All Things Urban

The Research Committee 21 (RC21) of the International Sociology Association, the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research (IJURR) and the IJURR Foundation invite applications for 25 places on our 6th Doctoral School in Comparative Urban Studies, to be held in Delhi (India) from 7th to 21st September 2019.

The School is being held in conjunction with the RC21 Conference (18th-21st September) held in Delhi on the theme of “In and Beyond the City: Emerging Ontologies, Persistent Challenges and Hopeful Futures”. The School is co-organised by RC21 and IJURR in collaboration with scholars from several institutions in Delhi: Delhi Contemporary, the Center for Policy Research, Ambedkar University, and the Institute of Economic Growth. The venue for the School will be the Institute of Economic Growth (on the North Campus of the University of Delhi). The venue for the conference will be the India Habitat Centre.

As in previous years, the School will focus on the interaction of theory and methodology in the study of cities. The School will address three broad themes:

• The value added of comparative research in urban studies and the changing nature of the urban question. How and why are cities across the world changing, and with what consequences?
• What (new) research tools and methodologies are appropriate to making sense of the changes occurring in contemporary urban society? How should we make use of, or combine, qualitative research methods and the analysis of quantitative data?
• Are our theories appropriate for the study of contemporary urban form and society, especially in the global South where we often apply theories of the global North without regard to the specificities of old and new urban contexts in the South?

The School provides PhD students at the beginning of their doctoral studies with an opportunity to learn from each other and from established scholars from diverse disciplines and parts of the world, through both formal classes and informal interactions The program includes 10 days of activities following by attendance at the RC21 conference. Sessions will typically comprise presentations by one or two senior scholars in the morning, covering the theory and practice of comparison, linking theory and method, and providing insights into the use of various qualitative (and to a lesser extent quantitative) methods. Classes will focus on the global North and global South and will draw from the scholars’ own research. In the afternoons, students will have fruitful discussions with their peers and guest scholars on individual papers presenting their doctoral research, to link the research methods and issues being addressed with their own work. In addition, a practical session will also be dedicated to how to get work published. A number of guest lectures, film screenings, as well as site visits and encounters with local scholars and activists in Delhi, are also scheduled.

The School is aimed at PhD students at the beginning of their doctoral studies (1st or 2nd year ideally), who are still finalizing their research design and methodological approaches and have not started – or not yet finished – their field work. In exceptional cases the selection committee will also consider the applications of students finishing a Research Master’s degree who are planning to continue with doctoral studies. The School is not suitable for students who are at the end of their PhD studies, as it focuses on introducing and discussing the use of various research designs and methods, and thinking about the development of comparisons in urban studies.

Research Committee 21 (RC21) on Sociology of Urban and Regional Development of the International Sociological Association was established in 1970 to promote theory and research in the sociology of urban and regional development, and – in so doing – create an international community of scholars who will advance the field.

At a time when cities, towns, and regions, and the world more broadly, are undergoing profound change, these international links are of critical importance for promoting and advancing scholarship. RC21 provides mechanisms for more easily enabling and maintaining these contacts.