American Academy of Political and Social Science

The American Academy of Political and Social Science was founded in 1889 to promote progress in the social sciences. Sparked by Professor Edmund J. James and drawing from members of the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, and Bryn Mawr College, the Academy sought to establish communication between scientific thought and practical effort. The goal of its founders was to foster, across disciplines, important questions in the realm of social sciences, and to promote the work of those whose research aimed to address important social problems. Today the AAPSS is headquartered at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and aims to offer interdisciplinary perspectives on important social issues.

The primary modes of the Academy's communication were to be the bimonthly journal, The Annals, annual meetings, symposia, and special publications. Difficult topics were not avoided. The 1901 annual meeting was on race relations in America, and included a paper by Booker T. Washington. The Academy began as a membership organization. Membership was open and inclusive with an emphasis on educated professionals; even from the its establishment, women were permitted to obtain membership. The Academy's members have included not only academicians, but also distinguished public servants such as Herbert Hoover and Frances Perkins. Perhaps for this reason, it is not a member of the American Council of Learned Societies.

In 2000 the Academy began selecting and installing Fellows in recognition of social scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the field. Since 2008 the Academy has presented an annual Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize to recognize public officials and/or scholars who have used social science and informed judgment to advance the public good. The Academy continues to publish its bimonthly journal, and holds congressional briefings, special conferences, and biannual meetings of its board of directors. The Academy has moved away from the membership model, however.