CALL FOR PAPERS «Sicurezza e scienze sociali» n. 3/2024 September – December
«Sicurezza e scienze sociali» (Direttrice Sabina Curti) n. 3/2024 September – December “The power of stigmatization and de-stigmatization in urban contexts. Theoretical debate and practices”
a cura di: Eleonora Clerici, Sapienza Università di Roma Giuseppe Ricotta, Sapienza Università di Roma Deadline for the submission of the abstract: December 31st , 2023 Deadline for the submission of the papers: March 31st , 2024 1. Presentation of the issue In the last decades, multiple socio-economic, financial, cultural, and political processes modified and shaped the structure and fabric of cities (e.g., the flexible accumulation regime, globalization, financialization, gentrification, labour differentiation, the restructuring of the welfare state, etc.). They intensified and exacerbated inequality and social exclusion, which acquired new shades of marginalization and polarization in the urban contexts (Tammaru et al., 2016; Musterd et al., 2017; Mela, Toldo, 2020; Dikeç, 2017; Madden, 2021). In addition to these structural changes, the Covid19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and their consequent crises worsened these spatial differences. Indeed, the resultant rise in living and energy costs and inflation severely impacted – and keep having repercussions on – the most vulnerable groups and households. Moreover, within this complex and multilayered context, the increasing need and promotion of the “green transition” led to several questions on urban sustainability and its ability to be feasible for all. Thus, all these processes and events produced and exacerbated the dualization (Castells, 1989) and social polarization of cities (Sassen, 1991). In the past, similar extreme situations mainly appeared and manifested in the Global South (e.g., the favelas, slums, bidonvilles, etc.), and these countries looked up to the Global North for solutions and improvements. Paradoxically, as post-colonial and decolonial studies spotlighted (Santos, 2014), these events are now emerging in the countries of the Global North.
The public debate, political rhetoric, and media coverage reinforced these urban gaps by associating place-based negative images, perceptions, and representations of these disadvantaged neighbourhoods (Jahiu, Cinnamon, 2022). Since the 1990s, this process of labelling the deprived districts has been studied by several scholars. Among them, Loic Wacquant described it by wedding Bourdieu’s perspective (1979) with Goffman’s studies on stigma (1963). Within his theoretical framework, territorial stigmatization is a strong label attached to confined, detached, and segregated areas that influence the perception of and interaction with the residents of these districts. Thus, “territorial stigmatization” assumes a nodal role in producing and studying these new forms of marginality (Wacquant, 2007; 2008). It represents one of the influential drivers that leads to the construction of urban purgatories, spatial alienation, and disenfranchisement of communities. For instance, it impacts the residents and surrounding commercial operators, the level and quality of service delivery, the output of specialists in symbolic production, and the viewpoints of and relationship with state officials and, through their decisions, public policies (Wacquant et al., 2014).
Thus, territorial stigmatization represents a versatile concept for studying urban marginalisation and questioning the decision-making processes and right to the city (Wacquant et al., 2014; Meade, 2021; Sisson, 2021; Larsen, Delica, 2019; Marcuse, 2009).
The current volume aims to collect contributions from the third sector, social organisations, and universities on proposals that deepen territorial stigmatization, its applications, and connected issues from different perspectives. For indicative purposes only, the areas of interest for the volume refer but not limited to the following issues:
– Territorial stigmatization and de-stigmatization
– Territorial stigmatization in the public discourse
– Marginality, segregation, and territorial stigmatization
– Deprived neighbourhoods and images
– Public and political discourses and marginalisation.
2. Terms of participation
The participants must send an e-mail by December 31 st, 2023, stating the title and attaching the abstract (ca. 2000 characters including spaces) in Italian, English, and French to the following address:
eleonora.clerici@uniroma1.it
giuseppe.ricotta@uniroma1.it
Summary of the deadlines:
Submission of the abstract: December 31 st, 2023.
Acceptance of the abstract: January 31 st, 2024.
Submission of the paper: March 31 st, 2024.
Refereeing: May 31 st, 2024.
Publication of the volume: by September-December 2024
