WASHINGTON, DC—The American Sociological Association’s (ASA) 97th Annual Meeting will convene August 16-19th at the Hilton Chicago and the Hilton Palmer House in Chicago, IL. More than 550 sessions will be held on a wide range of topics including racial profiling, social dimensions of terrorism, disparities in health care, welfare reform, education, popular culture, and more. The theme of the Annual Meeting is “Allocation Processes and Ascription.”

In addressing the spirit of this theme, ASA President Barbara Reskin (Harvard University) said, “Race and gender, age and ethnicity, nativity and religion, as well as other ascribed characteristics (e.g., color, height, social class, caste) affect people's life chances. The more challenging task for social scientists is identifying how ascribed characteristics come to affect people's exposure to societal burdens and benefits.” In particular, the program focuses on how interactions and social institutions (from education and health through the labor force and justice system) function as distributive systems that fundamentally affect people’s lives.

In addition to plenary, thematic, and special sessions, the 2002 Annual Meeting will feature presentations, book panels, poster sessions, symposia, and other events focused on a variety of research and policy-related issues. Special media briefings are also planned. The preliminary program and up-to-date information regarding media events will be posted on the ASA Annual Meeting homepage.