Labnet: CFP: Challenging Careers - Session at the European Social Science History Conference in Ghent, Belgium, April 13-16, 2010

[labnet at lists.labourhistory.net]

From: Schulz, W. (Wiebke) [mailto:W.Schulz at uu.nl] 



Session at the European Social Science History Conference in Ghent, Belgium, April 13-16, 2010

 

Session Title: Challenging Careers: Societal Change, Occupational Opportunities and Individuals' Working Lives

 

Session organizers: 

Organizer: Wiebke Schulz, Department of Sociology/ ICS, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Co-organizer: Lotta Vikström, Centre for Population Studies, Umeå University, Sweden

Chair: Sören Edvinsson, Centre for Population Studies, Umeå University, Sweden

Discussants: Ineke Maas, Department of Sociology/ ICS, Utrecht University

 

Session Abstract:

This session picks up the renewed interest of historians, sociologists and economists in the long-term study of the occupational career. The career is here understood as any aspect of training, education, jobs and non-market work that forms an individuals' working life history. Expanding labor markets, educational opportunities and welfare systems affected men's and women's work and career. With these and other structural changes on their minds, scholars identify increasing career possibilities. Despite the increased interest in the historical evolution of the career, the influence of individual characteristics (e.g. gender, social origin and ethnic belonging) as well as institutional developments (e.g. bureaucratization) have neither been extensively studied nor understood. Additional findings are needed to explore the multi-dimensional determinants (economic, political, socio-cultural,

juridical and demographic factors) that shape people's career patterns and life histories.

 

This session is interesting for scholars who analyze any of these aspects of the career and welcomes time-space comparisons. There is a special focus on the 19th and 20th century as due to industrialization the logic of work and occupations changed rather drastically. Other possible long-term influences under study are: professionalization, unionization, education, migration and discrimination. Approaches combining materials are encouraged, as showing a mix of methods and perspectives is of help for discussing the nature of career, how to measure it and incorporating theories about careers' causes and consequences among those affected. Whether national structured data on occupations and careers can be used for comparisons across national borders and over time, and how quantitative sources act in these matters compared to qualitative, is also of interest.

 

Visit the website at http://www.iisg.nl/esshc/ <http://www.iisg.nl/esshc/>  

 

Deadline for paper proposals to the ESSHC is 1 May 2009.

Please note that authors submitting paper abstracts to this session must fill in the session title in the online application form.

 

Wiebke Schulz

 

Wiebke Schulz, PhD student

Department of Sociology/ ICS

Heidelberglaan 2

3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands

E-mail: w.schulz at uu.nl

http://www.fss.uu.nl/soc/schulz