Welcome to vCIES 2021
65th Annual Meeting – (Social Responsibility within Changing Contexts)
CIES-2021 Conference Theme
Social responsibility as a driving force for education/development work.
- What might social responsibility look like as we move further into the 21st century?
- To whom are we responsible, and why?
- How does social responsibility extend to ecological responsibility and just transitions?
Expanded range of actors and movements.
- What informs the orientations and contributions of the various actors and movements? How do and can relationships across actors, new and old, condition the work we all do?
- How does the expanding variety of actors, including technology companies and financial institutions, for-profit schools and charter schools, privatized educational management organizations, corporate and private foundations, celebrities, and activists influence our collective sense of responsibility?
- How does the work within various movements, and people’s response to movements, shape our understandings of educational practice, research, policy and activism?
- How are teachers’ unions movements, the Movement for Black Lives, indigenous movements, LGBTQ movements, the Dalit movement, student movements like #FeesMustFall and #RhodesMustFall, DREAMERS and other immigrant rights movements, landless workers movements, etc., indicative of a changing social and political landscape, reflective of changes in how people understanding of what is important in education and beyond?
Nuanced and intersecting contextual changes.
- How are contexts changing, culturally, economically, politically, etc.? How does socially responsible educational practice and policy influence those changes? How does the changing context shape social responsibility?
- How do public health challenges (such as COVID-19) affect other domains and dimensions of education globally?
- How does tech and financial capital affect educational practice and policy, and social responsibility?
Lived experience as shaped by changing contexts, spaces, values, and actions.
- How are the social constructions of gender, race, sexuality, culture, social hierarchies, and community relations changing relative to globalization, neoliberalism, global agendas, new actors’ involvement (and other influences)?
- How does the cumulative experience of the field inform the ways that people – in NGOs and multilateral organizations, governments, corporations, philanthropies, partnerships, and communities – make sense of what is important in education and their communities, in society, and how social responsibility is implicated?
Policy and practice as reflecting underlying assumptions and values.
- What are the ideologies reflected in the assumptions and values? How do these underlying ideologies relate to discourses of purpose, missions and visions, and when do they fall short? How might we better understand disconnections or agreements?
- Policy, practice, funding and research are intertwined, yet they are often treated separately. How do they interact and collectively engage particular assumptions and values over others?
- How might we consider these important facets to our work through a socially responsible lens?
- Are motivations and underlying assumptions altruistic, profit-motived, and/or reflective of particular visions of development? Are they culturally responsive, or neocolonial in tone? How do they prioritize economic gain, participatory processes, community empowerment, or branding processes?
- How do policy, implementation models, and strategies for practice take up or reflect understandings of changing contextual influences, social responsibility, assumptions underlying theories of change, and how communities experience educational programming?
How far can social responsibility reach?
- How might, or does, our work that is driven by an ethos of social responsibility impact not only those intended to benefit (students, families, for example), but also neighbors, nearby communities, the environment, the community’s economic clout, etc.?
- How would a stronger sense of social responsibility change our processes and agendas?
- What are the responsibilities of our own organizations, and to whom?
- How might it change power relations among all those involved or affected?
Program Highlights
The 2021 conference theme, Social Responsibility within Changing Contexts, focuses our attention on closely examining the work we do and how others in the field experience our work, in a changing environment with a growing variety of actors who may or may not share the same visions for the future. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, we see rapid changes in political, economic, environmental, cultural, and social spaces. Along with these changes is an increasing variety of actors, including non-state actors who are now more involved. These changes influence education globally and locally. This calls for revisiting the relationships among context, actors, visions, and action, and our own collective social responsibility.
Contextual changes include the global sharing of cultural values, a refinement of neoliberal economic and political agendas, and the acceleration of environmental challenges. In addition, we often recognize a narrowing of the purpose of education toward economic outcomes, particularly as they are framed discursively in policy and practice, and the prioritization of technological innovations over other forms of learning. Alongside and within these changing contextual processes, values, and conditions are new actors in the education and development arena, including corporations, corporate philanthropies, celebrities, and billionaires, and perhaps the emergence of new social movements. What are their agendas and processes? How might we revisit the various visions and agendas of all development and education actors, along with our theories of action? How do we do the work we do? How are lives consequently affected? How does social responsibility – of corporate entities, governments, development organizations, communities, and researchers – interact with these changing contexts, the growing range of actors, and evolving visions and approaches to education globally and locally?
Due to the continuing challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic we will have a 100% virtual conference, including all of the usual activities one expects at CIES meetings. Please check for updates on this website (cies2021.org), and follow us on Twitter and Facebook!
