Statement of Purpose

The American Sociological Association (ASA) is the country's largest professional association of sociologists. It is the prime forum for sociologists working inside as well as outside the academia to disseminate pertinent information and keep up with recent events in society and sociology. The ASA publishes various sociological journals, a newsletter (Footnotes), and organizes a large meeting every year.

The ASA also houses various specialized sections, i.e. smaller groups of sociologists with similar theoretical, methodological, and/or substantive interests. Among these is a section devoted to the sociological study of law.

The sociology of law is a relative young but highly vibrant field in the discipline. It involves a commitment to linking the study of law with such core sociological issues as social change and stability, order and disorder, the nation-state and capitalism. Further, the sociology of law is committed to theoretically substantiated and methodologically sophisticated empirical investigations as the central means of studying the dynamics of law-in-society.

The ASA Sociology of Law Section provides a forum for intellectual and personal exchange among sociologists interested in the study of law, legal institutions, and law-related structures and processes. The Section sponsors two sessions and a series of roundtables at the ASA annual meetings, and offers various awards, including a best student paper award every year. It further provides an e-mail list for any announcements of interest to sociologists of law and offers a mentor program for junior faculty.

A central goal of the Section is to provide younger scholars, especially graduate as well as undergraduate students, with an intellectual community and connections that will be helpful in developing their careers.

Advantages of the Section for students in particular include:

- a free newsletter, with a variety of info to receive and as an efficient form of networking to explore;

- access to the membership list in electronic form, which allows for quick submission of requests and passing around of information;

- dissemination of job opportunities through the section's newsletter (next to the ASA Employment Bulletin);

- access to a group of scholars, faculty and students, with similar interests and of a scale considerably more accessible and less overwhelming than the mother organization;

- and... the section proudly counts among the finest opportunities to meet scholars for discussion, advice, mentoring, and dialogue and to just be informed about what's going in sociology and the sociology of law today.

How to join the Section

If you wish to become a member of the Sociology of Law section, you can start or renew your membership in the ASA on a calendar year basis. Applications received after October 1 become effective the following calendar year.

Memberships can be easily completed online. Please visit the ASA homepage membership page: http://www.asanet.org/members/membership.html

Should you have any questions, please get in touch with the ASA Membership office where you will be swiftly assisted:

American Sociological Association 1307 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 700 Washington, DC 20005-4701 Phone: (202) 383-9005 Fax: (202) 638-0882 Email: membership@asanet.org

ASA Law Section Reception in Boston!!

Please join us for The Sociology of Law & Crime, Law & Deviance Joint Reception Saturday, August 2 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. Bangkok City Restaurant, 167 Massachusetts Avenue Food is gratis; charge for drinks

AMICI: The Newsletter of the Sociology of Law Section of the American Sociological Association

The New Summer 2008 AMICI Newsletter is now available! Summer 2008 AMICI Newsletter

Archive of past AMICI issues: Fall 2007 AMICI Newsletter; Summer 2007 AMICI Newsletter; Fall 2006 AMICI Newsletter; Summer 2006 AMICI Newsletter; Fall 2005 AMICI Newsletter; Summer 2005 AMICI Newsletter; Fall 2004 AMICI Newsletter; Summer 2004 AMICI Newsletter; Fall 2003 AMICI Newsletter; Summer 2003 AMICI Newsletter; Fall 2002 AMICI Newsletter; Winter 2002 AMICI Newsletter; Summer 2002 AMICI Newsletter; Spring 2001 AMICI Newsletter.

Related Links of Interest

"Comparative sociology is not a particular branch of sociology; it is sociology itself, in so far as it ceases to be purely descriptive and aspires to account for facts." Emile Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method

In the 21st Century, comparative criminology is a branch of sociology in which cross-national analysis has increasingly become a major focus.

Announcing a new Global Criminology Website where sociology professors and students can:

-Research subjects in global criminology by accessing Interpol and United Nations datasets and text information for all countries of the world.

-Publish papers, works-in-progress, and articles pertaining to global criminology.

The Global Criminology Website, called "Crime and Society: A Comparative Criminology Tour of the World," can be viewed at the following address: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/rwinslow/index.html