American Sociological Association
Formation | January 1, 1905 |
---|---|
Headquarters | 1717K StreetNW, Suite 900,Washington, D.C.,U.S. |
Membership(2023) | 9,893[1] |
2023 President | Joya Misra |
Publication | Footnotes |
Website | www |
TheAmerican Sociological Association(ASA) is anon-profit organizationdedicated to advancing the discipline and profession ofsociology.Founded in December 1905 as theAmerican Sociological SocietyatJohns Hopkins Universityby a group of fifty people, the first president of the association would beLester Frank Ward.[2]Today, most of its members work inacademia,while around 20 percent of them work in government, business, or non-profit organizations.
ASA publishes tenacademic journalsand magazines, along with four section journals, including theAmerican Sociological ReviewandContexts.
The ASA had 9,893 members in 2023, as anassociation of sociologistseven larger than theInternational Sociological Association.[3]It is composed of researchers, students, college/university faculty, high school faculty, and various practitioners[4]The "American Sociological Association Annual Meeting" is an annualacademic conferenceheld by the association consisting of over 4,000 participants.
History
[edit]Founding
[edit]In the summer of 1905,George Washington Universityprofessor C. W. A. Veditz began a discussion among sociologists throughout theUnited States,writing to several dozen people to gauge the need for or interest in forming an sociological organization.[5][6][7][8]Sociologists debated whether there was a need for a separate organization from theAmerican Economic Association,American Political Science Associationand theAmerican Historical Association,which most sociologists at the time were members of.[5][8]Ultimately, a consensus was reached that the time had come for a society of sociologists in the U.S.[5]
In early December, Veditz and eight others wrote to about 300 people inviting them to a special session during theAmerican Economic Association(AEA) andAmerican Political Science Associationmeetings later that month to discuss the potential formation of a sociological society.
On December 27, approximately 50 people, including one woman, gathered in McCoy Hall atJohns Hopkins University,Baltimore,and, by its end, the group would motion to form a new society of sociologists. Though there would be debate as to integrating this new society with an existing organization, such as the AEA, the group would ultimately decide that the new society ought to be an independent entity.
The committee
[edit]At the end of the day of the initial meeting, those gathered at the meeting formed a five-person committee to develop a plan for the new society and how it should be governed. The committee members would re-convene the next afternoon to review the proposed structure of the society. Council members would includeEdward A. Ross,W.F. Wilcox,Albion Small,Samuel Lindsay, D. C. Wells, and William Davenport.
The following men would be elected officers of the new society:[7]
- Lester Frank Ward,president
- William Graham Sumner,first vice president
- Franklin Giddings,second vice president
- C.W.A. Veditz (the professor), secretary and treasurer
When the committee left Baltimore, the birth of the American Sociological Society was complete, a Constitution had been adopted, officers were elected, and plans were made for the second annual meeting of the new society.
1905–1980
[edit]In 1981, in celebration the association's 75th anniversary, Lawrence J. Rhoades prepared a 90-page publication entitledA History of the American Sociological Association, 1905-1980,commonly referred to as the "1981 Rhoades History." The publication provides a brief overview of the founding and early years of the association, as well as highlights of key activities and events in the decades since.[9]
In 1953, during the annual meeting inBerkeley, California,each of the (living) past presidents of the society would compose a voice recording to address the coming generation of sociologists.[10]
1981–Present
[edit]ASA membership peaked at almost 15,000 in 2007 before declining to its current level below 10,000.[11]The trend led to the formation of a Task Force on Membership in 2016, with recommendations released in 2019, addressing issues of community, cost, and value.[12]
100-Year Anniversary
[edit]In 2005, in celebration of the association's 100th anniversary, ASA published a 201-page book entitledA History of the American Sociological Association, 1981-2004.The publication picks up where the 1981 Rhoades history concludes, continuing the story and capturing the association's history from 1981 through 2004. It was the culmination of over two years of detailed research by Katherine J. Rosich.[9]
The "ASA Wikipedia" Initiative
[edit]In the fall of 2011, the ASA launched its "Sociology in Wikipedia" initiative.Erik Olin Wright,President of the ASA, called for improvement in sociological entries inWikipedia.He asked that professors and students to get more involved by having Wikipedia-writing assignments in class. The basic goal set forth by the initiative would be to make it easier for sociologists to contribute to Wikipedia, and for sociologists to become better involved in the writing and editing processes to ensure that social science articles are up-to-date, complete, accurate, and written appropriately.
