What Our Members Say
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This moment also calls for honesty. Perhaps sociology, at least as we have come to practice and imagine it, is not enough. Rather than asking how we might reform sociology, we should be willing to rethink it altogether. What assumptions have we inherited? Whose knowledge have we centered? What possibilities have we overlooked? SSSP can be the space that creates the conditions for asking these difficult questions while embracing diverse ways of knowing, researching, and engaging with communities beyond the academy. Some folx have called us (SSSP) radical scholars or dismissed challenges to existing systems of oppression as too radical. Radical is nothing more than an unimaginative label applied by defenders of the status quo to folx who refuse to accept unnecessary inequality and injustice. There is nothing radical about believing that another world is possible, or about working to make that world more just, inclusive, and humane. In this critical moment, SSSP reminds us that scholarship is strongest when it is rooted in community, open to transformation, and committed to building a future where everyone belongs. David G. Embrick, University of Connecticut |
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Shannon Carter, University of Central Florida |
 During my graduate studies in the late 1980s, the late Peter Conrad told me about SSSP and suggested I might find many intellectual kindred spirits at its conferences. Skeptical that a professional organization could harbor many radical thinkers, I initially dismissed his advice. It wasn't until the mid-1990s, at Robert Newby's urging, that I finally decided to attend a conference. I was pleasantly surprised to find some colleagues and graduate students who were both critically engaged and committed to transforming the world for the better. That's what pulled me into SSSP, and that's exactly why I said yes to co-chairing the 2027 annual meeting with Shannon Carter. We envision a deeply collaborative program grounded in community and dedicated to dismantling interlocking systems of oppression.
Johnny Eric Williams, Trinity College |
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I’m excited about a new generation of members who are bringing creativity, scholarly excellence and visons of emancipatory change to SSSP. They are a key pillar of what will fuel the Society forward in the years to come. I know we need the deepest of commitments, the sharpest scholarship, and the greatest strategic clarity regarding the road ahead. I’m very much looking forward to the annual meeting in Chicago where much of this theory and practice will be shared as we commemorate the 75th anniversary of SSSP." Rose M. Brewer, University of Minnesota |
"After attending my first SSSP meeting, I knew I would be back. SSSP is a welcoming and accessible academic home that creates meaningful experiences for its members. I left that first meeting with so much: I connected with radical, inspiring scholars and mentors, and I gained professional development in ways that felt organic rather than prescriptive. Over the last few years, this has been invaluable as I finished graduate school, navigated the job market, attended panels on publishing, and grew into my role as an early career scholar. I have leaned on SSSP for both professional development and community. I am not a sociologist, but I return for the sense of belonging I find here." Kayla M. Martensen, University of New Mexico |
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Hadi Khoshneviss, Rhodes College |
SSSP has been vital to my growth and development as a scholar. As a graduate student, I found the organization incredibly welcoming, particularly because I was unsure how to navigate the social terrain of academia. SSSP’s commitment to advancing scholarship that addresses social problems aligns with my view of sociology and the broader social sciences' potential impact on society today. The organization encourages its members to study, engage, and practically apply our scholarship. That’s not something you can find in most professional organizations that is prioritized and centered, so it’s refreshing to be affirmed and supported by SSSP." Jalia L. Joseph, James Madison University |
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I am so proud to belong to SSSP. I think it is an exceptional professional organization that supports the development of scholars through mentorship and numerous professional opportunities. Join SSSP and I believe you will find a welcoming home!" Jacqueline M. Zalewski, West Chester University of Pennsylvania |
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Mary Bernstein, University of Connecticut |
"SSSP is one of my academic homes. I joined SSSP early on as a graduate student, and now as an early career scholar, I am thankful for my decision. Unlike many other academic conferences, SSSP has cultivated a space where scholars can receive feedback in kind and constructive ways. At SSSP I have met and been inspired by Rahsaan Mahadeo, Shirley A. Jackson, Corey Dolgon, Rodney Coates, and so many others. Outside of the conference, SSSP has supported me in many ways. Through the mentoring program, I met Vilna Bashi who has been invaluable as a guide and mentor. I have participated in op-ed writing workshops, and I am a past recipient of the Racial/Ethnic Minority Graduate Fellowship. So, in no small part, SSSP has been foundational to the formation of my intellect and scholarship, and I plan to always give back!" Korey Tillman, Northeastern University |
"I won't lie. I own a LOT of shoes. It may have to do with not having a lot of shoes when I was growing up. SSSP is like a comfortable pair of shoes that go with everything you wear! I know when I attend the meetings that I will find old friends and make new ones. I enjoy the support of my colleagues which makes SSSP an organization that gives my conference experience meaning. SSSP is a place where I feel I can serve on a variety of committees and have run for elected office because it means working with like-minded folks who are doing their part to give back to an organization that has given us so much. I feel comfortable in SSSP which is why I continue to renew my membership each year and why I attend the meetings!" Shirley A. Jackson, Portland State University |
"In SSSP, I have been able to work for the past 20 years within a community of people who are committed to social justice. It has been incredibly rewarding to belong to an organization where I’m able to align my personal and political values with my professional life. This is a place where praxis is possible, and I’m honored to serve as SSSP’s Executive Officer." Elroi J. Windsor, University of West Georgia |
Like others, I was introduced to SSSP as a graduate student by mentors that I hold in very high esteem. In my case it was Woody Doane and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. Both knew I was looking for something more than superficial mainstream professional organizations. Sure, SSSP has its shortcomings. However, I truly believe it to be capable of so much more. At a time when social science research, higher education, and sociology itself face unprecedented political, economic, and cultural pressures, we need spaces that sustain both rigorous scholarship and collective courage.
"I have come to understand a good deal about SSSP over the years, its challenges and possibilities. What is clear to me is that I cannot think of a time in my life as a sociologist and scholar of African American and African Studies without The Society for the Study of Social Problems being central to my scholarship and activism. I continue to experience this connection in the day to day commitments of our members. I know the solid, serious research and practice articulated in their work. These values of theory and practice undergird my ongoing commitment to SSSP. The Annual Meeting, of course, is the site where much of this work is show cased.
"Considering that sociology is devoted to the study of social order and social action from a structural perspective, it is prone to instilling a sense of fatalism and hopelessness in us and our students. SSSP has been a place where I have found the desire and commitment for social justice with a focus on hope, joy, and community. I attended my first SSSP as a student and I sat with wonderful scholar-activists during new members’ breakfast. It was then that I knew I have a new home and community to be a part of and serve."
"I presented my first conference paper at SSSP in 2005 on “in-house outsourcing” at a labor studies session organized by George Gonos. SSSP has been an important anchor to my scholarly growth since then. In 2018, I attended my first labor studies division meeting and met SSSP long-standing members (Gillian Niebrugge-Brantley, Corey Dolgon) who encouraged me to organize a conference session the next year, then run and be elected as labor studies division chair the year after, and finally volunteer to mentor graduate students and welcome new members at a designated breakfast at the annual conference. I’ve developed numerous relationships with other SSSP members since 2018 that have supported my professional identity as a researcher and scholar of labor studies (and now an emerging one in educational problems).
"SSSP’s importance as a professional organization lies in its mission to create cutting edge, empirically sound research that contributes to reducing inequality and injustice in the world. As someone who entered the world of academia believing that education and research are the best tools for fostering a more fair, just, and equal world, I’ve found a home in SSSP. As a community of scholars committed to using sociological theory backed by empirical research to find solutions to social problems, SSSP is truly unique."
