The ECSR Summer School ‘Integrating Sociological Theory and Research’ (ISTAR) aims at improving the post graduate training in the social sciences in Europe. Its specific focus lies on the integration of sociological theory and empirical research as well as on strengthening comparative research in Europe. It attempts to provide young researchers with the analytical and conceptual tools to contribute to the growing need for comparative knowledge about converging or diverging developments in European societies, in particular on the evolving relationships between education/training and labour market transformations; on changing gender roles, family arrangements and life course patterns, on the changing nature of social opportunity, inequality and poverty, and on the implications of these developments for political conflicts, cleavages and interest formation.

The Summer School is organised on behalf of the European Consortium of Sociological Research (ECSR).

In each year the Summer School combines:

• the Graduate School (GS), followed by
• two days of Workshops (WS), including also a Plenary Lecture each day

The topics of the Graduate School vary from year to year. The Workshops focus on the continued elaboration of the same topic over the three years. The Graduate School is designed for about 30 PhD students from all over Europe. The Workshops are open to the participants of the Graduate School plus some 70 additional young researchers and a few experienced researchers.

Information about the first ECSR Summer School 1999  on comparative social research at the MZES in Mannheim can be found here.
An overwiev of the programm and the participants of the Summer School 2000 in Oxford is provided here.

for questions please contact: stefani.scherer@mzes.uni-mannheim.de

The Summer School consists of two elements: the Graduate School and the Workshops.
The ECSR Graduate School: The Graduate School comprises four to five days of teaching. Each day a different distinguished scholar gives a lecture emphasising a specific theoretical/methodological problem of ISTAR or its application in the substantive research field selected for the year. Each lecturer of the day also directs two seminars. The first seminar is devoted to the discussion of the lecture and of assigned core literature related to the lecture topic. In the second seminar interested participants present their own work and discuss it with the lecturer and the other participants. The substantive research fields and general theoretical/methodological issues selected for discussion vary from year to year.

The ECSR Workshops: the Graduate School in the narrower sense is followed by two days of working groups (WG) focussing on more specific sub-topics out of the broader research field to allow in-depth study. The working groups are intended to convene in each of the three years, with the same chairpersons and a large proportion of the same participants forming a network of co-operation among themselves and enabling the longer-term networking among the participants.The working groups bring together selected participants from the Graduate School and other young researchers specialising in the given specific research issue. Working groups are led by chairpersons who are noted professors or experienced researchers. The participants present and discuss their own work related to the working-group theme.

In addition to the parallel meetings of the working groups a Plenary Lecture is given each day by a keynote speaker, addressing a core issue of the Summer School topics.

2000    Social Inequality and Political Partisanship, Nuffield College Oxford, United Kingdom
Local Organisation: Prof. Anthony Heath and  Dr. John Goldthorpe      6th-12th of September 2000

The analysis of the changing nature and degree of social inequalities is central to the understanding of new patterns of political participation and partisanship in both the established and the more recently created democracies of contemporary Europe. The school will focus on the description and explanation of current trends in inequalities of both condition and opportunity and on the linkages between these trends and changes in modes of political mobilisation, involvement and alienation, both within and outside party systems.  

The family is the main source of stratification in modern societies in terms of the intergenerational transmission of resources, aspirations and beliefs. Individuals’ educational and occupational opportunities and their placement in the distribution of scarce goods are a function of the economic, cultural, and social resources their parents equip them with, as well as of socialisation. But it is not only the family of origin that is important for social opportunities. When individuals form their own families new patterns of inequality arise. The division of unpaid and paid labour between husband and wife impact on gender relations in the home and in the labour market, thus creating both more stressful and more vulnerable positions for women. In addition, the degree of assortative mating impinges on inequality, among other things by affecting men’s and women’s bargaining power within the household and by influencing inter-household inequality of condition by the pooling of resources. The Graduate School will focus on the empirical evidence available from countries with different institutional contexts and the ability of different theoretical approaches to explain it.

Education, labour market and labour organisations are subsystems of modern post-industrial societies which are closely related to each other. The intensity and quality of these relations are considered to be of utmost importance for the economic and social strength and potentials of these societies, both by the political classes and the scientific communities. These relations are analysed by both theorists and researchers, but often in isolation. The 2002 Graduate School aims to integrate these theories and research results by reviewing the most important empirical developments in educational systems, labour markets and labour organisations within European societies and by confronting these developments with the theories on the relations between education, labour market and labour organisations.

