Sociological Solutions: Building Communities of Hope,Justice,and Joy

Abstract

In her ASA presidential address, Misra calls for making solution-oriented, community-engaged, and participatory research more central in the discipline. She argues that solution-oriented work can strengthen the discipline, clarifying the promise and importance of sociology. She first discusses how sociologists engage in solution-oriented work that they communicate publicly. She then uses her collaborative work to suggest how to design research geared toward solving social problems. She emphasizes how feminist and decolonial methods that bring sociological researchers into collaborative and participatory partnerships with broader communities can develop transformative solutions, building communities of hope, justice, and joy. After discussing sociological approaches that empower communities, she emphasizes recognizing, valuing, and centering community-engaged research in the discipline.