University of Chicago. Society for Social Research

The Society for Social Research was established in 1921 as an association of graduate students in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Unlike the Sociology Club, and earlier group which had admitted students, instructors and others, the Society limited membership to graduate students and those who had "attained professional standards of research." Robert E. Park, a leader in forming the organization, was elected the first president of the Society and played a significant role in defining its goals and programs.

From the description of Records, 1923-1956 (inclusive). (University of Chicago Library). WorldCat record id: 57612543

The Society for Social Research was established in 1921 as an association of graduate students in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Unlike the Sociology Club, an earlier group which had admitted students, instructors, and others acceptable to two-thirds of its members, the Society limited membership to graduate students and those who had "attained professional standards of research" (1:1). Robert E. Park, a leader in forming the organization, was elected the first president of the Society and played a significant role in defining its goals and programs. Other faculty members who served as officers or participated actively in the Society's affairs included Ernest W. Burgess, Fay-Cooper Cole, Ellsworth Faris, Everett C. Hughes, Gordon Laing, William F. Ogburn, Stuart Rice, Lloyd Warner, and Louis Wirth. While intended originally to encourage empirical research in sociology, the Society's interdisciplinary approach also attracted support from anthropologists, economists, historians, and political scientists at the University.

In 1923, the Society held its first Summer Institute, a forum for papers and round-table discussions by students, faculty, and alumni of the University and leading social scientists from other institutions. Themes for individual Summer Institutes ranged from "Regionalism and Crime" (1932), "Morale" (1941), and "Wartime Trends and Post-War Planning" (1943), to "Communications and the Urban Community" (1949). Reports on sessions of the Summer Institute and regular meeting programs of the Society appeared in its Bulletin, a publication which also provided abstracts of selected scholarly papers, lists of books available through the Society at reduced rates, and brief notices on the research interests and activities of Society members.

The Society for Social Research continued as the graduate student organization of the Department of Sociology and as publisher of a new series of the Bulletin initiated in 1975.

From the guide to the University of Chicago. Society for Social Research. Records, 1923-1956, (Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.)