We have an exciting conference planned, with keynote and plenary panels which will explore conference theme from a variety of perspectives. #FEAS will open the conference with an interactive performance – don’t miss it! Twenty-four sessions and 61 papers will be presented bilingually, involving 27 languages. And you will also enjoy the annual Film Festivalette, networking opportunities, relaxing and rejuvenating activities during coffee breaks, and a virtual art exhibit, along with the usual workshops and presentations. Please encourage your colleagues and friends to attend CIES 2021, to get to know the vibrant organization that CIES is, and to engage with our professional community.
Keynote Speakers
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is our 2021 George F. Kneller Lecturer. She is University Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University and teaches reading the world and democratic habit-formation at the university and at four Manojog Pathshalas in Birbhum, India. Her talk is titled Scattered Speculations on a Permanent Revolution.
Kavita N. Ramdas is Director of the Open Society Foundations’ Women’s Rights Program and was previously the President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women. She is a globally recognized advocate for gender equity and justice. She will speak on Power Dynamics, Philanthropy and Global Justice: Limits and Possibilities and will be joined by Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg.
Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg is the Director of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD). She previously founded and was Executive Director of Akili Dada.
john a. powell is a professor and the Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at the University of California at Berkeley. He will speak about Social Responsibility, Social Movements, and Corporate Power: Reflecting on Othering and Belonging.
CIES 2021 MEMORIAL SESSIONS
2020-2021 has been a tough year for many. The CIES community has lost three valued colleagues. Memorial sessions for each will reflect on their contributions to CIES and the field of comparative and international education. Everyone is welcome to come to commemorate these influential colleagues.
John Hawkins
Monday, April 26, 5:45 to 7:15pm PDT
Co-sponsored by the East Asia SIG
John Hawkins (1944-2020) guided the Comparative and International Education Society serving as president and treasurer as well as the editor of Comparative Education Review. He was a prolific contributor to comparative education scholarship, shaping our discourse with the publication of more than 70 articles and 20 books. He was also the recipient of the CIES Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
John devoted more than four decades to his work at UCLA as faculty in the Department of Education and Dean of International Studies, advancing the expansion of international studies, overseas programs, and regionally focused research centers. He also is remembered as an extraordinary adviser and beloved teacher. Through his scholarship in the areas of higher education and educational policy in East Asia, John influenced generations of scholars and practitioners.
Robert A. Rhoads
Tuesday, April 27, 3:30-5:00 PDT
Robert A. Rhoads (1957-2018), a professor of higher education in UCLA’s Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, passed away at the age of 60 after a long battle with cancer. Rhoads was a scholar of global citizenship, the role of research universities in China, and higher education. His co-authored volume Global Citizenship and the University: Advancing Social Life and Relations in an Interdependent World (Stanford, 2011) was recognized as the 2012 Outstanding Publication of the Year by the Postsecondary Education Division of the AERA. He also co-authored China’s Rising Research Universities: A New Era of Global Ambition (Johns Hopkins, 2014), co-edited The University, State, and Market: The Political Economy of Globalization in the Americas (Stanford, 2006) with Carlos Torres, and published on Massive Open Online Courses, student activism, student sexual identities and faculty socialization in the United States.
Nicholas “Nick” Stans Shawa
Thursday, April 29 – 10am-11:30am
Nicholas Stans Shawa (1963–2021) was an international development education research practitioner par excellence. A warm-hearted Malawian who was passionate about improving education, Nick’s expertise included field research and evaluation, project and team management, and computer technology. Nick served Malawi’s university system (Chancellor College, University of Malawi; and the former Bunda College), as well as numerous international development organizations. He provided technical leadership in research and evaluation, eventually working with the governments of nearly all African countries in ways that fostered teamwork, productivity, creativity, and fairness. Nick first attended CIES in 2003, and in 2017 he received the CIES International Travel Award for Distinguished Service in Education Reform. Nick was also a beloved chief in northern Malawi. His life was tragically cut short by COVID-19 on February 1, 2021. To contribute to “Masks for Malawi” in Nick’s memory, please go to www.miskewittinternational.com.
Global Response
Thank YOU from the CIES 2021 Team!
Thank you to everyone who made CIES 2021 a resounding success! From the presenters, to the chairs, discussants, plenary speakers, singers, artists, sponsors, volunteers and everyone else who worked so hard to make CIES 2021 a success – thank you!
We had nearly 1200 people joining us onsite and 1800 online. More details on the number of panels and papers are to come, but please know that we are so grateful for the enthusiasm, creativity, and engagement in every aspect of this conference.
The Hub will remain open until May 15th, where book launch videos and poster presentations are still available to view. The Film Festivalette will remain open until May 1, 2022.
Conference Gallery
concert-hall-9
concert-hall-8
concert-hall-13
concert-hall-6
concert-hall-10
concert-hall-5
concert-hall-3