In conjunction with theWikimedia Foundationand a research group atCarnegie Mellon University,the ASA developed itsWikipedia Portalin an attempt to achieve the initiative's goal through providing tutorials on how to contribute; video discussions of norms and procedures; and lists of articles and subject areas that need improvement. The Portal would also provide instructions for professors on how to use Wikipedia writing assignments for academic courses.[13]
Code of Ethics
[edit]The ASA is governed by a code of ethics, which has been revised since 1970, with the first ASA code of ethics being written in 1970. ASA members are bound by the code of ethics. The association also has codes for meeting behavior, disclosure, award revocation, and removal from leadership positions.[14]
Publications
[edit]ASA Style Guide
[edit]ASA style is a widely accepted format for writing university research papers that specifies the arrangement and punctuation of footnotes and bibliographies. Standards for ASA style are specified in theASA Style Guide,which is designed to aid authors in preparing manuscripts for ASA journals and publications.
ASA Academic Journals and Magazines
[edit]The association publishes the followingacademic journalsandmagazines:[15]
- American Sociological Review
- The American Sociologist(1965—1982)
- City and Community
- Contemporary Sociology
- Contexts
- Journal of Health and Social Behavior
- Journal of World-Systems Research
- Social Psychology Quarterly
- Society and Mental Health
- Sociological Methodology
- Sociological Theory
- Sociology of Education
- Socius
- Teaching Sociology
- Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
The ASA also publishesFootnotes,anewsletteraimed at the association's members.Footnoteswas established in 1979 and is published five times per year.[16]
Presidents
[edit]The following persons have been presidents of the American Sociological Association:[17]
- Lester F. Ward1906–1907
- William G. Sumner1908–1909
- Franklin H. Giddings1910–1911
- Albion Woodbury Small1912–1913
- Edward A. Ross1914–1915
- George E. Vincent1916
- George E. Howard1917
- Charles Cooley1918
- Frank W. Blackmar1919
- James Q. Dealey1920
- Edward C. Hayes1921
- James P. Lichtenberger1922
- Ulysses G. Weatherly1923
- Charles A. Ellwood1924
- Robert E. Park1925
- John L. Gillin1926
- W. I. Thomas1927
- John M. Gillette1928
- William F. Ogburn1929
- Howard W. Odum1930
- Emory S. Bogardus1931
- Luther L. Bernard1932
- Edward B. Reuter1933
- Ernest W. Burgess1934
- F. Stuart Chapin1935
- Henry P. Fairchild1936
- Ellsworth Faris1937
- Frank H. Hankins1938
- Edwin Sutherland1939
- Robert M. MacIver1940
- Stuart A. Queen1941
- Dwight Sanderson1942
- George A. Lundberg1943
- Rupert B. Vance1944
- Kimball Young1945
- Carl C. Taylor1946
- Louis Wirth1947
- E. Franklin Frazier1948
- Talcott Parsons1949
- Leonard S. Cottrell Jr.1950
- Robert C. Angell1951
- Dorothy Swaine Thomas1952
- Samuel A. Stouffer1953
- Florian Znaniecki1954
- Donald Young1955
- Herbert Blumer1956
- Robert K. Merton1957
- Robin M. Williams Jr.1958
- Kingsley Davis1959
- Howard P. Becker1960 (died in office)
- Robert E. L. Faris1961
- Paul Lazarsfeld1962
- Everett C. Hughes1963
- George C. Homans1964
- Pitirim A. Sorokin1965
- Wilbert E. Moore1966
- Charles P. Loomis1967
- Philip M. Hauser1968
- Arnold Marshall Rose1969 (died in office)
- Ralph Turner1969
- Reinhard Bendix1970
- William H. Sewell1971
- William J. Goode1972
- Mirra Komarovsky1973
- Peter M. Blau1974
- Lewis A. Coser1975
- Alfred McClung Lee1976
- John Milton Yinger1977
- Amos H. Hawley1978
- Hubert M. Blalock Jr.1979
- Peter H. Rossi1980
- William Foote Whyte1981
- Erving Goffman1982
- Alice S. Rossi1983
- James F. Short Jr.1984
- Kai T. Erikson1985
- Matilda White Riley1986
- Melvin L. Kohn1987
- Herbert J. Gans1988
- Joan Huber1989
- William Julius Wilson1990
- Stanley Lieberson1991
- James S. Coleman1992
- Seymour Martin Lipset1993
- William A. Gamson1994
- Amitai Etzioni1995
- Maureen T. Hallinan1996
- Neil Smelser1997
- Jill Quadagno1998
- Alejandro Portes1999
- Joe R. Feagin2000
- Douglas S. Massey2001
- Barbara F. Reskin2002
- William T. Bielby2003
- Michael Burawoy2004
- Troy Duster2005
- Cynthia Fuchs Epstein2006
- Frances Fox Piven2007
- Arne L. Kalleberg2008
- Patricia Hill Collins2009
- Evelyn Nakano Glenn2010
- Randall Collins2011
- Erik Olin Wright2012
- Cecilia L. Ridgeway2013
- Annette Lareau2014
- Paula England2015
- Ruth Milkman2016
- Michèle Lamont2017
- Eduardo Bonilla-Silva2018
- Mary Romero2019
- Christine Williams2020
- Aldon Morris2021
- Cecilia Menjívar2022
- Prudence Carter2023
- Joya Misra2024
Meetings
[edit]The Annual Meeting of the ASA is held each August to provide opportunity for sociologists to share research, develop professional networks, give awards, and hold committee meetings.[18]The 2023 meeting had 4,802 attendees and featured 3000 research papers.[19]
Awards
[edit]Every year, in August, the ASA presents awards to individuals and groups deserving of recognition. The awards presented are:[20]
- Distinguished Scholarly Book Major ASA Award
- Dissertation Major ASA Award