The workshops are planned to allow a more profound discussion of more specific issues in the broad substantive area of the Summer School. Each of the following working groups is intended to be offered in all three years.

Family Policy in Europe
Chair: Dr. Thomas Bahle and Prof. Anne Gauthier

Since the 1960s, the family has been changing significantly in all European countries. At the same time, demographic pressures and economic constraints have increased and the welfare state has grown to limits. In this overall constellation, various new family policies have been enacted and implemented. Yet family policies widely vary across Europe. Which family policy models have developed in Europe? How can the variations be analysed and what are their causes and consequences?
The workshop addresses these questions in a comparative perspective, focusing on Western and Eastern European countries since the 1960s. Papers should study family policies theoretically guided, comparatively and empirically. The focus could be on one of the following issues: 1) the welfare mix in family policy, 2) regional and local family policies, 3) income policies for families, 4) families and social services, 5) caring for children, disabled and elderly people, 6) policies to reconcile families and employment. The discussion will give special attention to the role of family policy within the welfare state and society.
 

Education, Labour Market and Labour Organisations
Chair: Dr. Bernhard Ebbinghaus and Prof. Jelle Visser

Education, labour market and labour organisations are subsystems of modern post-industrial societies which are closely related to each other. The intensity and quality of these relations are considered to be of utmost importance for the economic and social strength and potentials of these societies, both by the political classes and the scientific communities. These relations are analysed by both theorists and researchers, but often in isolation. The workshop addresses these developments and theories in a comparative perspective, both by comparing societies and/or by analysing trends within societies since the 1960s.
 

Labour Market Precarity, Poverty and Social Exclusion
Chair: Prof. Duncan Gallie and Prof. Chris Whelan

This workshop will be concerned with research focusing on labour market insecurity, financial deprivation and social isolation. Labour market precarity includes both the experience of unemployment and employment in jobs with short-term contracts. The workshop will cover both the impact of labour market precarity on living conditions and the factors that lead to (or sustain) job insecurity. It will give central importance both to sharpening the conceptual tools currently used in this area and to assessing the strengths of different empirical approaches to theory testing. It will also consider the benefits and methodological problems of developing comparative work on these themes.
 

Topic: Gender Inequalities
Chair: Prof. Chiara Saraceno

Patterns of inequalities between genders are changing at great, if uneven, speed across European and OECD countries, as well as across specific dimensions (e.g. gender inequality has virtually disappeared in education, but much less so in labour force participation, work career chances, the division of labour within the household, and in participation in relevant decision-making processes). Thus, on the one hand, traditional indicators of gender inequality must be re-assessed and theories re-validated; on the other hand differences between women based both on ascriptive (ethnic, geograhic, family of origin) and acquired (education, work experience, civil status, presence and number of children, etc.) features gain an increased importance, within a given country as well as across countries, analogous to what has traditionally happened to inequalities among men. This in turn implies, given the persistent rule of homogamy, that marriage and the family may strengthen their role of reproducing social stratification.
These phenomena represent an exemplary field for comparative research, since cultural and institutional differences account for much of the cross-national variation we find both in the timing of change and in the dimensions of gender inequality which are most affected.
Papers are invited which address one of the following topics, possibly in a comparative way: 1) the impact of education on women’s labour force attachment; 2) homogamy and social stratification; 3) the impact of institutional arrangements on women’s labour force participation and on women’s career chances; 4) the impact of institutional arrangements on gender inequalities in political participation and in participation in decision making bodies; 5) differences in gender inequality between cohorts – either of women, or of couples.

Topic: Macro social change, interdependencies between trajectories and life course outcomes
Chair: Dr. Francesco Billari, Dr. Henriette Engelhardt and Dr. Karin Kurz

