The Culture and Social Analysis workshop recently convened a Mini-Conference on Comparative Cultural Sociology, as part of the 83^rd Annual Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society. Comparative cultural sociology is a vibrant field that has been experiencing considerable growth of late. Our department plays a central role in these developments as a number of faculty and graduate students are engaged in theoretical and substantive projects that expand the boundaries of this field.

The mini conference was organized by faculty members Bart Bonikowski and Michèle Lamont, and by graduate students Stefan Beljean and Curtis Chan. Having received 125 proposals from all over the United States and Europe, the organizers were able to select a particularly strong set of 24 papers on topics ranging from institutions, boundaries, identity, repertoires, evaluation, and mechanisms/social processes – the topics of our six sessions.  For one and a half days, the event unfolded in a packed room. The high quality of the papers and of comments by discussants generated palpable excitement and animated discussions, which continued in the hallways and over dinner. The organizers feel that they succeeded in their goals of strengthening theory building and facilitating a dialogue within a growing and increasingly self-identified intellectual community. For more information on the papers presented, visit the conference website.