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The Research Committee on Food and Agriculture (RC - 40) is a world wide organization of social scientists who are interested inthe study of contemporary food and agricultural systems. RC-40 publishesthe International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food (IJSAF).
RC-40 exists under the auspices of the International Sociological
Association(ISA). |
[Activities]
Outline of the Meeting
RC-40 Mini-Conference
Wageningen, August 19th-20th, 2007
Sources and Mechanisms of Power in the Global Food System and in Rural
Sites:
Domination, Counter-Domination and Alternatives.
Convenors
Alberto Arce (alberto.arce@wur.nl)
Tomiko Yamaguchi (tyamaguc@icu.ac.jp)
Deadline for submission of papers: 15 May 2007
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[Excerpts from the Newsletter]
From the President
Gianluca Brunori
President, RC-40
gbrunori@agr.unipi.it
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The world is changing fast. Global warming,
globalization of the economies, energy crises, migrations, technological
change affect our lives in an unprecedented manner, and have a dramatic
impact on urban/rural relations, on the organisation of agricultural production
and on food consumption. The change is so rapid that the future is becoming
a key object of our studies. Our future can be foreseen as a continuation
of past trends. As social scientist, we all are called to make an effort
to revise and broaden our categories and our horizons, and to give support
to decision makers, citizens and consumers in their choices.
RC40 tries to give a modest but significant
contribution to a better understanding of global processes and to strengthen
a non conventional view on agriculture, food and rurality. During these
months, RC40 has developed a series of mini-conferences, coherent with
its mission of promoting a global network around these themes.
In May a RC40 mini-conference on “Capital
and labor mobility in agriculture and food in the global era” will take
place in Recife, Brazil, in conjunction with the meeting of the Brazilian
Sociological Association. In August a mini-conference on “Sources and Mechanisms
of Power in the Agriculture and Food Global Food System and in Rural Sites:
Domination, Counter-Domination and Alternatives” will take place in Wageningen,
the Netherlands, in conjunction with the congress of the European society
of rural sociology (ESRS). Both mini-conferences highlight an effort to
propose truly global questions and stimulate a genuine integration of perspectives
among scholars. The number of adhesions to both events has gone beyond
our expectations. I wish to thank ESRS and the Brazilian
sociological association for giving us these important opportunities.
I am convinced that our research committee
has big potential for growth. It is part of a much broader network, ISA,
from which it gains visibility, authority and opportunities. Because of
the interdisciplinary approach of the RC40, it positions itself in a space
that attracts academics of several disciplines. The themes and the language
within RC40 can foster a dialogue with key actors of the civil society
engaged in agriculture, food and rural development.
In the next months we will concentrate our
efforts on the objective of strengthening our network. This means, first
of all, strengthening our media, our journal, the website and this newsletter.
Secondly, we need to give support to regional initiatives, giving voice
to regional correspondents encouraging regional mini-conferences (one is
already planned in Turkey in 2008). Thirdly, we will further explore the
opportunities given by belonging to ISA. On this regard, the next ISA world
forum which will be held in Barcelona in September 2008 will be an occasion
to set up new contacts and plan new initiatives. Fourthly, we will concentrate
our efforts on the goal of enlarging our membership and raise additional
resources. We are an organization based on voluntary work, but our activity
implies financial costs that cannot be compressed.
I am sure that with the help of all members
we will face these challenges successfully.
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Contact: Masashi Tachikawa, Secretary of RC-40 (tachi@affrc.go.jp)
Last Updated May 02, 2007 |
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