Submit/Manage Event Terms & Conditions

Workshop on energy & society

Start/Stop Date:
22–24 Mar 2012
Organiser:
Universidade de Lisboa - Instituto de Ciências Sociais (Portugal)
Venue:
Instituto de Ciências Sociais (University of Lisbon), Lisbon, Portugal
Focus Areas:
Energy & society
Type of Event:
Conference

The workshop will be held at the Instituto de Ciências Sociais (University of Lisbon), Lisbon, Portugal, on March 22-24, 2012.

Contemporary challenges of climate change, increased global energy demand and depletion of hydrocarbon resources have placed energy issues at the centre of political debate. In this context, it is timely and urgent to address social aspects of energy consumption and production. Yet, to date the social sciences have been slow to respond in addressing the range of important questions and issues regarding energy. This workshop aims to bring together the state-of-the-art research and thinking in this area, providing insights that may contribute to a better understanding of these questions.


Bringing together scholars from Europe and elsewhere that are interested and/or currently working on social aspects of energy issues, this workshop intends to promote the formal constitution of the international network “Energy and Society” founded in 2010 by researchers in this emerging field of study. The workshop also intends to provide an opportunity for researchers to connect with others interested in international research and collaboration in this area.


The event will feature two keynote speeches; one by the distinguished Prof. Harold Wilhite, from the University of Oslo, and the other by a representative of a European Union Directorate General to be announced at a later date. In addition to four panels of regular paper presentations, the program will include a round table, with the presence of the DG leader from the EU, where all the participants (whether presenting a paper or simply attending the workshop) may present themselves and their research interests. The workshop will also include small-group meetings to allow participants the opportunity to interact on common research interests and collaborations.


We encourage submissions on a wide variety of topics, including but not limited to the following:
- Energy and social change
- Energy, practices and everyday life
- Social differentiation and energy (gender, age, class…)
- Energy efficiency, conservation and “behavioral lock-in” (habits, socio-technical system…)
- Sustainable energy, consumption and development
- Transition processes, movements and local communities
- Social dimensions of renewable energy
- Energy-related conflicts (land use, resources…)
- Energy-related perceptions and representations
- Social construction and cultural meanings of energy
- Knowledge and information on energy
- Media messages on energy (advertising, news, entertainment…)
- Public engagement with energy policy (cap and trade, green certificates, labels, incentives…)
- Elaboration, implementation, evaluation of energy policies
- Practices, technologies, material structures and innovation
- Market instruments and commoditization of resources
- Energy poverty
- Energy justice, inequalities and vulnerability

All participants will be required to pay a workshop registration fee of 30€ (50€ with dinner on the second day). The fee includes workshop materials, participation certificate and coffee breaks. Payments will be accepted on-site.
We look forward to your submission and participation in the workshop!

Program Committee:
Luisa Schmidt, Universidade de Lisboa - Instituto de Ciências Sociais (Portugal)
Ana Horta, Universidade de Lisboa - Instituto de Ciências Sociais (Portugal)
Pia Laborgne, IWAR/TU Darmstadt and European Institute for Energy Research (Germany)
Françoise Bartiaux, Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium)
Giorgio Osti, Università degli Studi di Trieste - Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche e Sociali (Italy)
André Schaffrin, University of Cologne (Germany)
Cigdem Adem, Middle East Technical University (Turkey)
Catherine Butler, Cardiff University - School of Psychology (UK)

Important dates:
Registration: January 31, 2012
Workshop: March 22-24, 2012

Contact for submission, information and registration:
Ana Horta
Instituto de Ciências Sociais
Universidade de Lisboa
R. Prof. Anibal de Bettencourt, 9
1600-189 Lisboa – Portugal
Tel.: 00 351 217804700
E-mail: ana.horta@ics.ul.pt