6th Annual Conference

Sincere invitation to the conference

Transformations of labour – a challenge for socio-economic research, education and teaching?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The AG Sozialwissenschaften und ihre Didaktik at the Faculty of Sociology at Bielefeld University invites you to the 6th annual conference of the Association for Socioeconomic Education and Research (AS*EER) under the subject of

Transformations of labour – a challenge for socio-economic research, education and teaching?on October 05/06, 2023 in the X-Building of Bielefeld University.

Many of the challenges that societies are facing in the context of changes to labour are not historically new, but a number of them are becoming more politically and academically explosive as a result of the current multiple socio-economic crises. This is illustrated first and foremost by debates surrounding the concept of labour itself. These include pleas for an expanded concept of labour that also analytically encompasses forms of non-employment work (care work, voluntary work, etc.). In this way, perspectives that have been discussed for some time, such as the question of the social embedding of the concept of labour and its connection to the meaning and lifeworld orientation of employees, are strengthened. At the same time, general socio-economic dynamics such as globalisation, financialisation, digitalisation and migration movements are intensifying, which can have consequences for the labour market and working conditions and increase fragmentation of the labour market (shortage of skilled workers on the one hand, precarisation on the other). In the course of current debates, it is also becoming apparent that new or changed forms of participation are being used in response to experiences of crisis in the world of work, challenging institutionalised forms of co-determination on the one hand and innovating them on the other (e.g. ‘platform trade unions’).

The aim of the 2023 GSÖBW annual conference in Bielefeld is to promote interdisciplinary dialogue. Above all, however, joint research perspectives of subject science and subject didactics on the topics of work, the world of work and vocational orientation are to be explored.

The programme, abstracts and further information on the conference can be found here.

In particular, we would like to draw your attention to our three framing lectures and panel discussions:

1. Sophie Schmitt: “On the political nature of work” (German: Über das Politische der Arbeit) on Thursday, October 05 at 11.30 AM

2. panel discussion incl. reading with Amrei Bahr and Theresa Steffestun on the transformation of academic work on Thursday, October 05 at 6 PM

3. Daniela Gottschlich: ‘Crisis-causing divisions in view – building bridges as part of the inevitable system change” (German: Krisenverursachende Trennungen im Blick – Brückenbauen als Teil des notwendigen Systemwandels), on Friday, October 6 at 10 AM

The conference registration is open now: https://eveeno.com/gsoebw-jahrestagung-2023. Participation in the conference dinner is only possible if you register by September 21 so that the restaurant can prepare adequately.

We look forward to welcoming you to our conference in October.

Yours sincerely,

Your AS*EER conference team 2023