bulletin 69-70 International Sociological Association Association Internationale de Sociologie Asociación Internacional de Sociología Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology University Complutense 28223 Madrid, Spain. Tel: (34-1)3527650. Fax: (34-1)3524945. Email: [email protected] http://www.ucm.es/OTROS/isa o Letter from the President, No. 4 1 Immanuel Wallerstein o ISA Regional Conferences 4 o Declaración final del XX Congreso 5 de la Asociación Latinoamericana de Sociología o Sociologists and their Work 7 by Stella R. Quah, ISA Vice-President (Research) o Reports from the Research Committees 9 o Reports from the Working Groups 28 o Reports from the Thematic Groups 29 o Call for Participation and Papers 30 o Calendar of Future Events 32 o ISA membership form 35 o Publications of the ISA 37 Spring-Summer 1996 Published by the International Sociological Association ISSN 0383-8501 Editor:Izabela Barlinska. Lay-out: José Ignacio Reguera. Printed by Fotocopias Universidad S.A. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 1994-1998 President: Layi Erinosho Arnaud Sales, Christine Inglis Immanuel Wallerstein Ogun State University Binghamton University Ijeby-Ode, Nigeria Research Coordinating Binghamton, NY, USA Committee Vincenzo Ferrari Chair: Stella R. Ouah, Members: Vice-President, Program University of Milano Linda Christiansen-Ruffman, Alberto Martinelli Milano, Italy Vincenzo Ferrari, Jan Marie Fritz University of Milano Jorge A. González, Christine Inglis Milano, Italy Jan Marie Fritz Jennifer Platt, Arnaud Sales, Piotr University of Cincinnati Sztompka Vice-President, Research Cincinnati,OH, USA Council Publications Committee Stella R. Ouah Jorge González Chair: James Beckford National University of Singapore Universidad Colima Member: Karl van Meter, France Singapore Colima, Mexico EC representatives: Layi Erinosho, Nigeria, Bernadette Vice-President, Publications Christine Inglis Bawin-Legros, Belgium James A. Beckford University of Sydney RCC representative: Jorge A. University of Warwick Sydney, Australia González, Mexico Coventry, United Kingdom Current Sociology. Robert Brym, Jennifer Platt Editor, Nikolai Genov, Bulgaria, Vice-President, Membership & University of Sussex Gyorgy Széll, Germany Finance Brighton, United Kingdom International Sociology. Roberto Jürgen Hartmann Cipriani, Editor, Céline Saint- University College Falun Arnaud Sales Pierre, Canada, Mel Kohn, USA Borlánqe, Sweden Université de Montréal Sage Studies in International Montréal, Canada Sociology. Neil Guppy, Editor Past President 1990-1994 Sociological Abstrects; Miriam T.K.Oommen Piotr Sztompka Chall, Editor Jawaharlal Nehru University Jagiellonian University SAGE Publications: Stephen Barr, New Delhi, India Cracow, Poland Chris Rojek, UK Góran Therborn Representatives to ISSC MEMBERS University of Góteborq UNESCO Góteborq, Sweden Delegate: Daniel Bertaux, France Bernadette Bawin-Legros Alternate: Karl van Meter, France Université de Liége Peter Weingart Liége, Belgium University of Bielefeld Representatives to ICSSID Bielefeld, Germany UNESCO Roberto Briceño-Leon Richard Grathoff, Germany LACSO, Universidad Central Shujiro Yazawa Caracas, Venezuela Hitotsubashi University Representatives to United Tokyo,Japan Nations Maria Carrilho Vienna: Jürgen Hartmann, ISCTE Executive Secretary: Sweden, Piotr Sztompka, Poland Lisbon, Portugal Izabela Barlinska Geneva: t.b.a. New York: Linda Christiansen- Linda Christiansen-Ruffman Ruffman, Canada, Vera Zolberg, Saint Mary's University SUB-COMMITTEES USA Halifax, NS, Canada Representative to WHO Juan Díez-Nicolás Membership & Finance Eugene B. Gallagher, RC15 Universidad Complutense Committee Madrid, Spain Chair: Jürgen Hartmann, Representative to IISL Oñati Members: Juan Díez-Nicolás, Vincenzo Ferrari, Italy Letter from the President, No.4, May 1996 by Immanuel Wallerstein nternationalizing the ISA Internationalizing an international organization may The first thing ISA can do - the easiest financially, but seem to be a curious objective. Vet, the reality is, as perhaps the most important intellectually - is to transform the everyone knows, that the International Sociological norms. We need to recognize that, however much we aim at Association, like every other world scholarly associations and/or believe in the possibility of universal propositions, the today, is less international than it should be and claims to be. weight of our particularism (our varying social locations) is The historical construction of the social sciences and today so great, and so consequential for the nature of our the geopolitics of the world-system are the two major research and our interpretation of its results, that we must constraining parameters within which our association lives. systematically take it into