Changes in the occupational structure, increasing economic competition and insecurity of economic careers, changing gender roles and the re-structuring of the welfare state can be assumed to have profound impacts on various aspects of life courses, e.g. the transitions between education, training and the early career, union and family formation, the labour force participation of women and men and their coordination in a couple, retirement. In short, macro-changes have been pervasive, and sometimes they have led to a complete societal change as in countries in transitions. In the same period, changes in life course trajectories of individuals have been massive. In this workshop we address, from a quantitative perspective: 1) the impact of macro social change and welfare adaptation on the life course; 2) the role of interdependencies between trajectories in shaping life courses. More specifically: 1) The impact of macro-changes will vary significantly between countries of differing institutional configurations. The workshop invites papers which address recent changes of life courses in their various aspects under the perspective of their macrostructural and institutional linkages. Papers can either analyse changes within a given country or comparisons between countries. The comparative analysis of observed changes in life course patterns and their theoretical explanation will be goals to be achieved jointly in the workshop. 2) It has generally been recognized that developments in different life course domains (e.g. family, employment, migration, housing) are interdependent and that events in one domain might have important implications for developments in another. What has been taken into account much less is that the life courses of the individual household members are intertwined and affect each other in a variety of ways. We invite papers that examine interdependencies among various domains of the life course, and among household members as well as their implications for the (re-)production of social inequality. Papers are expected to pay particular attention to the elaboration of the theoretical models through which empirical evidence can be explained.

Topic: Migration and Interethnic Relations
Chair: Prof. Hartmut Esser and Dr. Frank Kalter

The workshop intends to present and discuss recent empirical results and theoretical considerations concerning processes of international migration and of the development of interethnic relations. Of special interest are contributions to some newer phenomena and processes like the importance of social and cultural capital, the formation of ethnic communities and political organisations and the problem of ‘structural assimilation’ of migrants and their children, especially with regard to the educational system and the labour market. Contributions on the analysis of the peculiarities and explanations of interethnic conflicts would also be welcome.
 

Comparative Social Justice Research
Chair: Prof. Bernd Wegener and Dr. Stefan Liebig

Following Rawls, justice is a well-ordered society’s first virtue, its ‘fundamental charter’, not much different from truth in the world of ideas. Without justice disintegration of the social order is certain. But justice is not a matter of all or none, it is perceptually highly subjective, varying from individual to individual, from society to society as well as from one period of time to another. The empirical study of social justice investigates how the human sense of justice operates in real life and what determines justice beliefs and evaluations in different social and political environments. In the last decade, the justice issue has been addressed in sociology by creating large scale survey-based data sources for the comparative study of justice in various countries, e.g. the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) and the International Social Justice Project (ISJP).
Workshop participants are encouraged to present papers based on either of these or other multinational datasets. A list of possible themes for presentations would include: (1) concepts and theories of the sense of justice applied to cross-national comparisons; (2) social justice and the welfare state; (3) justice beliefs in the transition from socialism; (4) separating structural from cultural determinants of justice beliefs; (5) the relationship between normative theories of justice and empirical social justice research.
 

Comparative Political Sociology
Chair: Prof. Anthony Heath, Prof. Nan Dirk de Graaf and Dr. Paul Nieuwbeerta

There are many parallels in the patterns of electoral behaviour in contemporary democracies. Yet many contingent factors also appear to be at work. Substantial cross-national variations for example exist with respect to the electoral success of parties and movements, the timing of the emergence of new parties, the explanatory power of social and attitudinal explanations, etc. In addition, over the past decades, in all European nations the role of governments, parties, the welfare state and politics has been subject to significant changes. This is the case in Western European countries, but obviously also in Eastern European nations which only a decade ago changed from single party systems to free democratic nations.
For this workshop participants are encouraged to present papers which explore the social and/or ideological bases of political behaviour in both Western and Eastern European countries, and to link these with political and institutional factors. Papers presented at the workshop could focus on (1) developments in socio-economic and political attitudes in European countries, (2) individual, contextual and institutional determinants of socio-economic and political attitudes in European nations, and (3) consequences of these attitudes for political behaviour, especially voting. Cross-national comparative papers are encouraged.
 

Plenary lectures

During the two Workshop days participants mainly meet in their working groups. However, in order to bring together participants of the working groups to a common event, each Workshop day is introduced by a plenary lecture given by a keynote speaker who is a distinguished scholar and focusing on an exemplary piece of theoretically guided research from the research fields selected for the Summer School. The following keynote speakers have so far been scheduled:
 
 
 

