Frances St Press

liminal texts

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On October 13th 2023 we organised an event at the University of Cambridge, affiliated with the Department of Sociology and funded by The Sociological Review Foundation, based around the theme and the craft of writing across and beyond disciplinary boundaries. More specifically, the event “Liminal texts: Writing society between literature and sociology”, explored the ways in which we write sociologically, and focused on the types of texts that inhabit multiple realms within and outside of sociology and literature. With this topic, we wanted to create a space for discussions about the public reach of sociology, the textual foundations of social research, and the possibilities of a productive liminality – between social science and art, sociology and literature.

The day started with panel presentations that focused on: sociological fiction, magical realism and its connection to historical understanding, literature as a resource for sociological thinking, literature effects in sociological texts, as well as storytelling in and for sociological thought. The afternoon included a Sociological Fiction Writing Workshop led by Ash Watson and Iris Pissaride wherein participants were led to work through their own research/materials/ideas (either as sociologists or other writing practitioners) and create 100-word drabbles of sociological fiction. The texts included in this zine were written by participants at this workshop. We thank them for the time we spent writing together and for sharing these deeply imaginative sociologically-grounded texts with us and with the world through this zine!

Enjoy!

Marc Ortmann and Iris Pissaride

Contents

A Sea of Tiny Lights
Seetha Tan

Cleveland, 1971
Ruari P-A

Dewenati
Sophie Marie Niang

A Love Note
Joe Cotton

Dumpsters Paradise
Marc Ortmann

Right to Buy
Sophie Marie Niang

Slippage
Paula Lacey

and workshop photos by Joe Cotton