ECSR Thematic Conference
Life Course and Social Stratification 

Call for Abstracts for the ECSR Thematic Conference

Life Course and Social Stratification

23-24 April 2026, University of Trento, Italy

The Life Course approach has gained powerful traction across the social sciences, not least by leveraging new methodological developments in longitudinal data analysis techniques. 

The primary aim of this ECSR Thematic Conference is to provide a platform for the ECSR scholarly community to present and discuss cutting-edge scholarly research at the intersection of Life Course and Social Stratification, also with a focus on methodological innovation.

While all contributions at the intersection of Life Course and Social Stratification are welcome, we particularly invite contributions that either: 

(a) provide theoretical innovations

(b) apply cutting-edge methodological techniques

(c) connect Life Course to an analytical sociology/theory of action framework. 

The conference will take place at the University of Trento, 23-24th of April 2026. All presentations will be held in a plenary format to facilitate exchange and discussion. 

The ECSR thematic conference is organized by the Center for Social Inequality Studies (https://r.unitn.it/en/soc/csis) and the Life Course Longitudinal Laboratory, both hosted at the University of Trento. 

The conference is co-funded by the European Consortium of Sociological Research (ECSR) and the Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento.

The conference is free of charge, including lunches and a conference dinner on the first day, thanks to the financial support received by the Department of Sociology as an Excellence Department from the Italian Ministry of University. Participants are responsible for their own accommodation and travel expenses.

Deadline for applications is 22 February 2026. Please submit an abstract of max 500 words to csis@unitn.it. Abstracts should clearly outline the research question, theoretical framework, data and methods, as well as (preliminary) findings. 

Applicants will be notified about the acceptance of their abstract in early March 2026. 

Organizing Committee: 

Leo Azzollini, Paolo Barbieri, Giorgio Cutuli, Filippo Gioachin, Davide Gritti, Raffaele Grotti, Stefani Scherer