Presented By: Institute for Social Research
Complexity in the Social World: The Challenging Case of ‘Place’
October 8-9, 2026 | Institute for Social Research
The challenge: New data and approaches to study complexity in the social world has often been without a concurrent focus on the foundations of scientific inquiry, including complex thinking, broad causal thinking, attention to epistemic lens, and integrating multiple disciplinary approaches. Further, the academic research model, with its resource-segregated networks, discipline-specific training, and short-term productivity metrics, contributes to a fragmented and potentially misleading understanding of the social world. In the second annual ISR Symposium on Complexity in the Social World, we will use ‘place’ as the case study to facilitate discussions on rigorous social science in the public interest.
Using research on place as the case study, discussion topics will include:
- Complex thinking about the social world
- The contribution of the humanities the study of the social world
- Epistemic lens and research transparency
- Theories, frameworks, and the limits of traditional causal inference
- The draw and danger of cool new data
- Addressing the challenges of the academic model of science
Presentations on the science of place will include:
- The relational nature of place in population social inequalities
- The role of history in shaping place
- The racialization of place; the spatialization of race
- Place as a neutral and rational driver of social inequalities
- Approaches to testing (causal) ideas around place
The Institute for Social Research will provide 35 travel awards for early career scholars who are building a career around the interdisciplinary science of place. These awards are intended to reduce financial barriers for those who are not currently affiliated with the University of Michigan. The awards are designed to broaden participation, support scholarly development, and expand the network of scholars engaged with the symposium themes. Travel awards will cover coach class airfare, symposium hotel, and ground airport transportation. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, from July 1, 2026 until September 4, 2026. Details and application at https://myumi.ch/DWGnj
Registration will be available on this site soon.
The challenge: New data and approaches to study complexity in the social world has often been without a concurrent focus on the foundations of scientific inquiry, including complex thinking, broad causal thinking, attention to epistemic lens, and integrating multiple disciplinary approaches. Further, the academic research model, with its resource-segregated networks, discipline-specific training, and short-term productivity metrics, contributes to a fragmented and potentially misleading understanding of the social world. In the second annual ISR Symposium on Complexity in the Social World, we will use ‘place’ as the case study to facilitate discussions on rigorous social science in the public interest.
Using research on place as the case study, discussion topics will include:
- Complex thinking about the social world
- The contribution of the humanities the study of the social world
- Epistemic lens and research transparency
- Theories, frameworks, and the limits of traditional causal inference
- The draw and danger of cool new data
- Addressing the challenges of the academic model of science
Presentations on the science of place will include:
- The relational nature of place in population social inequalities
- The role of history in shaping place
- The racialization of place; the spatialization of race
- Place as a neutral and rational driver of social inequalities
- Approaches to testing (causal) ideas around place
The Institute for Social Research will provide 35 travel awards for early career scholars who are building a career around the interdisciplinary science of place. These awards are intended to reduce financial barriers for those who are not currently affiliated with the University of Michigan. The awards are designed to broaden participation, support scholarly development, and expand the network of scholars engaged with the symposium themes. Travel awards will cover coach class airfare, symposium hotel, and ground airport transportation. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, from July 1, 2026 until September 4, 2026. Details and application at https://myumi.ch/DWGnj
Registration will be available on this site soon.
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