American Academy of Political and Social Science: Difference between revisions

The '''American Academy of Political and Social Science''' was founded in 1889 to promote progress in the social sciences. Sparked by Professor [[Edmund J. James]]<ref>Falkner, Roland P. (1896) "Editorial" ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'' 7: pp. 74-77</ref> and drawing from members of the faculty of the [[University of Pennsylvania]], [[Swarthmore College]], and [[Bryn Mawr College]], the Academy sought to establish communication between ''scientific thought and practical effort''.<ref name="History">{{Cite web|title=About the Academy: History|url=http://www.aapss.org/about-the-academy/history|publisher=American Academy of Political and Social Science|accessdate=2 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511063012/http://www.aapss.org/about-the-academy/history|archive-date=2012-05-11|dead-url=yes|df=}}</ref> The goal of its founders was to foster, across disciplines, important questions in the realm of [[social sciences]], and to promote the work of those whose research aimed to address important [[social problems]]. Today the AAPSS is headquartered at the [[Annenberg Public Policy Center]] at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] in [[Philadelphia]] and aims to offer interdisciplinary perspectives on important social issues.

The primary modes of the Academy's communication were to be the bimonthly journal, ''The Annals'',<ref>''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'' ISSN 0002-7162</ref> annual meetings, symposia, and special publications. Difficult topics were not avoided. The 1901 annual meeting was on race relations in America,<ref name="Lara">[{{Cite web |url=http://www.aapss.org/uploads/futureofacademy.pdf |title=Lara, Antonio and Rich, Paul (2003) "The American Academy of Political and Social Science in the Twenty-First Century" Special publication American Academy of Political and Social Science] |access-date=2007-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403211659/http://www.aapss.org/uploads/futureofacademy.pdf |archive-date=2007-04-03 |dead-url=yes |df= }}</ref> and included a paper by [[Booker T. Washington]].<ref>Lindsay, Samuel McCune (1901) "Report of the Academy Committee on Meetings. Fifth Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Philadelphia, April 12 and 13, 1901" ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'' 18: pp. 181-187 </ref> The Academy began as a membership organization. Membership was ''open and inclusive''<ref name="History"/> with an emphasis on educated professionals; even from the its establishment, women were permitted to obtain membership.<ref name="Lara"/> The Academy's members have included not only [[Academic degree|academicians]], but also distinguished [[Civil service|public servants]] such as [[Herbert Hoover]] and [[Frances Perkins]].<ref name="History"/> Perhaps for this reason, it is not a member of the [[American Council of Learned Societies]].<ref name="Lara"/><ref>[http://www.acls.org/ls-cao.htm#socs "ACLS Constituent Learned Societies" ''American Council of Learned Societies'']</ref>

In 2000 the Academy began selecting and installing ''Fellows'' in recognition of social scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the field.<ref name="Pearson">Pearson, Robert W. (2003) "A New Look at The American Academy of Political and Social Science" ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'' 585(Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century): pp. 6-7, p.7 </ref> Since 2008 the Academy has presented an annual Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize to recognize public officials and/or scholars who have used social science and informed judgment to advance the public good.<ref>[{{Cite web |url=http://aapss.org/section.cfm/5/1246 |title=The Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize of the American Academy of Political and Social Science] |access-date=2009-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129191213/http://aapss.org/section.cfm/5/1246 |archive-date=2009-01-29 |dead-url=yes |df= }}</ref> The Academy continues to publish its bimonthly journal, and holds congressional briefings, special conferences, and biannual meetings of its board of directors. The Academy has moved away from the membership model, however.