The call for papers and a provisional list of sessions for RC51 can be viewed at http://www.isa-sociology.org/congress2010/rc/rc51.htm.

If you wish to present a paper, please follow the instructions below, not those on the ISA website, which are not appropriate for how RC 51 does things.

Please submit an extended abstract (500-1000 words) and a short abstract (250 words) for review by the abstracts committee. Abstracts should be submitted to the RC 51,  Programme Coordinator, Margarita Maass  (maass@LabComplex.net ) with a copy to the relevant session organiser.

The deadline for submission of abstracts is OCTOBER 30th. To assist the work of the abstracts committee, if possible please submit earlier than this date. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out in early January or earlier, depending on how well the work of reviewing proceeds. Abstracts should be

Please note that all details of the RC51 programme of sessions and presentations must be received by the ISA by January 31st, 2010, so there is very little leeway in our schedule.

Once a paper proposal has been accepted and the presenter(s) have registered for the Congress, the presenter can upload the short abstract to the Congress website. The deadline for registration and for uploading of accepted abstracts is May 4, 2010.

New Book by Michael King: Systems, not People, Make Society Happen

".....reveals how new ideas about society can change our understanding of everything that happens in the world, from political decisions, such as the invasion of Iraq to the impact of technological innovations or even to common, daily events, such as falling in love or buying a faulty iPod. By questioning fundamental assumptions about what society and people are, it challenges claims that human beings are able to identify risks accurately and regulate behaviour to minimize the possibility of failure......."

Hans-Georg Moeller, University College, Cork, Ireland.

"Systems, not People, make Society Happen, shows the obvious that has so far largely gone unnoticed. This is that we, the people, do not control our world. Despite all the claims to the contrary by politicians, in schools or in Hollywood action movies, the disturbing fact is that, in a complex, global society like ours, no one is in the driver’s seat. Yet the world goes on, for better or worse. Michael King explains how...."

Please see Holocome Publishing's website for further details.