociology, International Relations, History, and Political Science), sub-fields (e.g. social movements, civil resistance, political violence), and perspectives (e.g. structural and strategic, quantitative and qualitative, constructivist and rationalist) in order to see whether this barrier can be transformed into an opportunity. The aim is to get together a group of people who work on revolutions from different perspectives in order to help advance the next generation of revolutionary studies.

The workshop is aimed at junior scholars, i.e. current PhD students or those who are within 5 years of the receipt of their doctorate. Thanks to generous funding from the International Relations Department at LSE, travel expenses will be met (up to £500), alongside 2 nights of accommodation in London (up to £250), and all catering costs. Participants will have their papers discussed by an established academic. Confirmed participants include Mlada Bukovansky (Smith College), Erica Chenoweth (University of Denver), Sharon Nepstad (University of New Mexico), and Colin Beck (Pomona College). There may also be an opportunity to publish some of the papers in an edited volume or special issue.

Those interested in attending the workshop should send an abstract (c. 250 words) of their proposed paper to George Lawson (g.lawson@lse.ac.uk) and Daniel Ritter (daniel.ritter@sociology.su.se) by 1^st December 2016. Please note that the maximum number of participants at the workshop is 12. Full papers are due by 1^st May.

If you would like further details or have questions about the workshop, please get in touch with George and Daniel directly. We look forward to hearing from you.

Stellan Vinthagen, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 

/until Dec. I am based on Turtle Island (or United States of America), a guest on the First Nation Pocumtuc land

Endowed Chair in the Study of Nonviolent Direct Action and Civil Resistance

Professor of Sociology at UMass, Amherst umass.edu/sociology/users/vinthagen 

Senior Researcher in Sociology, Gothenburg University http://socav.gu.se/english/research/civil-society-and-social-movement-research 

Editor, Journal of Resistance Studies, http://resistance-journal.org 

Director, Resistance Studies Initiative, UMass, Amherst umass.edu/resistancestudies

Steering group, Resistance Studies Network, resistancestudies.org

International Council, War Resisters’ International, wri-irg.org

Nonviolence and Peace Movements Commission, International Peace Research Association (IPRA), http://ipranonviolence.org/home 

LATEST BOOK: A Theory of Nonviolent Action - How Civil Resistance Works (2015)

https://www.zedbooks.net/shop/book/a-theory-of-nonviolent-action/ 

BLOG on resistance: http://blogs.umass.edu/vinthagen/

Academia: https://umass.academia.edu/StellanVinthagen  

• CONTACT (until Dec):

Office at Umass: +1 (413) 545-4072, Thompson, Room 706 (Hours: Mon 9-12)

Department of Sociology, 200 Hicks Way, Thompson Hall, University of Massachusetts, MA 01003-9277, Amherst, USA

Home: 120 Pulpit Hill Rd, Unit 16, 01002 Amherst, MA

Cell in the US: +1 (413) 801-9555

Skype: stellan.vinthagen

(Traveling during Dec-March. Based in Sweden April-Aug: Sparsnäs 920, 668 91 Ed)