Each year, ASA’s president chooses a theme on which to focus some of the programming for the ASA Annual Meeting—a tradition that ensures our meetings reflect the rich diversity of perspectives and subject matter in our discipline. President-elect Alford A. Young, Jr. has chosen the theme “Realizing the Promise of Sociology in Turbulent Times.”
Realizing the Promise of Sociology in Turbulent Times
American sociology is under assault. The field has long weathered criticism from those who believe that sociologists are too staunchly committed to polemical inquiry designed to serve undeserving individuals. Thus, the condition of assault is, in at least a general sense, not unfamiliar. The current threats, however, are nothing short of existential.
Perhaps at no time in history has our discipline’s social and intellectual utility been scrutinized so intensely. Political and institutional actors have sought to undermine the legitimacy of concepts that have been central to sociological inquiry – race, racism, inequality, gender, sexual orientation, and related terms that describe and explain the conditions shaping social life and the varied means by which people experience it. These threats include politically motivated cuts to social science research funding. They also include the surveillance of sociology’s curricular content. So charged is the current climate that some sociologists now question whether they can deploy the discipline’s core concepts at all.
These concerns emerge amidst what some regard as another perilous condition for sociology: internal disciplinary fragmentation. The vast scholarly terrain covered by sociologists brings us into dialogue and collaborations with scholars in other fields of intellectual inquiry (ranging from philosophy and cultural studies to economics, political science, and public policy). These efforts have advanced both humanistic and social scientific inquiry. Nevertheless, some contend that such cross-disciplinary exchanges inhibit our disciplinary core by weakening its coherence and visibility. Thus, sociologists must also confront the quandary of managing threats to the discipline’s well-being – both internal and external – while promoting broad public understanding of its signature contributions.
Our times call for American sociology to cultivate courage in defending and advocating for its contributions. Accordingly, in pursuit of the theme, Realizing the Promise of Sociology in Turbulent Times, the 2027 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association will endeavor to explore and define pathways toward enhancing the vitality of the discipline. The 2027 meeting invites sociologists to critically consider the impact the discipline has had on the public’s understanding of society. This will involve addressing not solely how sociology has contributed to public understanding, but what may stand in the way of utilizing that understanding for individual and collective efficacy. This effort demands that we explore new or unrealized opportunities for sociologists to consider and determine the best mechanisms for translating and applying sociological knowledge. Specific attention will be given to assessing the prospects of sociological scholarship in a social world where knowledge production and dissemination are increasingly driven by new forms of technology. To deliver most fully on this agenda, we will investigate whether disciplinary fragmentation limits our collective capacity to respond with clarity and purpose to defend – and ultimately advance – the value of sociological knowledge for the common good (and, if so, whether sociology can or should liberate itself from this condition).
Alford A. Young, Jr.
President-elect, American Sociological Association
University of Michigan