Ssha 2016

Image: Palmer House lobby The 41st annual coming together of the Social Science History Association is underway inwards Chicago this...

Image: Palmer House lobby

The 41st annual coming together of the Social Science History Association is underway inwards Chicago this weekend. I've been a fellow member since 1998, approaching one-half the lifetime of the association, in addition to I proceed to discovery it the most satisfying in addition to stimulating of my professional person associations. 

The association was founded to exercise an option vocalism inside the history profession, in addition to to serve equally a venue for multi-disciplinary approaches to inquiry in addition to explanation inwards history. It is real interesting that many of the earliest advocates for this novel intellectual configuration -- including some of the founders of the association -- are even in addition to then heavily involved. Bill Sewell, Andrew Abbott, Myron Gutmann (the electrical current president), in addition to Julia Adams all illustrate the importance of interdisciplinary run inwards their ain inquiry in addition to writing, in addition to these social researchers choose all brought of import innovations into the evolving chore of agreement the social world. 

SSHA programs choose highlighted a variety of ideas in addition to approaches over the past times iv decades -- historical demography, bringing civilization into politics, the value of the social-causal mechanisms approach, using spatial techniques (GIS) to aid farther historical understanding, in addition to the utilization played past times identities of race, gender, in addition to land inwards historical process. H5N1 renewed involvement inwards Eurasian history in addition to global history is also noteworthy inwards recent years, offsetting the vogue towards eurocentrism inwards the history profession to a greater extent than broadly. The approaches associated amongst comparative historical sociology choose almost e'er had a prominent utilization on the program. Memorable sessions inwards previous years past times Chuck Tilly, George Steinmetz, Liz Clemens, in addition to Sid Tarrow stand upward out inwards my mind. And inwards recent years at that spot has been a salubrious involvement inwards issues of philosophy of history in addition to historiography expressed inwards the program.

Here is the SSHA's mission statement:

The Social Science History Association is an interdisciplinary grouping of scholars that shares interests inwards social life in addition to theory; historiography, in addition to historical in addition to social-scientific methodologies. SSHA mightiness endure best seen equally a coalition of distinctive scholarly communities. Our noun intellectual run ranges from everyday life inwards the medieval earth – in addition to sometimes before -- to contemporary global politics, but nosotros are united inwards our historicized approach to agreement human events, explaining social processes, in addition to developing innovative theory.

The term “social scientific discipline history” has meant dissimilar things to dissimilar academic generations. In the 1970s, when the SSHA’s showtime meetings were held, the founding generation of scholars took it to reverberate their draw of piece of job organisation to address pressing questions past times combining social-science method in addition to novel forms of historical evidence. Quantitative approaches were peculiarly favored past times the association’s historical demographers, equally good equally some of the economic, social in addition to women’s historians of the time. By the 1980s in addition to 1990s, other waves of scholars – including culturally-oriented historians in addition to anthropologists, geographers, political theorists, in addition to comparative-historical social scientists -- had joined the conversation.

SSHA is a self-organizing configuration of scholars, in addition to the annual programme reflects the interests in addition to maiden of its members. It is organized only about xix networks, each of which is managed past times i of to a greater extent than network representatives. The programme consists of panels proposed past times the networks, along amongst a handful of presidential sessions organized past times the programme commission to acquit out the year's theme. (This year's theme is "Beyond social scientific discipline history: Knowledge inwards an interdisciplinary world".) Here are the networks in addition to the number of sessions associated amongst each:

There are several things I peculiarly appreciate nearly sessions at SSHA. First, the papers in addition to discussions are almost e'er of high character -- good developed in addition to stimulating. Second, at that spot is a expert variety of participants across rank, gender, in addition to discipline. And finally, at that spot is real footling posturing past times participants. People are hither because they attention nearly the subjects in addition to desire stimulation, non because they are looking to brand a tilt nearly their ain centrality inwards the field. There is a salubrious environs based on an involvement inwards learning in addition to discussing at the SSHA, non the pervasive careerism of to a greater extent than discipline-based associations.