Bárczi’s Participation in the British Sociological Association Conference

The British Sociological Association is the United Kingdom's premier professional organization in sociology and plays a significant role in shaping the discourse and priorities of European social policy through its thematic events. Following the COVID period, professional interest seems to be returning to issues of social justice, with the conference focusing on topics related to labor market inequalities, power, and resistance.

Some of the themes discussed in the numerous presentations included the role of minimum wage in employment, the impact of university students' employment on their studies, social security for illegal migrants, defining meaningful work, the functioning of labor cooperatives during the COVID pandemic, digitization and academic freedom, postdoctoral career planning, managerial perspectives in higher education, and more.

The presentation with Hungarian relevance held in the "Marginalized work and workers, risk and resistance in precarious places" section interpreted the situation and activities of entrepreneurs living with disabilities through the lens of Nancy Fraser's theory of social justice. When examining the economic distribution, cultural recognition, and political participation aspects, these entrepreneurs demonstrate strong resistance to ableist workplace conditions. The advantages stemming from their economic activities can also be transferred to the cultural and political spheres. However, they partly accept societal and cultural views related to disabilities.

The Central and Eastern European perspective added value to the conference, where, in addition to British researchers, experts from Scandinavia, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands also presented their work.