Preface

This year 2005 marks the centenary of the founding of the American Sociological Society, the professional society for sociologists that became known as the American Sociological Association in 1959. Established in 1905 by a small group led by Lester Ward, William Graham Sumner, Franklin Giddings, and Albion Small at meetings of the American Economic Association, the Society held its first meeting the following year in Providence, Rhode Island. The membership in 1906 stood at 115. For the first several decades, the activities of the Society were centered on publishing a journal, holding an annual meeting, and performing various secretariat functions such as record keeping, sending out communications and so forth. In 1949, the first Executive Officer was appointed on a part time basis, and in 1963 the Association established its permanent headquarters in Washington DC. By the end of the 20th century, the American Sociological Association evolved into a complex organization with a roster of journals, other publications, meetings, workshops, and programs serving over 13,000 members.

There has been a keen interest expressed by members, leaders, and professional staff of the ASA in preserving the history of the Association. In 1983, ASA donated its records to the Library of Congress, where some 57,900 ASA administrative records and documents from 1931 to 1986 became part of the Library’s Manuscript Division Materials. When the ASA was informed by the Library of Congress in 1992 that it would no longer accept additional materials in the ASA archives, the ASA Council began to explore other options and proposals for archiving its records. In September 1997, ASA signed a contract with Pennsylvania State University for this purpose. Since then the ASA has been actively involved with Penn State in creating a complete ASA archive at its library in University Park, Pennsylvania, including all materials from the Library of Congress transferred in 2005.

Over the years, sociologists have also examined the history and development of the American Sociological Association from a range of perspectives in articles and books published on this topic. In 1980, Lawrence J. Rhoades, then Executive Associate for Program and Teaching in the ASA Executive Office, wrote a series of articles on the history of ASA from its founding in 1905 though 1980 to mark ASA’s 75th anniversary. Originally published in the ASA newsletter Footnotes during 1980, these articles were subsequently edited and published by ASA in 1981 as A History of the American Sociological Association 1905–1980 , with Rhoades as author.

The Rhoades volume has been used widely and serves as a valuable resource on historical events during the first 75 years of ASA. In 2003, ASA Council approved a project to update the 1981 publication by documenting the major issues and events in the Association since 1980 as part of a collection of historical materials to mark the ASA Centennial. This new publication, A History of the American Sociological Association, 1981–2004 , authored by Katherine J. Rosich, picks up in 1981 where Rhoades left off, and reports on ASA’s history over the past quarter century.

Because the ASA History, 1981-2004 is an update of the 1981 volume, it seeks generally to follow the first volume’s structure and orientation. Thus, the basic outline of the current volume captures highlights following a chronological rather than functional or structural analysis. It is divided into three chapters which report on the ASA organizational history covering the periods 1981–91 (Chapter 1), 1991–2002 (Chapter 2), and 2002–4 (Chapter 3). An Epilogue provides a closing commentary, and detailed Appendices contain extensive historical documentation and information about the Association over its 100 years. The general orientation and style of this new volume— like the earlier one—is to present an analysis on each topic with “broad brush strokes” to feature the important events in each area, particularly focusing on institutional development and change. It does not, therefore, present an in-depth analysis of functional areas during this time. We also emphasize that this volume is not a history of the discipline of sociology in the United States since 1980. That is the task of others including Craig J. Calhoun who is editing an independent volume on the history of sociology in the United States supported by the ASA Council. Written by sociologists, that book will focus on the development of the discipline of sociology in the United States, and on institutional patterns shaping the field. An outstanding group of sociologists, with diverse backgrounds, sub disciplines, and intellectual orientations has been invited to contribute articles to that volume.

Finally, on the occasion of this historic event, it is worthwhile to reflect briefly on the question: What is the “state of the American Sociological Association” in 2005 as it marks its 100th anniversary?

In 1981, at the beginning of the period covered by this volume, retiring Executive Officer Russell R. Dynes summed up the complexity of the Association’s goals, and described some of the issues that had been at the center of debates within the ASA for decades. He described the challenges of implementing a publishing program that meets the highest standards of excellence, providing an annual meeting that is an opportunity for stimulating exchange of ideas and research findings, and creating programs that serve the changing needs of the membership. Not all of these goals, Dynes noted, are complementary. Tensions arise from differences in priorities focusing on research over teaching, in perspectives that advocate the goals of the discipline over those of the profession, and in advancing the traditionally academic base of the membership with the increasingly nonacademic impulses in the profession. Dynes went on to say that the Association values diversity, but hopes for unity and integration; it seeks acceptance in the wider scientific community, while emphasizing the uniqueness of sociology. The Association promotes inclusiveness in the Association (particularly increasing the participation of women and minorities), and strives to foster democracy while electing excellence ( Footnotes , August 1982:9).

These challenges echo those discussed earlier by Talcott Parsons in his 1966 Editor’s Column in what was then the Association’s publication The American Sociologist . Parsons described new functions undertaken by the Association with regard to the role of sociology in secondary and graduate education, the organizational problems posed by the multiplication of sections, and the issues arising with new journals and publications. He also emphasized that ASA is a democratically elected body, and thus is challenged by “preserving and extending this democratic base of the Association and at the same time providing institutions which could focus effective responsibility, on behalf of the membership in their special position as members of a learned, primarily academic, group, for the formulation of coherent policies and both the support and the control of the Executive Office.”

Many of these challenges still remain although with different shapes and new dimensions. Like the other social sciences, sociology must continually redefine its role and relationships with wider publics. The challenge for “public sociologies,” for example, is to engage an ever-wider audience including the media, policy makers, think tanks, social movement, and others, both at a national and international level. A new world of publishing is also emerging, posing important challenges and opportunities for the ASA as a major publisher of scholarly journals. The legal implications of electronic publishing, access to scholarly research on the Internet and other electronic formats, and how to reach audiences of teachers and learners as well as the general public and policy leaders are just a few of the exciting challenges for the ASA. Sociology, along with other social science associations, must also find creative, innovative, and persuasive ways to advocate for scientific funding and to develop research agendas that embrace and expand sociology’s leadership within the scientific community.

As the American Sociological Association moves into the 21st century, there is a larger emphasis on the need for cooperation and collaboration across the social and behavioral sciences in order to respond to the increasingly complex problems of a global society. The war on terror, interethnic conflicts, wars, inequality, social disparities, forced migrations, and poverty are just a few of the critical challenges confronting an interdependent world. Fortunately, there is also growing recognition of the contributions that knowledge from the social and behavioral sciences can make to enhance understanding of effective responses to these challenges. The pages of this History, 1981-2004 show continued growth and professionalization of the ASA, including the formation of well-established collaborations with other professional and scientific societies, the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA), the National Humanities Alliance (NHA), the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and other organized efforts to address issues of importance to the social and behavioral sciences. In 2005, as it celebrates its 100th anniversary, and looks toward the future, the American Sociological Association is well situated to meet the challenges that need the profession and discipline of sociology.

Sally T. Hillsman
Katherine J. Rosich

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