World Congress of Sociology
Logo of the ISA
|
|
| Formation | 1949 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Madrid, Spain |
|
2014-2018 President
|
Margaret Abraham |
| Website | www |
The International Sociological Association (ISA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences. It is an international sociological body, gathering both individuals and national sociological organizations. The ISA was founded in 1949 under UNESCO and it has about 4,500 individual and 45 collective members, hailing from 167 countries. Its purpose is to "represent sociologists everywhere, regardless of their school of thought, scientific approaches or ideological opinion" and its objective is to "advance sociological knowledge throughout the world". Along with the Institut International de Sociologie (IIS), it is seen as a world leading international sociological organization.
ISA is a member of the International Social Science Council with the status of the Non-Governmental Organization in formal associate relations with UNESCO and special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
The ISA's international conference is held every four years, the last of which, the XVIIIth World Congress of Sociology was held in Yokohama, Japan, in July 2014. ISA also organizes a number of smaller conferences, and publishes two peer reviewed academic journals: Current Sociology and International Sociology.
ISA's first president (1949-1952) was Louis Wirth. The current president (2014-2018) is Margaret Abraham, USA.
The history of ISA can be traced to the 1948 initiative of UNESCO's Social Science Department. The initiative was part of a larger plan aiming together to reform the social sciences worldwide, by improving the ties between scholars worldwide "to promote research in fields crucial to establishments of a peaceful world order". As of 1949, sociological associations existed only in Belgium, Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States, with about twenty four more countries having sociologist represented in a different type of an institution. The Institut International de Sociologie (IIS), founded in 1893, was deemed too limited, and it was decided that a new organization needs to be created. In the end, representatives from 21 countries were invited for a Constituent Congress, held in Oslo on 5–11 September 1949. The original stated purpose of the organization was "to advance sociological knowledge throughout the world" through measures including developing "personal contacts between sociologists" in different regions and encouraging "international dissemination and exchange of information". A provisional Council was appointed, as were an Executive Secretary, Treasurer, and the Secretariat personnel; statutes were adopted. SA's first president was Louis Wirth. The first ISA conference was planned for 1950.
...
Wikipedia