Working Groups

Each of these teams includes at least five members of all statuses and is administered by one or more members designed as Coordinator/s.

Coordinator/s are accountable to the HSS’s Board for the appropriate operating of the teams and their activities according to the Statute and the Board’s decisions.

HSS members may participate in up to four teams. Enrolment follows a written declaration of interest with attached CV sent to the Coordinator/s or the Board member in charge of the Teams.

Membership in any of the teams is related to specific scientific interests. The teams’ purpose is to promote their specific fields of interest, individually or in collaboration. To that end scientific meetings and lectures, public discussions, publications, special events in the context of the HSS’s conferences are organized, as well as participating in other scientific conferences, whether sociological or of other social sciences, in Greece or elsewhere, networking, inviting scientists, social events, et al.

The HSS Board must be notified of and approve any action organized by the teams that engages with the wider public before these are realized

Furthermore, the Teams’ activities may entail important scientific and  interdisciplinary propositions for debate that may, in collaboration with the Board member responsible for the Teams and its approval, be presented in special scientific meetings or round tables to which all HSS members are inivited.

Finally, each Team’s activities may lead to establishing and preparing subjects presented at the Association’s conferences.

Coordinator: Chrysa Sofianopoulou

The thematic group Sociology of Education refers to education as a complex social institution for the transmission of knowledge but also for the reproduction of existing social, economic and cultural structures. The aim of the group is to explore, among its members, ideas that could contribute to the emergence of new perspectives and data on education today. Indicatively, the group designs and implements quantitative and qualitative research on issues such as social mobility, social inclusion of vulnerable groups through education, etc. It organizes relevant workshops, participates in Greek and international conferences with presentations. The group may also collaborate with other thematic groups of HSS (such as Sociology of Migration) for joint projects.

Coordinators: Chrissa Zachou and Laoura Alibrandi

The Thematic Group Gender and Society aims at an interdisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to gender and the promotion of knowledge on issues of gender inequalities and discrimination both at the macro-level of social, economic and political life and at the micro-level of social relations, as well as on issues of gender identities and representations.

 The group's programming foresees :

- Organization of thematic meetings and presentation of the research activity and other activities of the group members.

- Informing and updating the members on Greek and international research and theoretical production and literature, as well as actions related to gender issues and gender identities.

- Organization of an annual thematic symposium

-Participation in the conferences of the Hellenic Sociological Society with relevant sessions

-Collaboration with other Thematic Groups of the HSS

Coordinators: Nicos Tatsis and Maria Antonopoulou

The Thematic Group on Sociological Theory has the following units of reflection as the reflective guideline for its individual activities: (a) the classical and contemporary theoretical schools (b) the work and "experiences" of their members, (c) interpretive schemes of general and specific content in cognitive (sub)fields, (d) the chronological development of the corpus of ideas, (e) the function of theory and methodology, and (f) more broadly the epistemological frameworks of theorizing.

Coordinators: George Pleios, Marina Rigou, Reggina Zervou

Sociology of Mass Media aims at examining the influence of traditional and new media on dominant values and beliefs. Specific emphasis is placed on their use as forms of social and cultural domination. Sociology of Mass Media represents an extremely dynamic field as the ever-changing technological landscape is continuously transforming the way cultural and social relations are affected. In this context this thematic group of  is undertaking the following tasks: 

-Open discussion forums concerning the ongoing developments in the field as they manifest through new research, conferences and publications  

>-Contacts with the wider academic community and fostering dialogue in emerging common themes

Further emphasis on the importance of Sociology of Mass Media

-Organizing thematic papers and presentations within the Association as well as in Special Forum dialogues and Conferences of the HSS 

Coordinator: Iordanis Psimenos

The Sociology of Labour thematic group aims to develop and promote the theory, methodology and research on labour and employment in contemporary society. Particular attention will be paid to issues related to labour processes of workforce production (Labour Process Theory) informal and tacit labour contracts, as well as careers and employee orientations.

To achieve this reflection, seminars will be organised (at Panteion University) that will examine in depth the contribution of sociological thought to all the above major fields or themes. At the same time (by arrangement) a workshop will be set up to record the history of professions and the action of workers within them, with the aim of publishing a historical-sociological album at the end of each search cycle.

Coordinator: Apostolos Papadopoulos

Migration concerns the movement of people, while the sociology of migration emphasises the processes that accompany the physical movement of people from one place to another, and concerns the global and local dimensions of inequality, the social construction of the contexts of settlement and sense of belonging, as well as the conflicts/confrontations that accompany forms of human mobility. In this sense, the sociology of migration is not a closed and strictly defined scientific field, but is instead identified as an open and diversified scientific field characterized by intense conceptual and methodological debates. It is worth noting that the debates and controversies are due to the proven interdisciplinarity of the migration research field, the interaction of different scientific disciplines on migration issues and the use of a variety of methodological tools to study its dimensions.

For sociologists, the study of migration is to a significant extent located in social and cultural integration and in the movements of migrants, both legal and illegal. Of particular importance is the fact that movements of people have an impact on the society, economy, culture and politics of the countries from which migrants leave and the countries that receive them. In each case, these changes and influences evolve and combine with each other.

