The Context
The Better Body? Towards a Sociology of Health is a symposium supported by The Australia Sociological Association as part of TASA November. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation we have postponed this event February 17 2022. Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions at UNSW the event will now run online only.
The event is coordinated by: Dr Naomi Smith, Dr Clare Southerton and Dr Marianne Clark
We want bring together scholars examining wellness practices. The term ‘wellness’ is a contemporary catch-all used to describe practices and discourses related to exercise, diet, fitspiration, mental health, sexuality and spirituality. Increasingly ideas about, and indicators of, wellness are digitally mediated, and thus exist, in large part, outside of traditional medical settings. Given the increase in wellness advice and practice as a supplement to, or substitute for, mainstream health practice, it is crucial we understand the role and impact of wellness on individuals’ health practices.
Wellness has become a mainstream concept, yet we have limited sociological understanding of how wellness functions as a concept in contemporary Western culture.
The idea of ‘wellness’ is particularly prevalent in Australian society, and controversial Australian wellness figures such as Pete Evans and Belle Gibson have become the focus of intense media scrutiny. However, critical media coverage has had little impact on the popularity of wellness practices. In fact, ‘rational’ approaches that invoke scientific evidence to challenge or negotiate contested wellness claims have little to no effect. In this symposium, we want to bring scholars investigating the growing field of wellness practices and practitioners together, in order to understand the role of wellness practice in negotiations of the Western medical system.
To understand the diverse range of wellness practices we seek submissions on the following topics:
the role of ‘wellness’ in a Western neo-liberal context - this includes tracing its emergence as a socially relevant concept and considering the social, political and material conditions that have given way to this emergence
consider the role of digital media platforms in the growth of ‘wellness’
explore the corporeal, lived and felt dimensions of wellness practices so as to animate and extend understandings of wellness beyond an abstract concept.
examine cultural appropriation in wellness cultures
wellness and (mis)information
aesthetics of wellness
wellness in the workplace
theoretical, empirical, creative, methodological and ethical approaches to researching
We welcome early findings from the field, works in progress and nascent ideas.
Please a 200-250 word abstract to abetterbodysymposium@gmail.com by the 21st of December, 2021
When?
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation we have postponed this event 17th February 2022. The event will now run online only
17th February 2022 (UNSW, Kensington Campus and and online via Zoom)
International contributors and participants are very welcome. The event will be running on Australia Eastern Daylight Time.
Program
The program is available HERE
Accessibility
We are committed to running an accessible event that facilities remote participation.
This event is generously supported by The Australian Sociological Association.
This is a fee-free event!
Outputs?
We are hoping to collate the submissions received for this symposium and approach a publisher (e.g. Routledge, Emerald) with an edited collection. There is no obligation to participate in this process, we will check in with all attendees after the symposium to confirm their interest in participating.
Registration
You can choose between online and in-person registration options.
Registering will help us make sure the event has appropriate technical support.
We look forward to seeing you there!