2025 Theme

Sociology in a Pluralistic World: Finding Common Ground

We live in a culturally complex world that is both diverse and divisive. As we approach the end of the first quarter of the 21st Century, our differences in life experiences and perspectives have become more pronounced. These differences include ability, age and generational, gender, racial and ethnic, religious, sexual identity, social class, and others. And unfortunately, we often only associate with those that share commonalities with us while we alienate those that differ from us.

Unlike many disciplines where shared experiences and perspectives are meaningful, Sociology is unique in that our focus is not only about
commonalities, but also about understanding our differences. As social beings, we need to understand people who hold different world views, even if we disagree with their perspectives. Our differences should be celebrated, cherished, and valued. We are all students of Sociology and thus, we need to develop the knowledge and skills to examine, analyze, and evaluate differences, and find ways to form communities meaningful for all members. We have a responsibility to construct a world where the life experiences of all cultures and subcultures are valued, especially groups that have historically been underrepresented, marginalized, or oppressed.

How do we embrace our differences and find common ground? Without diversity, there is no equity, inclusion, and justice. As students, teachers, and scholars of Sociology, we have a lot of work ahead to make this a better world for all groups.

Leslie Wang, Ph.D.
Saint Mary’s College
NCSA President, 2024-2025

Featured Speakers

2025 Ruth and John Useem Plenary Address

TYPES OF SESSIONS

Topic Session: Sessions are typically 75 minutes during which presentations and discussion center on a particular topic. A thematic session refers to a session that is specifically oriented toward the conference theme.

Closed Session: A session is closed when an organizer selects the topic and format and then recruits all the participants for the session. A closed session may be of any format.

Academics-Meet-Activists: Academics-Meet–Activists sessions are closed sessions. An organizer recruits an activist or organization and academics to discuss the intersections of academic research and activist initiatives around a specific social movement or social justice issue.

Author-Meets-Critics: Author-Meets-Critics is a closed session. An organizer recruits an author of a recently published book, article or chapter and 2 to 4 critics to participate in a lively discussion about the significance of the work to the sociological field.

Panel : Panels are closed sessions.. An organizer recruits individuals with areas of expertise to discuss a topic. Panelists’ brief presentations are followed by discussion between the speakers and a Q&A facilitated by the organizer.

Paper: Paper sessions consist of three to five presentations that revolve around a common theme. Conference organizers will place papers with a common theme into a session. Paper sessions may be closed or open.

Workshop: Workshops are interactive, hands-on sessions designed to develop specific professional competencies through interactive activities and discussions. The skills and tools presented in the session should be clear and have high utility for the workshop attendees.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

Individual Paper – Research
If you want to present or discuss a portion of a research project you are working on, submit it as an individual research paper. The program committee will organize the individual submissions into coherent sessions. Include a title and a brief abstract (no more than 150 words) in your submission. Please indicate the general topic that best fits your submission (see list on page 8). If your submission
does not fit any of the general research topics, choose the “RESEARCH: other” option. For questions
and more information please contact Gail McGuire at gmcguire@iu.edu

Individual Paper – Teaching
If you want to give a presentation on a teaching topic, submit it as an individual teaching paper. The program committee will organize the individual presentations into coherent sessions. You will need to submit a title and a brief abstract (no more than 150 words). Please indicate the general topic that best fits your submission (see list on page 8). If your submission does not fit any of the general teaching
topics, choose the “TEACHING: other” option. For questions and more information please contact Greg Kordsmeier at gkordsme@iu.edu.

Closed Session – Research or Teaching
If you are interested in organizing a specific closed session, you will need to submit the title of the session, a brief abstract for the session (no more than 150 words), and the names and emails of all the participants. If the session consists of papers, submit the titles of everyone’s presentation and a brief abstract for each presentation (no more than 150 words). For questions and more information please contact Gail McGuire at gmcguire@iu.edu (research) or Greg Kordsmeier at gkordsme@iu.edu (teaching).

SUBMITTING PROPOSALS

1. All submissions must be completed and received by the NCSA no later than 5pm on December 1, 2024.
2. Review the suggested topics for submissions found in this prospectus to determine if your submission should be considered as a research or teaching proposal AND which topic the program committee should consider when assigning your presentation to a session, day, or time. We make every effort to schedule sessions of the same topic so as not to conflict.
3. For research or teaching papers, submit information online at https://tinyurl.com/NCSA2025Proposal Please have on hand all the information required for the format. Decide upon a topic that best fits your submission. We do not collect finished papers, so papers in progress may be submitted.
4. Closed sessions also are to be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on December 1, 2024. Have the closed session submission form completed and ready to upload when you submit the proposal.

