The XXI World Congress of Sociology of the International Sociological Association (ISA) addressing the theme “Global Sociology in Turbulent Times” will take place in Gwangju, South Korea, July 4–10, 2027. The World Society Foundation (Zurich, Switzerland) provides a limited number of travel grants in order to support conference participation, in particular of researchers from the Global South. This call for papers invites papers to be presented in one of the following sessions of the ISA World Congress: 

- After Globalization? The Economic, Political, and Social Transformation of World Society (RC02)

- Reconfiguring Social Inequalities: Comparative Perspectives from the Global North and South (RC28)

- Social Mobility in Late-industrializing Societies (RC28)

- Multidimensional Inequality in World Society: Comparative Perspectives from the Global South and North (RC55)

- Rethinking Inequality Measurement: Integrative and Multidimensional Indicators for Global Comparison (RC55)

Travel grants: The World Society Foundation awards a limited number of travel grants covering airfare and accommodation (in full or in part) to support ISA members who would otherwise find it difficult to attend the ISA World Congress. Financial support will be provided for one author per accepted full paper using the most economical travel route. Researchers from the Global South (African, Latin American, and Asian countries, International Sociological Association country categories B and C), and doctoral and postdoctoral students are in particular encouraged to apply. Applicants must be ISA members (in good standing) at the time of registration for the ISA World Congress (March 23, 2027) and present their paper on-site in the respective session at the ISA World Congress, as reflected by a listing in the session program.

Submission procedure: Submit your abstract (of max. 300 words) online via the ISA Confex platform (https://isaconf.confex.com/isaconf/wc2027/gateway.cgi) in one of the five above mentioned sessions from August 3 to October 14, 2026 (23:59 UTC/GMT). Authors can submit a paper abstract by clicking on one of the five session titles. The abstract should include the title of the paper, all author(s) names and affiliation as well as contact information. It should contain clear information on the research methods, data sources and analytical tools to be used. Please note that the organizers are seeking original contributions. Authors will be notified by December 4, 2026 by Confex of proposal acceptance/rejection. Successful applicants requesting a travel grant are invited to elaborate their proposals into a full paper (25-30 pages, but no more than 8000 words) in English to be submitted by February 15, 2027 (23:59 UTC/GMT) to Christian Suter (email: christian.suter @ unine.ch). Authors will be notified by March 15, 2027 of full paper acceptance/rejection. Authors should complete their registration for the ISA World Congress of Sociology by March 23, 2027 (23:59 UTC/GMT). Authors of accepted papers are eligible for financial support covering their travel and/or accommodation (in full or in part; for one author per accepted full paper using the most economical travel route). 

Selection committee: Sandra Fachelli (Pablo de Olavide Unversity), Christian Suter (University of Neuchâtel/World Society Foundation), Patrick Ziltener (University of Zurich/World Society Foundation).

Conference Sponsorship: The travel grants are sponsored by the World Society Foundation (Zurich, Switzerland; https://www.worldsociety.ch/).

Contact: Christian Suter:  email: christian.suter @ unine.ch.