Year 2000: Department of Sociology and Nuffield College, Oxford, United Kingdom

Oxford University has established a new Department of Sociology, which is closely linked with Nuffield College and has premises adjoining the College. The Department’s main focus is on graduate work and it is developing excellent facilities for graduates, including individual workstations for students. It has a vigorous research programme and incorporates the Centre for Research into Elections and Social Trends (Britain’s premier research centre in political sociology, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council). Students work closely with each other and with faculty members in a stimulating and research-orientated environment. A major concern of the Department’s research programme is the exploration of social mechanisms and the development and testing of middle range theory, closely in line with ISTAR.
The Department has close links with Nuffield College, and a number of its senior members are fellows of the College. Nuffield is a post-graduate college specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. The college has a long and distinguished record of sponsoring conferences and workshops in social science and has developed excellent facilities, including one of the finest social science libraries. All the meetings will take place in the attractive environment of the College using (free of charge) its lecture and seminar rooms where all technical facilities are available. Informal meetings among students and lecturers can take place in the Junior Common Room, and meals in the lunch breaks will also be provided in College. The Department will provide the administrative infrastructure, copying and computing facilities and rooms for students to work in during breaks.
Lodging with evening meals and breakfast will be provided for all participants in nearby Somerville College (a short walk from Nuffield). The local organisers will arrange a programme of social events in order to facilitate contacts and exchange among the participants.
 

Year 2001: Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm, Sweden

The Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) consists of three parts: social policy, level of living and labour market economics. Though the majority of the approximately 50 researchers are sociologists, the institute is multidisciplinary, which is a strength particularly in studies of inequality where theoretical and empirical research is connected. SOFI functions partly as an institute for ‘pure research’ and partly as a post-graduate school – with presently around 15 doctoral students of sociology. As a research institute, SOFI is responsible for the Swedish level of living surveys and is renowned for empirical research on social mobility, social stratification and social policy. Comparative studies are an integral part of the research. SOFI is a founding member of ESCR and several researchers have taken an active part in the research committees of the International Sociological Association, in particular RC19 (Research Committee on Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy) and RC28 (Research Committee on Social Stratification). The organiser of the Euro Summer School also hosted the 1997 RC28 meeting with more than 80 participants from all over the world.
The Summer School will be held at the Conference Centre of Långholmen, in a very nice location by Lake Mälaren near the city centre of Stockholm, offering comfortable lodging for a reasonable price. The preferred alternative includes breakfast and lunch in the Conference Centre while – apart from a conference dinner – dinners can be taken in a restaurant nearby. In the conference centre there are two big rooms (holding up to 70-80 participants) and several smaller rooms, suitable for workshops. Because the conference centre is fairly small and located on an island it is ideal for supporting informal contacts between students, and between students and lecturers. The conference centre provides nice lobbies for such meetings. SOFI is located at the Stockholm University campus where there is a fine library and possibilities to work as well. There is a direct underground line from the conference centre to Stockholm University, taking around 20 minutes (plus a 10-minute walk). SOFI will provide both the organisers and, within reasonable limits, also lecturers and participants with facilities such as copying, telephone, e-mail and fax (free of charge). Naturally, such facilities are available at the conference centre too.
 

Year 2002: Amsterdamse School voor Sociaal-Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (ASSR), Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Amsterdam School for Social Science Research (ASSR) of the University of Amsterdam prepares candidates for the PhD degree in sociology, anthropology and political science. The School also serves as a national and international meeting point for social scientists and is part of an ongoing national programme of university reform to establish ‘centres of excellence’ for post-graduate education in every social science discipline. The School provides a structured ‘second-stage’ curriculum of the Dutch educational system and a coherent programme. The main disciplines at the School are sociology, anthropology and political science. The field of history is also strongly represented. ASSR is strongly engaged in inter-disciplinary co-operation, and it is both an educational and a research institute with a national function and an international orientation.
National function: ASSR is one of the members of The Netherlands Graduate School for Social Science founded by the University of Amsterdam, the University of Leiden and the Free University. Professors at these universities, as well as those in Leiden and Nijmegen, are permanent faculty members at the School.
International orientation: The School reflects the Dutch scholarly tradition of intellectual pluralism at the intersection of Anglo-Saxon, French and German cultures and an openness to other cultures, particularly those in Asia. Growing numbers of PhD students and guest lecturers from around the globe have reinforced this international orientation. The School is on a par with leading institutes in Europe and the United States. It has become part of several closely-knit international networks and participates in an exchange programme for PhD students with Yale University and the Australian National University.
ASSR has arranged various international conferences and meetings in the past. The ASSR has a number of rooms for plenary sessions or working group sessions, both in the buildings of the school and in the nearby buildings of the university. The faculty club of the university is next door, offering ample opportunities for informal contact. All these buildings are located in the very centre of Amsterdam and within walking distance of each other. Rooms will generally be provided free of charge, except the rooms at the faculty club.
Amsterdam offers nearby lodging and meals. Inexpensive student lodging and dormitories will be available. The local organisers will provide support for lodging arrangements.