Undergraduate Paper Presentation Submissions

The NCSA welcomes the participation of undergraduate students. For more than a decade, undergraduate students have presented their work at the NCSA conference. Undergraduate presenters must register for the conference as a UG registration WITH membership. Registration for the conference gives undergraduates student membership benefits and access to the entire annual meeting.

For undergraduates who wish to present a paper, the student should submit this information online at
https://tinyurl.com/NCSA2025UGRADProposal
Please include the author(s)’ first and last names, institutional affiliations, most frequently checked email, and an abstract up to 150 words. The deadline for undergraduates to submit is January 5, 2025. Undergraduate submissions will be placed in a topic-relevant session in one of the organized Undergraduate Sessions. For questions regarding undergraduate student participation in the conference, please contact Mellisa Holtzman at mkholtzman@bsu.edu.

RESEARCH TOPICS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Aging and the Life Course
Animals and Society
Applied Sociology
Children and Youth
Collective Behavior and Social Movements
Community Based/Participatory Research
Crime and Deviance Disability
Education
Environmental Sociology
Family
Food
Gender
Global and Transnational Sociology
Health and Medical Sociology
Historical & Comparative Sociology
Immigration & Migration
LGBTQIA+ Studies
Media Studies
Methods
Politics
Popular Culture
Poverty
Race and Ethnicity
Religion
Rural Sociology
Social Justice and Human Rights
Social Stratification
Sociology of Sport
Theory
Urban Sociology
Work and Occupation
RESEARCH: Other

TEACHING TOPICS FOR SUBMISSIONS

Active Learning/Student Centered Learning
Assessment of Learning
Capstone Projects–Best Practices
Challenges in Teaching
Choosing Textbooks and other Course Materials
Community College Instruction
Community Engagement and the Classroom
Curriculum Design
Equity and Inclusion in the Classroom
Ethics and the Classroom
Group work–Benefits and Challenges
Innovative Teaching
Mentoring Retention Strategies
Service and Project–based Learning
Student Writing
Teaching Difficult Topics
Teaching Large Classes
Teaching Online Classes
Teaching Sociology through Film/Media/News
Technology in the Classroom
Teaching Research Methods and/or Statistics
Teaching Theory
Undergraduate Research
TEACHING: other

PRESENTER POLICIES

Sharing research and teaching innovations at professional disciplinary conferences is an important part of being an academic. Participating in a conference program has responsibilities that are standard across associations to make for a successful meeting for presenters and attendees alike. Those responsibilities include paying NCSA membership and conference registration fees and informing the program committee if one is unable to take part in the conference after being accepted onto the program.

Please take a moment to review the following policies before you submit a proposal to ensure that you are adequately prepared for your presenter role/s:

PARTICIPANT APPEARANCE LIMITS & SCHEDULING REQUESTS

● An individual may be listed on the program no more than three (3) times per annual meeting unless they have the permission of the Program Chair.
● Specific scheduling requests must be made by December 20, 2024.

ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL INTO THE FINAL PROGRAM

● The lead author of a proposal will be notified via email of their proposal’s status prior to January 15, 2025.

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT

● All program participants are required to register for the conference; registration for the conference includes one year of membership in NCSA.
● Non- presenting co-authors are not required to register – however, if they attend the conference, they are required to register for the conference.
● All program presenters must register for the conference no later than thirty (30) days prior to the first day of the conference. Those that do not register (30) days prior to the first day of the
conference will be removed from the final program. Paid registration is required to access all sessions.
● We recommend every attendee save the emailed receipt as their record of registration. Have a copy with you when checking in at the association conference desk in case of questions.
● NCSA’s standard policy is that any registration may be canceled without penalty up to thirty (30) calendar days prior to the first day of conference. The requirement of registration fees helps to guarantee the presence of presenters listed in the final program. This policy hopes to reduce the number of last-minute drops and no-show presenters, thus greatly increasing the quality of the program for all attendees.

PRESENTER, SPEAKER, ORGANIZER REGISTRATION FEE

All attendees, presenters, organizers and speakers are required to pay the conference registration fee. Conference fees help to pay for the venue and all related services as well as fund NCSA’s operating expenses throughout the year, since member dues do not cover the per-member cost of products and services such as the journal, website, online resources, and more. NCSA seeks to keep costs to a minimum and thus affordable to as many people as possible.

