We are excited to announce the upcoming conference on „Social Norms, Cohesion, and (De)Polarization,“ scheduled to take place in Utrecht, The Netherlands on May 22nd-23rd, 2025. This conference aims to bring together scholars from various (social science) disciplines to explore the dynamics of social norms, their impact on societal cohesion, and the processes of polarization and depolarization across contexts that they (can) contribute to.
We are thrilled to announce that Cristina Bicchieri already confirmed to be one of our keynote speakers.
We are now inviting submissions of 500-word abstracts that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:
• The role of social norms in promoting or hindering social cohesion
• Mechanisms of polarization and depolarization in different social settings
• Comparative studies on social norms and cohesion across cultures and communities
• Interventions and strategies to foster social cohesion and reduce polarization
• Theoretical and empirical contributions to understanding inclusivity norms
We welcome contributions focusing on various types of polarization, such as partisan, opinion, or identity-related polarization, and related divisions. Submissions can be theoretical, methodological, or empirical, employing diverse methodologies including surveys, qualitative interviews, experiments, data mining, social network analysis, agent-based models and simulations, and intervention studies. Contributions from all disciplines are welcome.
Please submit your abstracts by
January 15, 2025. Decisions will be communicated by
February 15, 2025.
For selected contributors, the conference will be free of charge and lunches and coffee breaks are included. The conference is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation awarded project INCLUSIVITY.
Submit your abstract
here and include your contact information and institutional affiliation. For any inquiries, feel free to contact us at [
[email protected]].
We look forward to your contributions and to welcoming you to Utrecht!
Best regards,
The INCLUSIVITY Team
Prof. dr. Eva Jaspers, Utrecht University
Prof. dr. Marcin Bukowski, Jagiellonian University Krakow
Prof. dr. Oliver Christ, Hagen University
Prof. dr. Miranda Lubbers, Autonomous University Barcelona
Prof. dr. Maarten van Zalk, Osnabrück University
