Jadavpur University (JU) is set to host Lifeworld 2025-26, a two-day academic conclave organised by the Department of Sociology under the banner of the Jadavpur University Sociology Consortium, on March 12 and 13, 2026, at the university’s main campus.
The upcoming conclave will bring together students, researchers, and scholars from across India as well as international academic centres to engage in critical discussions around development and social change. The initiative seeks to create a platform for dialogue at a time when the global narrative of development is increasingly shaped by economic growth, technological advancement, and large-scale infrastructure expansion.
While these indicators are often highlighted as markers of progress, persistent inequalities across societies continue to raise questions about who truly benefits from this model of development. Against this backdrop, the theme for this year’s conclave—“Rethinking Development: State, Society, and Consciousness”—aims to revisit development as a broader social and intellectual process rather than merely an economic indicator.
The organisers note that development debates have long been central to sociology and political economy. From the early cultural critiques of the Frankfurt School to later analyses of global capitalism by thinkers such as Andre Gunder Frank and Samir Amin, scholars have repeatedly highlighted how economic growth can coexist with structures of inequality, power, and exclusion.
These questions hold particular significance in the Indian context, where rapid urbanisation, expanding digital infrastructure, and increasing global economic integration are often celebrated as signs of progress. However, these developments continue to exist alongside caste hierarchies, gender inequalities, environmental challenges, and unequal access to education and opportunities, making critical engagement with development more relevant than ever.
Through Lifeworld 2025-26, the Sociology Department hopes to open discussions on several pressing themes, including urban transformation, environmental crises, gendered experiences of development, caste and education, and the tensions between economic growth and social justice. The conclave will also emphasise perspectives from communities whose voices are often missing from mainstream development narratives.
The two-day programme will feature paper presentations, panel discussions, debates, creative submissions, and a film screening, offering participants multiple ways to engage with the theme. The first day will begin with an opening ceremony, followed by panel discussions, hybrid paper presentations, and a debate session designed to encourage critical dialogue around development policies and perspectives.
The second day will continue with offline paper presentations and another panel discussion, along with a segment dedicated to creative submissions, where participants can interpret the theme through poetry, performance, and other artistic expressions.
The conclave will conclude with a screening of the film “Jilipibalar Bondhura,” directed by Debalina Majumder and Samata Biswas, followed by a moderated discussion and a prize distribution ceremony recognising outstanding academic and creative contributions.
By combining research, debate, and artistic interpretation, Lifeworld 2025-26 aims to spark new conversations around one of the most debated ideas of the modern era. The conclave ultimately seeks to encourage participants to view development not only as economic expansion, but as a complex social process that shapes how societies think, question, and imagine their futures.