Small Talk at the End Times: Historical Lessons on the Micro-Foundations of Social Order

An open Social Sciences Seminar will be held October 31^st at 11:00 in room M101 and online. The event will be held in English.

Clayton Fordahl, an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, dilevers the talk: Small Talk at the End Times: Historical Lessons on the Micro-Foundations of Social Order  

The micro sociological tradition has maintained that social order is produced and maintained through small-scale social interactions. Yet the classic statements of this position assume that social interaction will unfold under neutral—in other words placid—social circumstances. What happens when social circumstances are so dire or catastrophic as to disrupt any shared sense of normalcy for individuals? Can social interaction generate social order under abnormal and adverse circumstances? Such questions take on special relevance in a historical moment where global crisis and risk, from pandemics to climate change, unsettle shared assumptions and unleash confusion and catastrophe. This talk compares historical cases of social interaction under four types of catastrophe—plague, war, terrorism, and natural disaster—to assess the extent to which interpersonal interaction can generate social order in moments of intense social upheaval. 

Clayton Fordahl is an Associate Professor at the University of Akureyri. He is also an Affiliated Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California in the United States. He is an interpretive historical social scientist with research interests in culture, religion, politics, and the history of ideas. His most recent publications include a book chapter commemorating the life and work of Vilfredo Pareto and peer-reviewed articles on topics including contemporary American civil religion, invasive species, and 19th century critiques of technological progress.

All welcome!