- Excellence in the Reporting of Social Issues Major ASA Award
- Jessie Bernard Major ASA Award
- Cox-Johnson-Frazier Major ASA Award
- Award for the Public Understanding of Sociology Major ASA Award
- Distinguished Career Major ASA Award for the Practice of Sociology
- Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Major ASA Award
- W.E.B. Du Bois Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award
Additionally, the Sections of the ASA administer separate multiple awards, which are presented each August during the annual meeting.[21]
Controversies
[edit]Jailing of Rik Scarce
[edit]In 1993, then-doctoral student Rik Scarce was jailed for more than five months as a result of following the ASA'scode of ethics.Scarce's Ph.D. research was on theradical environmental movement.Based on anFBIinvestigation of anAnimal Liberation Frontbreak-in, federal prosecutors argued in court that Scarce may have engaged in conversations with individuals believed to be involved with the incident. Prosecutors demanded that Scarce testify to a federal grand jury about those conversations, but Scarce refused to answer three dozen questions, citing the ASA Code of Ethics and theFirst Amendmentas his reasoning for remaining unresponsive.[22]Scarce's refusal to answer resulted in acontempt of courtcitation and 159 days spent in jail. He was never suspected of wrongdoing and—in keeping with contempt of court practice—he was never read hisMiranda rights,arrested, or tried.[23]
Frances Fox Piven and Glenn Beck
[edit]In early 2010, ASA publicly expressed outrage over a controversy involvingFrances Fox PivenandGlenn Beck,askingFox Newsto stop Beck's comments.[24]An article written by Piven concerning mobilization of unemployed individuals had spurred the commentary by Beck.[25]ASA suggests in their public statements that the line should be drawn at name calling and that political commentators should instead rely on gathering evidence related to the topics and then drawing the proper conclusions.
The Belfast Project
[edit]In January 2012, aUnited States district courtorderedBoston Collegeto turn over material from the "Belfast Project",an oral history project pertaining to the violence inNorthern Ireland.Boston College filed an appeal in February 2012, challenging the district court's decision. ASA became involved in the case to help protect human participants from the subpoena of confidential project research data.[26]The statement by the ASA council cited the potential damage this ruling would have on social science research by stifling the ability to study controversial topics. ASA is looking for an affirmation by the court for confidentiality in research.[27]
Sociologists for Palestine resolution
[edit]From 2023 to 2024, in response to the war in Gaza sociologists organized to request that the American Sociological Association establish a stance calling for a ceasefire and pursuing divestment from arms.[28]In December 2023, a letter signed by 125 sociologists including six former ASA presidents, asked for a statement in support of ceasefire.[28]In February 2024, the association released a statement focusing on "deep concern and dismay regarding the loss of civilian lives in the context of continued violence in Gaza and Israel as well as other contexts of conflict and suffering unfolding across the globe.”[28]In March 2024, ASA rejected a resolution forwarded by a group known as Sociologists for Palestine which called for “an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza".[28]After this initial resolution was rejected, enough signatures were collected to support a ballot initiative calling for a ceasefire and divestment from military technologies, however the ASA council edited the request for divestment from the resolution claiming that investment represented an "operational issue" which members could not vote on.[28]The Sociologists for Palestine group responded to this by declaring that the council's removal of the divestment request from the resolution was "fundamentally undemocratic".[28]In May 2024, 59% of voting ASA members approved theResolution for Justice in Palestineand it was adopted.[29] Beyond calling for "an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza", the adopted resolution specifies that the association "supports members’ academic freedom, including but not limited to defending scholars’ right to speak out against Zionist occupation."[30]
Critique
[edit]Within theEnvironmental sociologysection of the ASA, in 2016 an ad hoc Committee on Racial Equity investigated racial and ethnic diversity within the section in response to critique that the section was overwhelmingly white. Their assessment of the professional climate for scholars of colour concluded that the section was a 'white space' characterized by the overwhelming presence of whites and dominated by white leadership. They concluded that this situation acts as a barrier to inclusion of people of colour in the field, and that the field ofenvironmental justicewas likewise marginalised.[31]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"ASA Membership, 20-Year Trends | American Sociological Association".
