RC17 Sociology of Organizations
Call for Session Proposals
XXI ISA World Congress of Sociology
Gwangju, Korea, July 4-10, 2027
Congress theme: Global Sociology in Turbulent Times
Programme Coordinators
Michael Grothe-Hammer, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
michael.grothe-hammer@ntnu.no
Robert van Krieken, University of Sydney, Australia
Robert.van.Krieken@sydney.edu.au
Call for sessions
The Research Committee on the Sociology of Organizations (RC17) invites proposals for sessions for the XXI ISA World Congress of Sociology in Gwangju, Korea. The Congress will be held on site only; there will be no online or hybrid participation. Session proposals should therefore be planned as in-person sessions.
RC17 has been allocated 23 session slots in total, including one slot for the RC17 Business Meeting. Most sessions will last 105 minutes.
Deadline and submission
Session proposals must be submitted through the ISA Conference System by June 25, 2026, 23:59 UTC/GMT. ISA has announced that deadlines are strict and that no extensions will be granted.
Conference System for session proposals: https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/wc2027/cfs.cgi
Please note that session proposals should be sent for preliminary review to the RC17 Programme Coordinators before the ISA deadline, by June 18. It is the RC17 Programme Coordinators, in consultation with the RC17 Board where appropriate, who will make the final selection of sessions for inclusion in the RC17 programme, based on academic quality, fit with RC17, thematic balance, diversity of formats, and the number of available session slots. This makes it important to consult with the Programme Coordinators prior to official submission to the ISA Conference System.
You are very welcome to contact the RC17 Programme Coordinators with early-stage ideas and suggestions before submitting your session proposal. Please do not hesitate to get in touch about the fit of your proposal with RC17 or if you have questions about the submission process.
Possible session themes
We welcome proposals addressing any aspect of the sociology of organizations. Proposals can be connected to the Congress theme or not. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Sociology of organizations: contributions from different world regions and continents, especially Asia, the Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and other underrepresented regions
- Bureaucracy, formal organization, regulation, and administration
- Organizations, identity, alienation, and personhood
- Digitalization, generative AI, algorithmic management, and new technologies in organizations
- Standards and valuation
- Organization and inequality
- Historical sociology of organizations
- Diversity, equity, inclusion, and exclusion
- Sustainability, environmental change, ecological problems, and climate justice
- Oceans, water bodies, resources, and organizations
- Partial organization and meta-organizations
- Knowledge, science, expertise, professions, and organizations
- Organizations, space, place, and in-betweenness
- Competition, conflict, and collaboration
- Organizations and food
- Temporary organizing, project organization, and inter-organizational relations
- Organizing crises, emergencies, resilience, and preparedness
- Geopolitics, sovereignty, international relations, and organizations
- Organizing democracy, organizing autocracy
- Advances in theorizing organizations
- Any joint sessions with other RCs, WGs, or TGs
We especially encourage proposals that facilitate the participation of PhD students and early career scholars, as well as scholars from the Global South and from underrepresented academic communities. We also welcome sessions in English, French, Spanish, or multilingual formats. Session organizers should clearly indicate the proposed working language(s) of the session.
Session formats
Proposals should indicate the intended session format. Possible formats include:
- Open Session / Paper Presentation Session: an open session included in the Call for Abstracts. These sessions normally include four to five papers and time for collective discussion.
- Invited Session: a session with a predefined list of participants. Possible formats include a featured or keynote speaker session, a panel discussion, an Author Meets Critics session, a workshop, or another format suitable for RC17.
- Joint Session: a session organized jointly with another ISA Research Committee, Working Group, or Thematic Group. Please identify the proposed co-organizing unit and, if possible, indicate whether RC17 or the other unit is expected to host the session.
- Roundtable Session – a discussion-oriented session format designed to accommodate a larger number of shorter contributions and structured discussion around one or more related themes.
Information to include in the proposal
When submitting a session proposal in the ISA Conference System, please include:
- Title of the session
- Type/format of the session
- A clear description of the session, maximum of 250 words
- Keywords, where requested by the system
- Language(s) of the session
- Full name, affiliation, and contact details of the session organizer(s)
- Names and email addresses of any co-organizers, if applicable
- For joint sessions: the other participating RC/WG/TG
- For invited sessions: a preliminary list of invited participants, if already known
Important ISA rules for session proposals
- Final proposals must be submitted to RC17 through the ISA Conference System. Proposals sent only by email cannot be considered as formal submissions.
- ISA membership is not required at the time of submitting a session proposal. However, if a session is accepted, at least one Session Organizer must be an ISA member and a member of RC17 by the end of the membership grace period. Otherwise, the session will be removed from the programme.
- A session can have a maximum of three Session Organizers.
- A person may appear in the programme up to three times as a Session Organizer.
- Session Organizers may submit and present a paper in their own session. However, a participant may not serve as chair or co-chair and present a paper in the same session. If a Session Organizer presents in their own session, another registered participant must be assigned as chair. Session proposals may be edited in the Conference System until the submission deadline. After the deadline, no further changes can be made.
Key dates
| Stage | Date / period |
| Call for Sessions | May 2 – June 25, 2026 |
| Preferred deadline for RC17 review of session proposals | June 18, 2026 |
| ISA Deadline for session proposals | June 25, 2026, 23:59 UTC/GMT |
| Session selection by RC/WG/TG Programme Coordinators | June 26 – July 22, 2026 |
| Membership grace period for accepted sessions | July 22 – July 29, 2026 |
| Call for Abstracts | August 3 – October 14, 2026 |
| Notification letters for accepted/rejected abstracts | December 4, 2026 |
| Registration deadline for all presenters and other programme participants | March 23, 2027 |
| Programme release | May 4, 2027 |
Further information
For further information, please consult the ISA guidelines for the scientific programme of sessions organized by Research Committees, Working Groups, and Thematic Groups:
https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/conferences/world-congress/gwangju-2027/xxi-isa-congress-guidelines
Michael Grothe-Hammer
michael.grothe-hammer@ntnu.no
Robert van Krieken
Robert.van.Krieken@sydney.edu.au