Projects / Programmes
Social psychology and Sociology of Everyday Life
January 1, 2017
- December 31, 2021
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.03.00 |
Social sciences |
Sociology |
|
| 5.09.00 |
Social sciences |
Psychology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S263 |
Social sciences |
Social psychology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.04 |
Social Sciences |
Sociology |
| 5.01 |
Social Sciences |
Psychology and cognitive sciences |
Everyday life, social inequalities, discrimination, life courses and trajectories, health, food, families, new cultures of intimacy, sexuality, practices of resistance, alternatives of social development.
Researchers (15)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
The program is based on research and reflection of everyday life micro-spheres, which are being analysed in the context of globalization, expansion of capitalism and forms of neoliberal governmentality. Our research work is deriving from acknowledgment of structural-institutional circumstances, which produce and maintain positions of social inequalities. Namely, everyday life is influenced by the global macro-processes and changes (e.g. technologies of normalization, changes in the labour market, environmental and health risks, access to information and communication competences as well as to material security and well-being). These global changes and processes expose the micro-spheres to risks and uncertainties, which are deepening in the context of economic crisis. However, the insecurities, the conflicting demands and the expectations of different scientific and ideological discourses addressed to individuals at the same time function as a field of practices of solidarity and resistance. Our research interests consequently include: 1) individual experiences of social barriers, lack of opportunities and exclusions, constituted as the consequences of public policies and systemic mechanisms which reproduce social inequalities, uncertainties and risks; 2) individual adjustments, survival strategies and the effect of these strategies in relation to the social order.
The research aim is to analyse the interrelated influences of economic, political and social factors of social inequalities and risks; the analysis of their effects on the everyday life of individuals; and their responses to the experienced marginalization and discrimination.
The program therefore focuses on the continuation of the existing orientations and activities of the program, while opening up of the new research perspectives and issues consisted with the established theoretical knowledge and focus on the social inequalities in the field of everyday life.
The key topics being continually addressed are the following: health (research of systematic inequalities in health; contradictory aspects of digital health); food (food security and inequalities in relation to food; ve(getari)anism); life course and life transitions (social inequalities in educational trajectories and transitions with the focus on gender inequalities and on the risks and uncertainties of the most vulnerable social groups, such as youth and the elderly); family life and intimate-relationships (new practices of family and intimate life, new cultures of intimacies and of caring relationships); sexuality (gender and sexual dis/identities, gender and sexual inequalities of the elderly members of sexual minorities); discrimination on the basis of ethnicity and religion as well as of civil-legal status (discourse analysis and the analysis of practices). Special attention will be given to the new practices of resistance and articulations of alternatives of social development.
Significance for science
Basic contents of the program group such as identification and analysis of factors of social inequality and systematic exploring of possibilities to overcome social and political injustice, investigation of new paths of rebellion and elaboration of plausible alternatives of social development are at the top of the world’s social sciences Yet, the program group is thereby not joining the “modern trend” in science, since this program had been set and carried out already at the time when these topics were considered as marginal in the social sciences agenda. We regard the significance of the planned research for the development in science especially in the following:
1. Very strong involvement of program group members in higher education; through the direct transfer of research results to undergraduate and graduate programs we are developing “research university” by building and developing scientific disciplines: sociology of everyday life, social psychology, psychology of communication, sociology of gender, sociology of family, sociology of social policy, alternatives of social development, biopolitics of health. Members of program group are experts in the fields of sociology, social psychology, communication studies, social policy and social work, who are creating an interdisciplinary research treatment of the program topics by close mutual pedagogical and research cooperation.
2. Intensive involvement in the international science community (publications of scientific papers in referential international journals, active participation in international scientific conferences, invited lectures at universities abroad, involvement in international research projects)
3. Exploration of entirely new topics and development of innovative methodological approaches (e.g. the impact of changes in the labour market on transitions to adulthood, the impact of employment precarization on family formation, the impact of commodification of health on behavioural styles, the impact of new technologies (e-heallth) on attitudes toward health and health systems, the impact of climate and demographic changes on health and behavioural risks, the impact of inequalities and discrimination on the processes of subjectivation and identification, development of new forms of critical discourse analysis, development of new forms of biographic method...)
4. Enforcing of science in Slovenian and international environment: the intensive cooperation with the media, evaluation activities, publishing activities, editorials in domestic and foreign journals and academic publishers, mentorship of foreign doctoral candidates and post-doc research, public lectures and group presentations of research work.
5. The research group is intentionally committed to develop the ethics of solidarity and collaboration and the culture of scientific self-realisation of each group member.
Significance for the country
Social inequalities are directly related to the issues of economic crisis and future strategies of (non)growth, political legitimacy and similar relevant and current topics. Inequalities are on the one hand a consequence of economic and political crises, but are at the same time deepening the crises, especially if the state reduces its role to ensuring the competitiveness and ignores the issues of political equality and social justice, dignity and a possibility for livelihood of all. Results of the proposed research program could help state institutions to shape social, health, education and family policy. For instance, Slovenia is committed to meet the objectives of the EU, which should reduce the poverty in Europe for at least 20% by 2020. This cannot be achieved without considering the findings and results of the research of mechanisms, which are causing the social inequalities nor by ignoring elaborations of workable institutional principles that could inform emancipatory alternatives to the existing world (such as universal basic income). Inequalities are reducing social cohesion, which undermines the development and preservation of national identity that depends on the broadest possible consensus about a common life. Yet, this cannot be achieved if we are reducing the social and cultural capital of society, which is formed also with the sense of egalitarity, justice and solidarity. If policies treat concrete problems of inequality as problems of individuals, therefore, if they are individualising them, they are in fact reproducing the structural conditions of inequality. Moreover, they try to solve the inequalities by tackling “risky” behaviours, which is a reductive treatment without adequate long-term effects.
The great importance of the research program of the group for the development of disciplines, professions and public policy in Slovenia is in the following areas: sociology and social psychology and their subareas, policy of equal opportunities, family, health and youth policy. The group demonstrates its’ attentiveness and effort in developing human resources also with the large number of supervisions for M.A. and Ph. D. theses as well as with the training of young researchers and mentorship of post-doc project of an Indian researcher. Members of the group are the designers and teachers of courses and programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels of higher education. They are also regular contributors, reviewers and evaluators in the field of sector policies, which are led or coordinated by individual ministries and international institutions. All group members are engaged as experts and volunteers in a large number of NGOs in Slovenia and abroad.
Most important scientific results
Interim report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report
