SAANZ Student Engagement Officers Call-Out
SAANZ will support you in organising events that promote sociological research and thinking at both the local and cross-institutional levels, and act as a conduit between your local student body and SAANZ.
It’s an EXCITING opportunity to gain experience in academic leadership, networking, and event management while making meaningful contributions and lasting connections to both the local and national research community.
If you are a current postgraduate student engaged with Sociology or a related discipline and passionate about strengthening the student research community, we’d love to work with you! 🤗
👉🏼 Interested in this role? Please contact Java for more information.
Learning and Large Language Models Seminar
Join the Policy Hub and the Ministry of Education for a seminar on Learning and Large Language Models. Dr Marta Estelles, Dr Andy Doyle, Professor Alex Richter, Dr Shahper Richter, and Dr Andrea Schöllmann will present the latest research and discuss the use of these models in learning and implications for education policy, followed by questions and discussion.
- Date: 14th April
- Location: Rutherford House, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
- Join the seminar at 9 am in person at Rutherford House or online.
🔗 More information about the event can be found here.
Save Science Coalition Publication Launch
The Save Science Coalition is launching its new publication: “Underfunding our future: the human face of science cuts”. This publication details the stories of scientists working in the science system who have been personally affected by the science cuts. This publication is also the launch of the Save Science Coalition’s Expectations of an Incoming Government, ahead of the November 2026 election.
You are invited to attend the launch of our publication, which will be held at PSA House, 11 Aurora Terrace, Wellington at 6pm on Thursday 19th April, and make your views heard!
Sign up now! Register here.
At the event, we will:
- Hear from speakers giving perspectives on the science cuts:
- Andrea Bubendorfer, an experienced scientist who previously held a senior position in a public agency and was personally affected by the cuts to science. Andrea contributed her story to the publication.
- Heather Davies, a former Principal Technician at PHF Science (formerly ESR) who was personally affected by the cuts to science. Heather contributed her story to the publication.
- Scott Willis, Green Party spokesperson for science.
- Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary of the Public Service Association – the union for CRI scientists and other workers in science.
- Hear from Save Science Coalition Spokesperson Ben Wylie van Eerd about the Save Science Coalition’s Expectations of an Incoming Government ahead of the November 2026 election and the election campaign.
- Be one of the first to receive a copy of the publication.
There will be drinks and nibbles available after the formal part of the event is completed.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Ngā mihi,
Claire Nickson
PSA National Science Organiser
claire.nickson@psa.org.nz
Dr Lucy Stewart
Co-President of NZ Association of Scientists
lucy@scientists.org.nz
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
The guest editors of the journal Humanities & Social Sciences Communications are seeking submissions for the forthcoming edition ‘Reframing artificial intelligence: Critical perspectives from AI social science’.
In an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence (AI), public and academic discourse is often dominated by polarised narratives—either heralding AI as a solution to complex problems or warning of its dangers. These framings frequently assume the inevitability of AI’s advancement, obscuring the sociocultural, political and economic forces that influence its development and use. In contrast, critical work in the social sciences has long shown that technological change is not preordained but emerges through social relations, institutional settings and cultural imaginaries as much as through scientific breakthroughs or engineering feats.
This Collection invites social science perspectives to advance the study of AI’s sociotechnical, cultural and political dimensions.
Abstract submission deadline: 30 April 2026
More info: https://www.nature.com/collections/fifadahhfd/guest-editors
Digital and Sexual Citizenship in an Age of Social Media Bans: Interrogating the Rights of Children and Young People
Many Western countries, including Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, are signatories to the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child. Nonetheless, the rights of children and adolescents are increasingly impacted by laws, such as the recent social media ban, and policies prohibiting students’ use of mobile phones in schools. Often, children’s views on laws and policies that impact their rights are either not sought at all or paid scant attention. This is in contravention of Article 12 which grants all children who are capable of forming their own views the right to express them freely in all matters that affect them, requiring that these views are “given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.”
This conference welcomes papers exploring the impact of law and policy on young people’s rights and lived experience, as well as papers that explore children’s agency and digital sexual citizenship more broadly. Designed as an academic conference that promotes new knowledge and scholarship in this area, it also aims to include young people as participants.
Please send your 200-word abstract, or 500-word panel proposal, and short bios by 20 April 2026 to: DigitalCitizenship@ecu.edu.au
When: 6–8 July, 2026
Where: Perth, Australia (in-person only).
More information can be found in the Word doc here.
