Sections and Affiliations

Although a majority of its members reside in the American West, WSSA draws social scientists from throughout the United States and internationally. Membership is open to all who share the Association’s goals. Currently, WSSA has thirty sections and affiliated groups which include a number of specific sections organized around shared interests and a number of affiliated groups.

To find a section coordinator for your field of interest, use the drop-down menu menu below and click "Go".

----Choose a Section Coordinator---- African-American Studies American Indian Studies American Studies Anthropology Arid Lands Studies Asian Studies Association of Borderland Studies Canadian Studies Chicano Studies Chronic Disease & Disability Criminal Justice & Criminology Economics: AFIT Economics: Business & Finance Economics: General Environmental Policy & Natural Resources Management Geography History Human Communication Latin American Studies Mass Communication New Zealand & Australia Studies Philosophy Political Science Public Administration Public Finance & Budgeting Rural Studies Slavic Studies Social Psychology Sociology Urban Studies Women's Studies

interested in affiliating

If your association is interested in affiliating with the WSSA, please let us know. You may contact Larry Gould, WSSA Executive Director.

If your association already affiliates with WSSA and you would like its homepage linked to the WSSA web site, please contact Chris Hiryak to send him the association's complete website address.

african-american studies

This section adds to a commitment of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary academic excellence by highlighting Contemporary theories and research of African and African Americans. Scholarly discussions are presented on academic, social, economic, and historical issues that impact the African and African American experience in the United States. We accept contributions from any discipline that facilitates intellectual discussion on the history, culture, religion, politics, economics, arts, sociology, health, and the Diaspora of peoples of African descent as developed from experiences in both the old and new worlds.

Theodore Ransaw
Afro-American Studies Program
Department of Anthropology & Ethnic Studies
University of Nevada
4505 Maryland Parkway
Las Vegas, NV 89154-5003
Phone: 702-440-6067
E-mail: Transaw@embarqmail.com

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american indian studies

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american studies

This section adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the American experience. Papers and panels may range across the humanities and social sciences. Over the past decade, presentations in this section have come from specialists in history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, gender studies, ethnic studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, folklore, art, architecture, film, music, popular culture, material culture, and other fields.

Daniel J. McInerney
Department of History
Utah State University
0710 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-0710
Phone: 435-797-1283
Fax: 435-797-3899
E-mail: danielj@hass.usu.edu

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Anthropology

This section presents perspectives from sociocultural anthropology on the diversity and the dynamics of collective human life. Topics examine the subfields of archaeology, biocultural anthropology, and sociocultural anthropology through the examination of selected problems in human physical, cultural, and social evolution.

See Sociology.

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Arid Lands Studies

Rich Greene
Department of Geography
Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL 60115
Phone: 815-753-6851
E-mail: rgreene@niu.edu

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Asian Studies

This section presents studies on issues, concerns and perspectives of Asia and Asians. Topics can be in the areas of communication, economics, education, health, politics and sociology.

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Association of Borderland Studies (ABS)

This is a multidisciplinary and international network of scholars who are involved in various aspects of border region studies. Principal focal points of the ABS’ work have been in the area of economics, political sciences, history, sociology and cultural studies. Although much of ABS’s activities has centered on the US-Mexican Borderlands, members are increasingly involved in the study of European, Asian and other border regions.

View Association of Borderland Studies website.

James Scott
Leibniz-Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning
jscott4636@aol.com

Manuel Chavez
Michigan State University
Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies
300 International Center
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 353-1690
Fax: (517) 432-7471
E-mail: chavezm1@msu.edu

Canadian Studies

This section accepts proposals for papers, panels and roundtables relating to any disciplines or areas of Canadian Studies, not just the social sciences. Usually the Canadian Studies Section has an emphasis on the Canadian West and comparisons between the Canadian and American West, and also Mexico, however, the section covers all aspects of Canadian Studies and is happy to have panels on Canadian Literature, Arts, and Humanities as well as panels on Canadian Geography, History, Anthropology, Economics, Politics, Business, Environment, Public Policy, etc. etc. The Canadian Studies Section is eager to have panels appropriately cross-listed with other WSSA Sections, such as Borderland Studies, Political Science, Native Studies, etc.

View Canadian Studies website.

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Chicano Studies

This section provides a multidisciplinary approach which examines the historical and contemporary experiences of the Chicana/o and other Latina/o populations in the U. S. by incorporating the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. This section includes areas such as history, law and immigration, land grants, demographics, health, community, family, education, literature, and the arts.

Secondary Contact
Eric Romero
New Mexico Highlands University
Phone: 505-454-3009
E-mail: ericromero@nmhu.edu

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Chronic Disease and Disability

Criminal Justice and Criminology

This section accepts papers on all aspects of criminological theory, research and practice. This includes both the practice of criminal justice administration and the critical study of this practice. Areas range from the micro study of criminal behavior and victimology through the meso study of both criminal and criminal justice organizations to the macro study of the social implications of crime and the administration of criminal justice through the police, courts and correctional systems.

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Economics (Association for Institutional Thought)

With recognition of the role of culture in organizing economic activity, institutional work draws its inspiration from messy reality-- the overlap of disciplinary boundaries, the interaction between diverse intellectual traditions, and the conflict and cooperation between social groups within and between societies. Possible themes for papers and/or panels could include the influence of other social science traditions on institutional economics, the application of interdisciplinary work in pragmatic policy analysis, the connection or overlap between diverse elements within heterodox economic theory, and the relevance of cultural norms and cross cultural conflict in the study of economic systems.

