Social Science History Association (SSHA); Toronto, Canada

Conference: Social Science History Association (SSHA) in Toronto, Canada
October 31 – November 3, 2024

Presentation: “Ensemble Interventions: Networks of Public Interest Scenario Work as Field-Building Projects”

REPORT:

The Social Science History Association (SSHA) conference held in Toronto offered a valuable opportunity for Ann, Zhemin, and me to advance our collaborative research on multiple fronts. The event served as a platform to critically evaluate our current methodological approach to addressing our research question, foster professional connections, and explore contemporary developments in the field. These experiences provided essential feedback and opened new avenues for improving and expanding our work.

First, presenting our preliminary network analysis results allowed us to assess the rigor of our findings and identify areas for enhancement. The feedback we received from conference attendees was particularly insightful, offering constructive suggestions on how to refine our analyses and explore complementary methods—with particular interest in the multi-methodological approach we are seeking to apply. This input also highlighted opportunities to fortify our arguments and broaden the analytical scope of our study.

Second, the conference proved invaluable for networking and collaboration. Following our presentations, I personally engaged in meaningful conversations with graduate students and faculty members from diverse academic institutions. These discussions were about different topics in my discipline—sociology—but also about our presentation, touching on broader themes related to our empirical case, the challenges of our data, and the questions driving our research. Personally, I connected with graduate students from Harvard, Brown, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, among others. These interactions were particularly rewarding, as they provided a forum to exchange ideas, address methodological challenges, and share insights into emerging trends in network and text analysis. I exchanged contact information to ensure that we can continue discussing our respective projects and share challenges associated with our shared methodological approaches.

In addition to personal interactions, the conference exposed me to a variety of innovative research across the broad spectrum of social sciences. Attending at least two sessions daily—with 3 or 4 presenters in each one—allowed me to observe different research, theories, and methodological innovations while seeing how scholars are applying methods similar to the ones I use to diverse empirical cases. These sessions offered fresh perspectives and inspired creative ideas that I plan to integrate into our work. In this line, the SSHA conference also provided an opportunity to reflect on emerging trends in the field, particularly regarding changes in the scope of current research—with special emphasis on studies moving from national comparisons to across-cities comparative analysis. Thus, observing the questions other researchers are pursuing, the data they are engaging with, and the methodological innovations they are employing helped contextualize our project within broader academic conversations. At the same time, I became aware of the changes the academic landscape is undergoing and the approaches and scopes that are more in vogue these days.

Overall, the conference was a significant and important instance for our research—and my first time ever in an event like this. It offered a platform to refine our methodology, strengthen our professional network, and deepen our understanding of current developments in our field. The insights and connections gained in Toronto were undoubtedly important for me as a first encounter with this kind of activity, highlighting the importance of sharing early versions of a current project and being in contact with researchers from other universities, countries, and disciplines.