Call for New Editorial Team for Health Sociology Review Journal
Applications are invited for the editorship of Health Sociology Review (HSR) for the three-year term 2027–2029.
Health Sociology Review is an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality conceptual and empirical research in the sociology of health, illness and medicine.
Published three times per year, the journal prioritises original research papers, papers that advance theory and methodology in health sociology, and special issues on matters of central importance to health sociology and related fields.
Applications close on Monday, June 22, 2026
More information can be found here.
Call for Associate Editors for the Journal of Intercultural Studies
The Journal for Intercultural Studies is calling for new Associate Editors, seeking applicants with expertise in cultural studies and postcolonial literature; decolonial studies; race/ethnicity/migration studies are encouraged to apply. The journal’s Associate Editors are based in different locations around the world, and thus applicants from diverse geographies are encouraged. Feel free to reach out to the current editors-in-chief if you have any specific queries.
Interested candidates are welcome to submit their CV (max 2 pages) and a short letter (1-2 pages) explaining their interest.
✉️ Email it to Paula Muraca & Melissa Phillips.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, so please apply early.
Application deadline: Expected to close by April 2026.
More information can be found in this doc here.
Religion as a Weapon of War: in the past, present and future
This conference, held in from June 22-26, 2026 in Skopje, North Macedonia, will bring together eminent and talented professors and researchers with expertise in religious studies, sociology of religion, sociology of culture, theology, philosophy of religion, history of religion, psychology of religion, anthropology of religion and other scientific fields, to present the results of research projects that have a great impact in scientific circles around the world. We will enable the exchange of knowledge with religious dignitaries from around the world to present their views in the interdisciplinary, interfaith debate on the connection between religion and war.
Abstract submission deadline: April 15, 2026
Submission of abstracts and more information about the conference can be found here.
Seeking a Discussant for an Online Conference
SAANZ Member Dr. Noel Packard is looking for a discussant for a session entitled, “Karl Marx and Max Weber on the Topic of Machines Dominating Labour” for the 2nd RC20 Regional Conference on Comparative Sociology, the 1st RC56 Regional Conference on Historical Sociology, and the 5th RC33 Regional Conference on Social Science Methodology: Asia in Khon Kaen, Thailand and Tokyo, Japan. The conference will be held from 24th to 28th August 2026.
The discussant would join a panel focusing specifically on how Max Weber and Karl Marx had different approaches regarding what happens when machines dominate human labour.
Interested in being a discussant? Please send a statement of interest/introduction to Noel Packard at: npac825@aucklanduni.ac.nz before August 1, 2026.
🔗 More information about the conference can be found here
🔗 More information about the session can be found here
Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Proposals for special issues in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand (JRSNZ) are invited from scientists anywhere in the world. JRSNZ particularly welcomes interdisciplinary themes and topics not covered by their specialist titles (e.g., Medical and Health Sciences, Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science and related fields). JRSNZ is indexed in PubMed Central (PMC) and PubMed, ensuring strong international visibility.
You do not need to be affiliated with the Society to submit a proposal. Applications are encouraged from researchers at any career stage, provided they can demonstrate standing in the field and the ability to attract high-quality contributors. If you would like to propose a special issue for JRSNZ, please contact publish@royalsociety.org.nz.
Social Moments: A Student Journal of Social Relations – Call for Papers
Social Moments is a free, online, peer-reviewed student journal examining society and culture through a social science lens. Disciplines include sociology, criminology, gender and sexuality studies, political science, social psychology, anthropology, and cultural/social geography.
The journal publishes research articles (approx. 5,000 words), book reviews (up to 3,000 words), and perspective pieces critiquing key concepts or ideas in the field. Graduate students are prioritised, though undergraduate contributions are also welcome.
Submissions (Rolling – no deadlines)
- Who can submit? Undergraduate and graduate students in the social sciences.
- Requirements: Submissions must be original, polished, and not under review or published elsewhere.
- Format: Word document only; approx. 5,000 words (max). Use APA referencing, Times New Roman 12pt, double-spaced, 1” margins. Include:
- Page 1: Title page with author details
- Page 2: 50–75 word author bio
- Page 3: Abstract (≤150 words)
- Review process: Blind peer review with a decision of Accept / Revise & Resubmit / Reject (usually within 3 months).
Want to Review?
Faculty and advanced graduate students are invited to serve as reviewers. Reviews are blind and expected within 30 days.
🔗 More information can be found here.
📧: For more inquiries, you can contact them at Social.Moments.Student.Journal@gmail.com