PRESENTATION CANCELLATION AFTER ACCEPTANCE INTO THE PROGRAM

● To cancel, presenters should notify the Program Chair, Michelle Smith msmith@lakelandcc.edu in writing by email as soon as possible. Cancellations must be received no later than the published cancellation deadline. Cancellations must be received at least 30 days prior to the first day of the conference. If you do not attend the conference without canceling, you are still responsible for paying appropriate registration fees.
● If you are unable to present, but a co-author is available, contact the Program Chair, Michelle Smith at msmith@lakelandcc.edu with the name of the presenter so that the session is not removed from the program.
● All cancellations that qualify for a refund will be credited either through a refund check payment or credit to the card used to make the original payment. Please note that this includes invoice payments made by credit card.
● We understand that some situations may hinder one’s ability to participate. In these situations, it is required that you notify the conference planner well in advance of your presentation.
NO SHOWS Any presenter(s) that do not appear in their scheduled session to make their scheduled presentation and/or do not notify conference organizers will be considered a ‘no show.’
Registration fees for ‘no shows’ are not refundable. Not canceling and failure to give scheduled presentations are disruptive and leave gaps in the conference program which diminishes the experience of conference attendees.

EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES

We understand that unforeseen events outside of a presenter’s control may prevent them from presenting as scheduled. Extenuating circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis for presenters with sudden and unavoidable reasons for not attending the conference (medical issues, family emergencies, unforeseen travel
problems, and similar situations outside of a presenter’s control).

REFUNDS

● Refund requests must be submitted via email to MSmith@lakelandcc.edu
● A processing fee and the 2025 membership dues will be deducted from any refunds made. All refund requests must be made by the attendee or credit card holder. Refund requests must include the name of the attendee and/or transaction number. Please let us know if you would like to donate your registration fee in lieu of a refund.
● For payments received by credit or debit cards, the same credit/debit card will be refunded.
● Refunds will not be available for registrants who choose not to attend the conference.

CONFERENCE DETAILS

Conference Contacts
General program questions:   Michelle Smith, msmith@lakelandcc.edu
Special format sessions:          Michelle Smith, msmith@lakelandcc.edu
Research sessions:                   Gail McGuire, gmcguire@iu.edu
Teaching sessions:                   Greg Kordsmeier, gkordsme@iu.edu
Undergraduate papers:           Mellisa Holtzman, mkholtzman@bsu.edu
Registration questions:            Mary Senter, sente1ms@cmich.edu
Hotel/conference arrangements: Brigit Dyer, dyerbrigit18@gmail.com

Important Dates

Aug 23, 2024  Online portal opens for all submissions
Dec 1, 2024     Deadline for all submissions EXCEPT undergraduate presentations
Jan 5, 2025     Deadline for undergraduate presentation submissions
Jan 10, 2025 Target date for 2025 preliminary session list to be posted online
March 12, 2025 Hotel room block reservation line closes
March 5, 2025 Advance conference registration closes

AV Resources

We ask that all speakers provide their own laptops loaded with their presentation on the desktop. We encourage panels to upload their presentations to one laptop to facilitate speedy transitions.

Breakout rooms will contain a projector and screen unless the format type prohibits the use of technology.

NCSA will send frequent meeting reminders and updates.

Please be sure to add the following email addresses below to your safesenders list to ensure you receive important conference updates:

DyerBrigit18@gmail.com and msmith@lakelandcc.edu
Submission Portal Opens August 20, 2024 and Closes December 1, 2024
Online Submission Portal Available at
2025 NCSA Paper Submissions [submission form] – Google Forms

Registration

All program participants must be NCSA members and register for the conference unless otherwise notified.
You may pay your 2025 membership dues and conference registration fees in one simple payment step any time between December 1 and
March 5. Fees for the 2025 conference INCLUDE your 2025 membership dues. Late and/or onsite registration fees are higher.
Fees for 2025 remain the same as 2024. In 2022, we introduced a tiered professional registration structure. For
more information on this year’s fees, please visit our conference registration page.

Online registration will open December 1, 2024.

Accommodations

Our conference hotel is the Hyatt Regency. We have secured a block of rooms for the evenings of Thursday, April 2 through Sunday, April 6 at
the rate of $155 per night plus 17 % tax.

Room rates are guaranteed though March 12, 2025, or until the room block is fully reserved. For those driving to the conference, parking is
available at the hotel. For overnight guests of the hotel, parking is available at the nearby parking garage.

The Hyatt Regency is a smoke-free hotel. Smoking is not allowed within hotel guest rooms, restaurants, meeting rooms, or any public area. There are designated smoking areas along the perimeter of the hotel property.

Online reservation lines will open December 1, 2024.