Fringe Events

Before the Opening of the conference in The Bridgewater Hall (at 18:00), publishers participating in the exhibition in the 'University Place' building at the University of Manchester are welcoming you for book and journal launches at 16:00!

Bristol University Press is launching:

the journal Emotions and Society (associated with ESA's Research Network 11 Sociology of Emotions) and the book series "Gender and Sociology", "Sociology of Children and Families", "Global Migration and Social Change"

Palgrave Macmillan is re-launching:

the Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life book series, that has published outstanding scholarship which has shaped the field of family sociology for over a decade and continues to showcase cutting-edge research from both established and early career academics

Migration, Diasporas, and Citizenship series under the editorship of Olga Jubany and Saskia Sassen

and launching:

the new Food and Identity in a Globalising World series, edited by Atsuko Ichijo and Ronald Ranta, Kingston University UK

The Sociological Review:

Come and meet members of the editorial team of the Sociological Review to find out more about the journal, how to publish with us and get involved with our broader ambitions to make sociology meaningfully public. 

The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University Departments of Sociology:

host a welcome reception. Conference delegates are welcome to attend the shared University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and Salford University stand, showcasing recent publications by Sociology staff.

Why sociologists should watch this film:

In early 2014, in the UK, the so-called Birmingham Trojan Horse affair hit the headlines as a ‘plot to Islamicise schools’. This followed the publication of a letter purporting to come from one of those involved in the plot. The letter is widely regarded as a hoax, but its consequences have been immense. It has been a major determinant of public policies associated both with education and the UK government’s ‘Prevent’ agenda – a programme intended to ‘educate’ young people to prevent them from being radicalised. For example, a duty on schools to promote ‘fundamental British values’ was adopted in November 2014, and the Trojan Horse affair was used the following year as the primary example of ‘extremist entryism’ that would be guarded against by a new Counter Extremism Strategy. In May 2017, professional misconduct cases brought against teachers at the schools at the centre of the affair collapsed due to ‘serious improprieties’ by the legal team responsible for the cases, improprieties which offended the Panel’s ‘sense of justice’. Yet, media reports and Government advisers insisted that there was plenty of evidence and that the cases were dropped on a ‘technicality’.

John Holmwood was an expert witness for the defence in court cases brought against teachers and is author (together with Therese O’Toole) of Countering Extremism in British Schools? The truth about the Birmingham Trojan Horse affair, Policy Press 2017. He was also academic adviser to LUNG theatre (and writer/directors Helen Monks and Matt Woodhead), a verbatim theatre company associated with Leeds Playhouse. They wrote and performed the play ‘Trojan Horse’ at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2018, where it won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award (among other awards). Between 2014 and 2017, they conducted 200 hours of interviews with pupils, parents, teachers, governors and education officials in Birmingham and at the Department of Education. They also had access to all official reports (redacted in some cases to protect witnesses) and court documents, including transcripts, in the public domain.

The film will be introduced by John Holmwood and followed by a Q and A session with John Holmwood, Helen Monks and Matt Woodhead. A joint paper on Writing Justice/ Performing Injustice: Reflections on Research, Publicity and the Birmingham Trojan Horse Affair will be presented by John Holmwood in one of the sessions of the ESA’s Research Network 34 Sociology of Religion (on Wednesday, in RN34_03).