Coordinator: Ioanna Tsiganou

The contribution of methodology to the production of primary scientific knowledge is well known and self-evident, the validity and reliability of which is always checked with a view to the consistent application of the method, which is, moreover, a basic epistemological issue as well as a methodological one. Moreover, social research aimed at social self-knowledge must be conducted in accordance with the conditions and rules for its proper conduct.

We live in a time rich in reflection on social research, its methods and tools. The thematic group of HSS Methodology does not aspire to substitute the academic forums of university education and engagement with the field of Social Science Methodology. Rather, it looks forward to promoting the reflection of already established and young colleagues on the contentious issues facing the field today and to bring back to the forefront the debate on the undeniable need for continuous investment in social research methodology.

In this context, our thematic group moves a) in the logic of organizing meetings, symposia and/or workshops on specific methodological issues, b) in the promotion of relevant research initiatives and achievements of the Group Members and c) in broadening the visibility of the academic successes of the Group Members. These objectives will also be pursued through the publication of a special information brochure of the Group in Greek and English.

Following an invitation addressed to the Members and Friends of the HSS, the Methodology Theme Group currently has 20 Members who have positively embraced the initiative, while applications from new Members and Friends of the HSS are pending.

The Methodology Thematic Group is coordinated by the Vice President of the HSS,  Ioanna Tsiganou.

Coordinator: Fotini Tzavella

The object of "sociology" is human society and all its manifestations. In the 1950s, 'medical sociology' emerged as a specialised, scientific field, which was subsequently redefined as 'sociology of illness', 'sociology of health and illness', 'sociology of the body', but also with specific, different synonyms so as to include all the social aspects of the wider field of health.  In the last decades, it has been following a dynamic course through collaborations and interactions, constantly creating, evolving and reconfiguring an enriched framework of dialogue where it examines issues, formulates questions, and expresses itself through educational and research methods of investigation, process, analysis and measurement.

Today, "Sociology of Health" gives a platform of essential connection and interdisciplinarity to "social anthropology", "health policies" and "bioethics". ‘Sociology' studies society and social phenomena mainly at the macro level, i.e. at the level of large structures, while 'social anthropology' emphasises the micro level, i.e. the level of immediacy of experience and interpersonal relationships. The boundaries between sociology and social anthropology have become blurred since the formulation of postmodern and feminist theories of the body.  Through 'health policies' in contemporary societies, 'Sociology of Health' takes a critical approach to the management of structures, services and professional relationships in health care. The bioethical environment and the dilemmas that arise, such as for example the relationships between health professionals and patients, issues of personal health data, scepticism about the application and future of modern biotechnological discoveries and the social behaviours that accompany and define them, and their impact on society, create the common ground between sociology and bioethics in "Sociology of Health". Finally, an important field in "Sociology of Health" is the trends of modern life style with the "17 Goals of the Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030" of the United Nations (UN) as a constant point of reference. It is now internationally accepted that, in sociological terms, the health of modern man depends on his general well-being and therefore on the social determinants of health, i.e. housing, quality of nutrition, sporting activity, leisure time, working environment, equity and justice, climate and health policies chosen on the basis of social, economic, political and ecological relationships and parameters”.

Coordinator: Alexandros Sakellariou

The main objectives of this group are divided into two axes. The first one covers the needs of communication, cooperation and networking between members and includes:

• The exchange of updates and information on developments in the field (e.g. research, conferences, publications, etc.),
• fostering relations between the members of the group and with the scientific community outside the group with a view to future collaborations of a research and/or publishing nature
• and 3) to highlight the importance of the field of the sociology of religion.

The second axis involves engagement with specific themes, which are by no means exclusive and include, by way of example:

• • Classical sociology of religion,
  • Methods of studying religions,
  • Religions in the modern world,
  • Religious freedom,
  • Cultural identities/diversity, Religious communities,
  • State-Church relations,
  • Process of secularization, post-secularization,
  • Inter-Christian/inter-religious dialogue.

Coordinator : Gerasimos Karabelias

From ancient times to the present day, armed forces have played a pivotal role in shaping not only state, constitutional structures (e.g. empires, nation-states, monarchy, democracy) and inter-state-international relations but also local culture and social cohesion of the peoples of the world.  In contrast to earlier conceptions and practices, a section of the discipline of sociology began, in the post-war period, to focus its attention on understanding the behaviour of its cadres and the political-economic functioning of this apparatus.  The thorough, scientific study of the military as a distinct social group, their social origins, their professional education and the general training offered, their hierarchical distribution and stratification through rewards and rewards, as well as their racial, religious and sexual attitudes towards the 'different' other, were and continue to be some of the fundamental issues of the fledgling discipline.  Rapid developments in the field of technology and in the field of migratory flows were bound to add new research questions.  Informing the Greek scientific community on these issues and enriching the human resources of the field with new scientific staff will be the best reward for the efforts of this group of the Hellenic Sociological Society.

Coordinator: Kostas Rontos