Development in an Age of Upheaval: Crisis, Contestation, and Possibility
Co-Organized by Sarah Babb (Boston College), Anjuli Fahlberg (Tufts), Joseph Harris (Boston University), Patrick Heller (Brown), Jason Jackson (MIT), Val Moghadam (Northeastern), Jocelyn Viterna (Harvard), Liza Weinstein (Northeastern)
Dates and Location: May 6–8, 2027. Boston University (Boston, MA)
Abstract Submission Deadline: December 29, 2026
The global development landscape is undergoing profound change. Declining commitments to foreign assistance, growing geopolitical competition, threats to democratic institutions, persistent economic inequalities, climate change, wars, AI, and persistent financialization are challenging established approaches to development. At the same time, new coalitions, institutions, social movements, and policy innovations are generating alternative possibilities for social and economic change.
What do these profound changes, and their accompanying challenges and opportunities, mean for the future of development, whether as policy or scholarship? How are changing political and economic relationships reshaping development trajectories? What happens when longstanding development institutions and arrangements come under pressure? How do communities, governments, and organizations respond to crisis, and under what conditions can such disruptions generate opportunities for transformation?
The 2027 Sociology of Development Conference invites scholars to examine development in a world characterized by uncertainty, contestation, and change. We are particularly interested in research that illuminates the social processes through which crises emerge, inequalities are reproduced or challenged, institutions adapt, and new possibilities for development take shape.
We welcome contributions addressing a broad range of issues, including political and economic transformations; globalization and its discontents; democracy, governance, and authoritarianism; international development cooperation; poverty and inequality; climate change and environmental degradation; labor and migration; global health; technological change; social movements; and emerging approaches to development across the Global South.
We invite scholars working across theoretical perspectives, methodological traditions, disciplines, and regions to participate. Submissions on all topics related to the sociology of development are welcome, including those not explicitly connected to the conference theme. We welcome presentations and papers on such topics as race, ethnicity, gender, indigeneity, postcolonialism, critical studies, and other topics.
Through research presentations and scholarly exchange, the conference seeks to foster dialogue about the challenges confronting development and the political, economic, and social possibilities that lie ahead.
Submission Information
We invite a variety of submission types, all of which should be submitted via our Google Form. You may make multiple submissions.
- We welcome abstracts for individual paper submissions, which we will pair with other related papers to constitute traditional paper panels and/or roundtables. Submissions of this type should include an abstract of no more than 250 words along with the paper title, author name(s), institutional affiliation(s), email, and 3–5 keywords.
- We welcome proposals for fully formed panels of no more than five scholars and/or practitioners on particular thematic topics. Proposed panels that are fully formed may be paper panels or be panels that do not involve papers in which participants are invited to critically reflect on particular themes, issues or questions in light of their expertise. For the latter, we are especially interested in featuring panels that offer practical insight and will appeal to graduate students (for example, a panel of journal editors discussing publishing; a panel sharing experiences turning a dissertation into a book; scholar-practitioner dialogues; a panel of scholars talking about the practical challenges of conducting research in authoritarian contexts, etc). Fully formed panels submissions should include the title and an abstract that describes the content of the panel; the names, affiliations, and emails of all participants, including the corresponding organizer; and abstracts of each individual paper, if a paper panel. The organizer should submit fully formed panel on behalf of the panelists. All listed participants must have agreed to participate if accepted prior to submission.
- We welcome fully formed Author Meets Critics book salons, with an author and three interlocutors. Fully formed AMC book salon submissions should include the title and an abstract that describes the content of the panel; the names, affiliations, and emails of all participants, including the corresponding organizer. The organizer should submit fully formed AMC book salon on behalf of the panelists. All listed participants must have agreed to participate if accepted prior to submission.
- We welcome undergraduate poster presentation submissions. Submissions of this type should include an abstract of no more than 250 words that details the research question, methods, findings, and implications along with the poster title, author name(s), institutional affiliation(s), email, and 3–5 keywords.
Financial Assistance Available for Graduate Students
Some financial assistance will be available for graduate students. If you are a graduate student and would like to be considered for financial assistance, please check the box on our form.
Application Deadline: Tuesday, December 29, 2026
Anticipated acceptance notifications: Mid- to Late January 2027
Information on registration, travel, accommodations, and the conference program will follow.
We look forward to welcoming you to Boston University for the 2027 Sociology of Development Conference. Please email lead organizer, Joseph Harris, with any questions at josephh@bu.edu.
