Disrupting the Discipline: Community, Youth, and the Struggle for Sociological Justice

Session Submission Type: Invited Session (90 minute)

Description

This panel brings together scholars whose work is grounded in abolitionist, decolonial, and community-based epistemologies to reimagine access to sociology beyond traditional academic spaces. In the face of rising authoritarianism, surveillance, and exclusionary policies in both education and public life, panelists explore how sociology can be mobilized as a liberatory tool within K–12 settings, community organizations, and broader grassroots movements. Through public-facing scholarship, mutual aid networks, and classroom practices that center youth, Indigenous sovereignty, and racial justice, these scholars demonstrate how community-rooted sociological work can resist fascist logics and contribute to building a more just and collective future.

Sub Unit

• Thematic Session

Presider

• Teresa Irene Gonzales, Loyola University Chicago

Panelists

• Angela Elena Fillingim, San Francisco State University

• Michelle M. Jacob, University of Oregon

• Amaka Camille Okechukwu, Johns Hopkins University

• David Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago

Session Organizer

• Teresa Irene Gonzales, Loyola University Chicago