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Initiative for social resilience research

An ongoing initiative at the Faculty of Social Sciences encourages research on social resilience. On this page you can find information about the initiative and related activities.

Critical studies of social resilience

Social resilience can be seen as the ways in which people manage to mitigate and cope with challenges inflicted upon their lifeworlds, livelihoods, communities, and societies amidst a range of crises. 

Research on social resilience has gained increased attention in a diversity of social science disciplines, ranging from sustainability-, environmental-, development and migration studies to sociology, anthropology, social work, and psychology. 

Under the social resilience initiative, inter- and transdisciplinary research is conducted to study the capacities of societies, communities, networks, families, and other social groups to critically explore locally and globally the theoretical dimensions of a social resilience perspective, its methodological implications, empirical possibilities, and practical applications as well as the politics with which social resilience might be imbued.  

About the social resilience initiative 

The Faculty of Social Sciences has taken initiative to support and encourage research on social resilience. With this initiative the faculty wants to: 

  • connect social science research on resilience conducted at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Lund University as well as nationally and internationally. 
  • Create a stimulating forum that allow for the development of theoretical, empirical, and methodological dimensions of social resilience research. 
  • encourage trans- and interdisciplinary research for future joint applications, publications, and collaborations.

Ongoing social resilience research

Three areas have been selected and granted faculty funding to consolidate, develop, and give visibility to strong interdisciplinary research areas at the faculty and beyond. One of the areas is: 

Crisis inequalities and social resilience (CISR) - Research Portal

More information on the faculty funding

When the faculty in 2021 announced research grants on the broad theme of social resilience, four researchers were granted funding for projects. More information can be found under the researchers’ profile in the University Research Portal:

The faculty is funding doctoral positions in social resilience within Lund University’s sustainability initiative, Agenda 2030 Graduate School.

  • Juan Antonio Samper at LUCSUS:
    the research will involve analyzing both the discursive and material elements associated to the concept of defending the territory in the Putumayo (Colombia), and its relationship to peace, development, conservation, and social resilience. 
  • Carlo Nicoli Aldini at the Sociology of Law Department:
    the research will investigate how individuals and social groups living in the southern Italian city of Taranto have relied upon laws and informal norms to adjust and, possibly, transform their lives in the face of the environmental disaster caused by the local steel industry.

The social resilience initiative is funding six post-doctoral projects. More information can be found under the researchers’ profile in the University Research Portal.

The first group of post-doctoral projects

The second group of post-doctoral projects

Current activities

Tuesday meetings: Crisis Inequalities and Social Resilience (CISR) Network. 

Meetings are held every second Tuesday during the spring of 2024. In these meetings, we identify innovative and critical approaches to social resilience as intersected with crisis inequalities. Everybody is welcome! The next meeting will be held on January 23, 15.15-16.45. 

For details contact Soumi Banerjee at: soumi [dot] banerjee [at] soch [dot] lu [dot] se

Inter-resilience symposium

Interdisciplinary Resilience Mechanisms in Crisis: Nov 16, 2023 as well as an upcoming symposium in Hamburg, Germany, in June 2024. Collaboration funded by the ‘Lund-Hamburg Grant’, which includes scholars from the social sciences, law, psychology, and philosophy at the University of Hamburg and Lund University.

Thematic workshop: Crisis Inequalities and Social Resilience 

28-29 May 2024
The aim of the workshop is to critically examine conceptualisations of crisis (including ‘polycrisis’) and social resilience and how they may entangle in various social worlds.

Contact

Helle Rydström 
+46 46 222 09 52
helle [dot] rydstrom [at] genus [dot] lu [dot] se (helle[dot]rydstrom[at]genus[dot]lu[dot]se)

Soumi Banerjee
soumi [dot] banerjee [at] soch [dot] lu [dot] se (soumi[dot]banerjee[at]soch[dot]lu[dot]se)