THE HUMANIST SOCIOLOGIST Newsletter of the Association for Humanist Sociology Fall, 2011 Our Annual Meeting Is Around the Corner Dennis Kalob, President Chris Dale, Program Chair G reetings, AHS Members and Friends! Our organization s 36th annual meeting is nearly upon us: October 12-16, 2011. We will be gathering at The Hotel Orrington in downtown Evanston, IL, just north of Chicago. Most of this issue of our newsletter includes our Preliminary Program. As you can see, our program has taken shape very nicely. Just a few of our highlights: Opening Plenary at the Hull-House Museum in Chicago, featuring sociologist Mary Jo Deegan, author of Jane Addams and the Men of the Chicago School: 1892-1918. A bus tour examining the working class and immigrant history of Chicago led by our own Alan Spector Keynote address by Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK and Global Exchange. A luncheon featuring Susan Hurley, Director of Chicago Jobs with Justice A rich collection of breakout sessions paper presentations, films, roundtables, and more Look inside this newsletter for the details of our upcoming meeting. There is still time to make changes before the Final Program goes to press. So, if you are presenting, but need to make a change or have a special request, please let us know ASAP. Also, some of you who have not submitted a proposal might be reconsidering. Know that you can still get on the Final Program. We are particularly looking for papers to fill existing sessions those with fewer than four presenters. (It is too late to submit a proposal for a session, unless you have at least three papers lined up that would be included.) If you are interested in getting on the Final Program, please contact us right away (Chris: cdale@nec.edu; Dennis: dkalob@nec.edu). The deadline for changes/additions to the program is September 19. That is also the deadline to pre-register for the conference. The pre-registration form is enclosed and online at our website: ahssociology.org. Also available on our website is a two-page document titled Directions to Evanston. You might find this very helpful. You can also email us and we will send it to you directly. Finally for those attending the meeting, do not forget to contact the hotel to make your reservations. Call 888-677- 4648 and ask for the Group Reservations Department. They have reserved a block of rooms for us at $139/night plus tax. You must make your reservations by September 12. We hope as many of you as possible will join us in October. We are sure that you will have a great time. Evanston is a wonderful community and the hotel, with its first-rate facilities, is in a perfect location. It will be an annual meeting to remember! IMPORTANT DATES! The 36th Annual Meeting of the Association for Humanist Sociology October 12-16, 2011 Conference Hotel: The Orrington in Evanston, IL Deadline for Reservations: September 12 Call 888-677-4648 and ask for the Group Reservations Department Pre-registration form is included in this newsletter and available online (ahssociology.org) This form, along with the pre-registration fee, is due September 19 1
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James Wolfe Dept. of Social Sciences University of Indianapolis 1400 East Hanna Avenue Indianapolis, Indiana 46227-3697 THE HUMANIST SOCIOLOGIST ASSOCIATION FOR HUMANIST SOCIOLOGY NEWSWLETTER Who Are We The Association for Humanist Sociology Our Past: The Association arose out of growing disenchantment with conventional sociology and a need for a more clearly value committed emphasis in sociological work. We came together in 1976, not out of shared politics or similar "schools" of sociology, which were, and still are, richly varied, but out of a common concern for "real life" problems of peace, equality, and social justice. Our Philosophy: Humanists view people not merely as products of social forces but also as shapers of social life, capable of creating social orders in which everyone's potential can unfold. Our Purpose: Accordingly, humanist sociologists study life with a value commitment to advance that possibility through scholarship and practice. We intend to be an active support network for sociologists committed to humanist values, as they practice sociology in institutions often hostile to such an approach. To this end, we produce a quarterly journal, Humanity & Society, as well as a newsletter, The Humanist Sociologist; we organize national meetings and have sessions at regional sociology conferences.