Chair’s Message
ByCBSM Web Admin

Chair’s Message

Tina Fetner, CBSM Section Chair, Professor of Sociology, McMaster University

  • from CriticalMass Bulletin, Volume 45(1) Spring 2020: The newsletter of the Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements, American Sociological Association

In the face of an ongoing global pandemic, the ASA 2020 annual meeting has been cancelled. What to do in its wake is an open question. The ASA has been contacting presenters with options to participate in an online meeting; I’m sure you have received their email. They encourage each of us to make our own choices about whether they have the capacity to develop and deliver a presentation. 

In terms of the CBSM section, the Council met just after the ASA’s initial announcement, and we agreed that section sessions should be allowed to make their own choices about how to proceed. The section’s business will continue for the most part. The CBSM Section Business Meeting will be conducted virtually in its originally scheduled time of Tuesday, August 11, 10:30am Pacific Time. I hope you can join us. Section committees will continue to meet online, and our planning for the 2021 pre-conference is ongoing. 

As you decide whether to participate in an online conference, I want to make sure that everyone is aware that accepted submissions still belong on your CV, regardless of whether you participate in the “virtual event.” Various style guides recommend making a short note, such as “conference cancelled” at the end of the entry. I hope that everyone deciding to participate virtually is doing so out of enthusiasm for the scholarly discourse, connecting with scholars in their field, and learning about the work of others, rather than a sense of pressure to live up to someone’s expectation.

In having conversations with our Chair-elect, Rachel Einwohner, I am beginning to feel really excited for the 2021 meeting. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and I look forward to the program that she will assemble with her program committee. I look forward to gathering with you all, seeing you in person, and giving hugs to my old friends who I haven’t seen in a long time. 

In the meanwhile, keep your eye out for updates. I will let you know more as soon as I can. Please take care of yourselves and know that I am thinking of you.