"The Future of Capitalism and Democracy," Centre for Social and Political Thought and Department of Sociology, University of Sussex, June 3-4, 2009.

9th Annual Meeting, International Social Theory Consortium. (This conference is also over but, again, I thought that some might like to learn of it.) Keynote Speakers: Richard Sennett (London School of Economics) Stephen P. Turner (University of South Florida) William Outhwaite (University of Newcastle) Peter Wagner (University of Trento, Italy) The annual conference provides a forum for social and political theorists to meet to discuss topics of importance for an understanding of current times. This year's conference has a specific focus on the future of capitalism and democracy as well as a wider concern with exploring how social and political theory can move beyond the cultural turn. During the 'disciplinary'period of the midtwentieth century, there was a marked separation between social, political and cultural theory. This was followed by a more complex triangular relation in the last part of the century, influenced by the model of Foucault and a politicized cultural studies. Present writing in this area has moved beyond the 'cultural turn,' but not back to the earlier separation. The interpenetration of these domains, both at the level of theory and in political life itself, produces challenges for theory in all these areas. Central to all of this is a sense of the uncertainty about major social and political institutions that the present global economic crisis has heightened and clarified. Visit the conference homepage here: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/cspt/1-4-3-6.html.