Introduction:
Scope and Nature
of Presentation

This volume captures highlights in the history of the American Sociological Association (ASA) from 1981 through 2004. The objective of this work is to describe and report on the major events in the life of ASA during the last two decades of the 20th Century—leading up to a new century and millennium, and also to ASA’s commemoration of its 100th anniversary in 2005. This introduction provides a brief overview of the structure and organization of this volume; describes the methodology used to compile, analyze, and conceptualize the topics for discussion; and explains the publication format in both its printed (PDF) and electronic (HTML) formats.

As noted in the preface, this volume is a companion volume to the 1981 ASA publication, A History of the American Sociological Association 1905–1980, by Lawrence J. Rhoades. The 1981 Rhoades volume shaped the basic ideas for topics and the general approach used in this second volume. As in the 1981 publication, descriptive text is presented on key events within a specified time frame—for the decade of the 1980s, the 1990s (through the 2002 Council), and for key events in 2002 through 2004. Like the preceding volume, the descriptive analysis of each topic in this volume is reported using a style that features the important events, particularly focusing on institutional development and change. On occasion, evaluative comments by ASA leadership or others are included to lend perspective in the reporting.

There are several important differences between the two volumes. The subject matter and content of this history of ASA since 1980 were considerably expanded because source material for events of the past quarter century was generally more accessible than for earlier decades of ASA history.

This also meant that a more rigorous and systematic review could be conducted for each topical area. Current technologies also permitted compilation of source material in electronic formats, which facilitated both analysis and the preparation of text (and also resulted in a digitized archive of basic sources, which can be used for other organizational or research purposes). Finally, the text is annotated with references.

Structure of this Volume and its Contents

Organization of Volume
The major events of the Association over the past quarter century are described in three chapters and detailed appendices (a list of common abbreviations is also included). The contents of the volume include:

• History of the 1980s: Covers events beginning with the 1981 Council and ending with the 1991 August Council; coincides with the tenure of Executive Officers Russell R. Dynes and William V. D’Antonio, and the year of transition with Felice J. Levine;
• History of the 1990s: Covers the period beginning with the August 1991 meeting of the 1992 Council to the end of the 2001 Council in August 2002; coincides with the tenure of Executive Officer Felice J. Levine;
• ASA in 2002 to 2004: Includes a brief overview of major events in 2002 through 2004 leading up to the Centennial year 2005 (coincides with the arrival of Executive Officer Sally T. Hillsman); and
• Appendices: Include (1) a timeline of major events from 1905, (2) lists of Association leaders over time, (3) data on membership and participation in ASA, (4) summaries of key information on governance, (5) information on ASA programs, and (6) a summary of Executive Office organizational affiliations, departments, programs, and staff in 2005.

Conceptual Framework
For each of Chapters 1 and 2, the text includes a discussion of the following issues:

• Background: Provides contextual setting and key goals of ASA;
• Profile of ASA: Includes summary of key facts about the ASA (e.g., data on membership, participation, budget, and finances);
• Executive Office: Describes staffing, operations, application of new technologies, and so forth;
• ASA governance/policy changes: Provides description of changes relating to ASA’ s authority to govern and conduct its work (i.e., amend its Constitution and Bylaws, change its Code of Ethics; modify policies on ASA awards, define guidelines for signing on to amicus briefs, or issue policy statements on behalf of ASA);
• ASA governance/structural changes: Includes summary of institutional changes in ASA structures and governance systems, such as its committees or sections, dues restructuring, and so forth;
• Core programmatic activities: Describes the growth and evolution of major ASA Programs (e.g., Publications, Certification, Teaching, Professional Development, Applied Sociology, Academic Affairs, the Sydney Spivack Program in Applied Social Research and Social Policy, Minority Affairs, Research on the Discipline and the Profession, Public Affairs, and Public Information);
• Other programs and activities: Describes other programs such as the Honors Program and the Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline (FAD), and activities focused on international events and issues; and
• The Annual Meeting: Includes highlights of key changes relating to the Annual Meeting.

The report on the history concludes in Chapter 4 with highlights of ASA activities from 2002 through 2004—leading up to the 2005 Centennial. An Epilog provides a closing commentary.

Methodology
The primary sources of information are those published in Footnotes (particularly minutes of Council meetings, reports of the Secretaries and Executive Officers, “Reflections of the Presidents,” feature articles by Executive Officers (“Inter Nos” by Russell Dynes, “Observing” by William D’Antonio, “Open Window” by Felice Levine, and “Vantage Point” by Sally Hillsman), and other official records. Other sources included minutes of the meetings of the Committee on the Executive Office and Budget (EOB), Council and EOB Agenda books, program file records, Annual Meeting Programs, committee and other reports to Council, and other records in the ASA files. The Executive Officers who served (or are serving) during this period, and ASA staff in 2003–5 provided valuable information and insights. Finally, extant literature on relevant topics was also reviewed. Council and EOB minutes were systematically reviewed to obtain a comprehensive list of topics for consideration (starting with those topics used in the 1981 volume). Special attention was placed on examining milestone events, major structural changes, constitutional changes, major programmatic innovations, and the development of Council policies and resolutions that had major impacts on the Association and the profession. The objective was to describe as succinctly and factually as possible the “what,” “who,” “when,” “why” (to the extent recorded) and “how” of these major events and issues over this time period, with a particular focus on outcomes (“what finally happened?”).

An extensive set of notes was prepared (both in electronic and scanned form) during this analytic process that formed the basis for the final text. The review of materials and preparation of the text was accomplished between October 2003 and April 2004. Final text was reviewed by the three Executive Officers who served during this period (Russell R. Dynes, William V. D’Antonio, and Felice J. Levine), and by the current Executive Officer, Sally T. Hillsman. ASA President Troy Duster also appointed an ad hoc committee to review the manuscript in early 2005.

Publication Formats
This History of the American Sociological Association,1981–2004 is published electronically in PDF and html form on the ASA homepage at asanet.org. A limited run of printed volumes is also published primarily for archival purposes.

Proceed to Chapter One