Daniel Underwood
Peninsula College
1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Port Angeles, WA 98362
Phone: 360-4176252
E-mail: danu@pcadmin.ctc.edu

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Economics (Business and Finance)

Kashi Nath Tiwari
KNT's Academic Financial Research
PO Box 4202
California, CA 94704-0202
E-mail: k1k2k3@hotmail.com

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Economics (General)

This section presents perspectives for general economics on the allocation of scarce resources among competing ends. Topics include, but are not limited to, the subfields of labor economics, public finance, health economics, demographic economics, international trade and economic development.

Scott Carson
University of Texas, Permin Basin
4901 East University
Odessa, TX 79762
432-552-2195
432-552-2174
E-mail: carson_s@utpb.edu

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Environmental Policy & Natural Resources Management

Dwight C. Kiel
Department of Political Science
P.O. Box 161356
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL 32816-1346
Phone: 407-823-2608
Fax: 407-823-0051
E-mail: kield@mail.ucf.edu

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Geography

See Arid Lands.

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History

History takes in the whole scope of the human condition so long as the action or event has occurred in the past. Thus, while historians may focus on such questions as political, social, or women’s history, and periodization remains important, any aspect of human action or thought is in the historian’s purview.

T. H. Baughman, Ph.D
Department of History and Geography
University of Central Oklahoma
Edmund, OK 73034-2838
Phone: 405-974-5491
Fax: 405-844-1961
E-Mail: tbaughman@ucok.edu

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Human Communication

Gayle Houser
--or--
Richard A. “Tony” Parker
School of Communication
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5619
Phone: 928-523-2508
Fax: 928-523-1505
E-mail: gayle.houser@nau.edu or richard.parker@nau.edu

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Latin American Studies

The section of Latin-American studies considers Latin America as a region of countries that have a common history since the colonial period under the domination of Spain and Portugal. The study of this region’s history, politics and culture (at the global and national level in each country) is the object of this section. The coordinators of this section work on predominantly analyses on present problems and on their projects toward the future. These analyses pay special attention to contemporary issues addressing relevant debates about projects that outline and propose a better development of the region.

Secondary Contact
Jorge Abel Rosales Soldana
Universidad de Guadalajara
Phone: 33-3819-3372
E-mail: jorgabel@yahoo.com.mx

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Mass Communication

Gil Fowler, Ph.D.
Professor of Journalism
Editor, Journalism and Mass Comm Abstracts
Business Manager Southwestern Mass Com Journal
Arkansas State University
PO Box 1930
State University, AR 72467-1930
Phone: 870-972-3075
Fax: 870-972-3856
E-mail: gfowler@astate.edu

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New Zealand and Australia Studies

View New Zealand and Australia Studies website.

William C. Schaniel
Department of Economics
State University of West Georgia
Carrollton, GA 30118-3020
Phone: 678-839-4780
Fax: 678-839-5041
E-mail: wschanie@westga.edu

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Philosophy

Political Science

Theo Edwin Maloy, Assistant Professor
Department of History and Political Science
West Texas A&M University
Box 60807
Canyon, Texas 79016
Phone: 806-651-2436
FAX: 806-651-2601
E-mail: emaloy@mail.wtamu.edu

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Public Administration

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Public Finance and Budgeting

Rural Studies

Rural Studies is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary section. Studies of rural areas or agriculture, in their broadest definitions and in any part of the world, are welcome. Varying in scope, approach, and method, and ranging from sociology to literature, participants’ works have addressed small towns, extraction-based economies, population change, game management, food policy, rural women’s literature and social and environmental history.

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Slavic Studies

The Western Association for Slavic Studies (WASS) meets annually as the Slavic Studies Section of the Western Social Science Association. Those wishing to present papers in the Slavic Studies section need not be members of the WASS, but are welcome to join. The Slavic Studies section is interested in all aspects of East Central Europe and the lands of the former USSR, including, but not limited to: Anthropology, History, Literature, Music, and Sociology.

Peter Mentzel, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of History
Utah State University
Logan, UT  84322
Phone: 435-797-0147
Fax: 435-797-3899
E-mail: pmentzel@hass.usu.edu

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Social Psychology

Vacant

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Sociology

This section presents a range of perspectives on social life. Subfields include gender, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, family, organizations, education, politics, sexuality, globalization, social movements, stratification, consumption, law, medicine, and technology.

Heather Albanesi
Assistant Professor of Sociology
University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
Department of Sociology
PO Box 7150
1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway
Colorado Springs, CO 80933
Phone 719-262-4137
Fax 719-262-4450
E-mail: halbanes@uccs.edu

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Urban Studies

This section examines the human condition in relationship to the physical, cultural, social, and environmental aspects of community. The subfields include architecture, urbanism, landscape, housing, infrastructure, and regionalism.

Thomas Sammons
Director, Community Design Workshop
School of Architecture and Design
College of the Arts
P.O. Box 43850
Lafayette, LA 70504-3850
Phone: 337-482-5310
Fax: 337-482-1128
E-mail: tcs3147@louisiana.edu

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Women's Studies

 

 

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