Boston, Mass. – The 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA) will take place this week in Boston and Northeastern University will be participating in myriad capacities. From conducting tours to hosting sections and panels, combined with faculty awards, Northeastern University will have a position of great prominence at this year’s ASA meeting.

The theme of this year’s ASA meeting, “Worlds of Work”, encompasses two sub-themes including increasing diversity by which work is organized and experienced in societies, and cross-national and historic diversity in work activities and institutions. Several members of Northeastern University faculty will play significant roles in discussions and activities around the themes at the week-long series of events.

“Northeastern University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology will be well represented at this year’s ASA meeting and we are honored to be participating in a variety of events throughout the week,” said Steven P. Vallas, Professor and Chair of the Department. “The meeting gives our professors an opportunity to share their expertise with sociologists from across the country.” Vallas points out that his colleagues will participate in more than thirty different panels and other events during the course of the meetings.

During the event, Kathrin Zippel, Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Northeastern, will be in attendance when her book, titled The Politics of Sexual Harassment: A Comparative Study of the United States, the European Union and Germany receives honorable mention from the committee of the Sex and Gender Distinguished Book Award of the ASA. The award honors those who make a significant contribution to the field of Sex and Gender through a book on the cutting edge of sociological inquiry. This is the second major recognition for Zippel’s book; she was also the co-winner of the American Political Science Association’s Victoria Schuck Award for the best book on women and politics.

Northeastern’s participation at the annual meeting will include a panel titled “Reflections on the Political History of Boston and Massachusetts.” Moderated by Wilfred Holton, Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Undergraduate Committee, the panelists will include Barry Bluestone, Director of the Center for Urban and Regional Policy, and Dean of the School of Social Science, Urban Affairs, and Public Policy, Michael Dukakis, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, and William M. Fowler, Jr., Distinguished Professor of History.

Members of Northeastern’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology will also host several receptions and business meetings on campus, including those of the Latino/a Sociology section and Political Sociology sections of the ASA. In addition, the Labor and Labor Movements section, in conjunction with the Association of Black Sociologists, will host a two-day conference on “Race, Labor, and Empire” at the John D. O’Bryant African-American Institute.

Northeastern University faculty members will conduct many of the Association’s tours of Boston for ASA meeting attendees. The tours will explore many diverse aspects of the city including:

• Tour 1. The West End: Fifty Years after Herbert Gans’ Urban Villagers

Friday, August 1, 2:30 – 5:00pm

Leader: Thomas Koenig, Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology

• Tour 2. Black Boston

Friday, August 1, 2:30 – 5:00pm

Leader: Robert Hall, Associate Professor of History and African-American Studies

• Tour 3. Environmental Justice: A Tour of Boston’s Alternatives for Community and Environment

Saturday, August 2, 9:30AM – 12:00PM

Leader: Daniel Faber, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Green Justice Research Collaborative

• Tour 4. The Filling of Boston’s Back Bay: A Walking Tour

Saturday, August 2, 10:00AM – 12:00PM

Leader: Wilfred Holton, Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Undergraduate Committee

• Tour 5. The Massachusetts Government

Saturday, August 2, 1:00 – 3:00PM

Leader: Timothy Howard, Visiting Professor at the College of Professional Studies

• Tour 6. The Boston Founders Trail: A Walking Tour

Sunday, August 3, 9:00AM – 12:00PM

Leader: Wilfred Holton, Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Undergraduate Committee

• Tour 7. “Immoral Boston”

Sunday, August 3, 2:30 – 5:00PM

Leaders: James Alan Fox, Lipman Family Professor of Criminal Justice and Professor of Law, Policy and Society; and Jack Levin, Brudnick Professor of Sociology and Anthropology and Director of the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict

• Tour 8. Field Trip to the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative Area

Monday, August 4, 9:00AM-12:00PM

Leader: Wilfred Holton, Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Undergraduate Committee

• Tour 9. City Year: An Innovative Non-Profit 20 Years Strong

Monday, August 4, 10:30AM-12:10PM

Leaders: Thomas Koenig, Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology; Lisa Worsh, Co-op Faculty Coordinator, Department of Cooperative Education

For more information, please contact Samantha Fodrowski at 617-373-5427 or at s.fodrowski@neu.edu.

About Northeastern

Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is a private research university located in the heart of Boston. Northeastern is a leader in interdisciplinary research, urban engagement, and the integration of classroom learning with real-world experience. The university’s distinctive cooperative education program, where students alternate semesters of full-time study with semesters of paid work in fields relevant to their professional interests and major, is one of the largest and most innovative in the world. The University offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees through the doctorate in six undergraduate colleges, eight graduate schools, and two part-time divisions. For more information, please visit www.northeastern.edu.