account in both the social science Both are obvious. The social sciences emerged, as university we do and our reflections upon this social science. The disciplines, only in the late nineteenth century, and originally particularism that we all bring to bear on our work not only primarily in five countries: Great Britain, France, Germany, determine/influence/distort our evaluations of reality (that is Italy, and the United States. To be sure, by 1945 they came to say, reflect our politics in the broad sense of the term) but to be established formally in many other countries, and determine/influence/distort in many (complex) ways our almost everywhere in the period since 1945. But the epistemologies. The former effect is more visible than the ographic spread of their organizational strength remains latter. lopsided. We can ameliorate the situation in two ways: from the The historical reality is compounded and maintained top down and from the bottom up. Both are necessary. Both by the fact that financial resources are equally lopsided in are already going on. Both need to be reinforced. To their distribution, which means that sociologists in the "South" ameliorate the situation from the top down means that an do not have at their distribution many of the elementary organization like the ISA needs to be constantly conscious of facilities that are available to many sociologists in the "North": the importance of allowing space for all points of view and adequate library facilities, rapid communications networks working hard at overcoming the numerical (today, access to the Internet), research funds, travel funds, underrepresentation in our ranks of any points of view by adequate salaries, and all the other material bases of our overrepresenting them proportionately in our allocation of work. invitations to play intellectual roles at our congresses and The ISA is in no position to affect significantly these colloquia. We must regard this not as acts of social welfare or constraints. The question is what can it do to minimize their even social justice but as acts required in order to maximize negative effects? The first question is, why should the collective intellectual gain. Association care? The answer The bottom up is seems to me obvious, but I am not more important and more sure everyone really agrees. " ...an organization Iike the ISA needs to difficult. In reality, sociology Sociologists have always had, as (and all modes of knowledge) be constantly conscious of the importance one of their basic premises, that will only be truly international ial realities are socially of allowing space for all points of view..." when there are strong constructed, and that if one multiple bases. What is constructs them differently, the important is that there are outcome will be different. Few sociologists are "essentialists", vibrant nodes of work in different loci, each of which has a which means, in this case, that few sociologists believe that real internal life and sufficient interaction to create its own the reason that sociology is stronger in so me countries than minitraditions and sense of priorities. One mechanism is in others has to do with biology or climate or virtually regional associations. I was recently invited to attend the unchangeable cultural differences. In addition, sociologists XXth Congress of the Asociación Latinoamericana de have tended to believe that one's social perspective, and Sociología. Ido not know what the first nineteen were like, but hence one's intellectual perspective, varies according to one's I can say that the twentieth was extremely alive intellectually social position. Many sociologists derive from this premise the (2000 delegates, including a significant group of students, belief that the search for plausible representations of social with their own sessions) and with a distinctive and reality is enhanced by bringing to bear on this reality a unmistakable Latin American voice. Another mechanism is multiplicity of perspectives. publications of the region, circulating first of all in the region This is all, as I say, introductory verities but worth and addressing its issues in terms of its modes of analyses. underlining. Indeed, what I have said constitutes virtual Of course, if, and to the extent that, one can create very pieties, to which constant obeisance is made. But little is done strong singular research loci with outreach in the region, the about it. What in fact can we do? For there is a third worldwide impact will be perhaps greatest. nstraint for an association like the ISA. It is very poor, and I am in no sense calling tor the creation of solid not by largesse compensate in any significant way for institutional bases tor a world sociology. Only when these lopsided distribution of world resources for