- ^Hill, Michael R. (2007)."American Sociological Association".In Ritzer, George (ed.).The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology.pp. 130–134.doi:10.1111/b.9781405124331.2007.x(inactive 2024-04-02).hdl:10138/224218.ISBN9781405124331.
{{cite book}}
:CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2024 (link) - ^ "Membership Trend".International Sociological Association.
- ^"[1]."ASA Membership Trends.Retrieved on 5 June 2024.
- ^abc"Organization of the American Sociological Society".American Journal of Sociology.11(4): 555–569. 1906.doi:10.1086/211421.ISSN0002-9602.JSTOR2762565.
- ^Veditz, C. W. A. (1906)."The American Sociological Society".American Journal of Sociology.11(5): 681–682.doi:10.1086/211435.ISSN0002-9602.JSTOR2762811.
- ^ab"About ASA."American Sociological Association.Retrieved on 31 March 2020.
- ^abSmall, Albion W. (1916)."Fifty Years of Sociology in the United States (1865-1915)".American Journal of Sociology.21(6): 784–785.doi:10.1086/212570.ISSN0002-9602.JSTOR2763629.
- ^ab"History."American Sociological Association,The ASA Story.Retrieved on 31 March 2020.
- ^"A 1953 Recording of the American Sociological Society Past Presidents."American Sociological Association.Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^"ASA Membership Trends".American Sociological Association.
- ^"Task Force on Membership".American Sociological Association.
- ^"American Sociological Association: ASA Wikipedia Initiative"(PDF).Asanet.org.Retrieved2016-07-01.
- ^"Ethics".American Sociological Association.
- ^"American Sociological Association: Journals".Asanet.org.Retrieved2012-05-03.
- ^"Footnotes Advertising".American Sociological Association.9 May 2016.
- ^"Presidents".asanet.org.17 October 2020.Retrieved29 April2021.
- ^"Annual Meeting".Asanet.org.Retrieved2024-06-05.
- ^"ASA Footnotes 2023 Year in Review"(PDF).Asanet.org.Retrieved2024-06-05.
- ^"American Sociological Association: Awards".Asanet.org. 2012-01-31.Retrieved2012-05-03.
- ^"American Sociological Association: Awards".Asanet.org. 28 May 2009.Retrieved2013-10-15.
- ^Rik Scarce. (2003).Contempt of Court: A Scholar's Battle for Free Speech from behind Bars.ISBN0759106436.
- ^"American Sociological Association: Teaching Ethics Throughout the Curriculum, Ethics, Teaching, Teaching Ethics to Students".Asanet.org. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-05-11.Retrieved2012-05-03.
- ^American Sociological Association:ASA Officers Respond to Attacks on Frances Fox Piven.ArchivedMay 12, 2012, at theWayback MachineJanuary 24, 2011.
- ^The Editors (2011-01-20)."Glenn Beck Targets Frances Fox Piven".The Nation.Retrieved2012-05-03.
{{cite web}}
:|author=
has generic name (help) - ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-07-07.Retrieved2012-05-02.
{{cite web}}
:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"ASA Opposes Subpoena of 'Belfast Project' Data".American Sociological Association(Press release). 22 February 2012.Retrieved15 February2019.
- ^abcdefQuinn, Ryan."Leaders of Sociology Group Resist Call for Ceasefire Resolution".Inside Higher Ed.
- ^"Sociological Association Calls for Immediate, Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza".Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.May 23, 2024.
- ^"Resolution for Justice in Palestine | American Sociological Association".
- ^Liévanos, Raoul S.; Wilder, Elisabeth; Richter, Lauren; Carrera, Jennifer; Mascarenhas, Michael (2021-04-03)."Challenging the white spaces of environmental sociology".Environmental Sociology.7(2): 103–109.Bibcode:2021EnvSo...7..103L.doi:10.1080/23251042.2021.1902665.
External links
[edit]- Media related toAmerican Sociological Associationat Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- North Central Sociological Association website