A number of professional organizations have formed across the US to link Sociologists. Typically, these organizations publish a scholarly journal (or more than one) and newsletters, and hold annual conferences at which members of the organization present and discuss their research in the discipline. Each organization also maintains a website which offers numerous resources including publications, news updates, conference information, job listings, careers in the discipline, and issues around teaching in the field.

The national organization of sociologists is the American Sociological Association (ASA). It publishes a number of exceptional scholarly journals. Its annual conference is held in August. The 2000 conference will be held in Washington, D.C. You can find out more about the organization by accessing its website at www.asanet.org.

Another national organization of sociologists (and agronomists), the Rural Sociology Society (RSS), brings together scholars studying and concerned with rural life (including rural poverty, natural resources and development, and agriculture). It publishes a journal and important research and policy briefs and likewise holds an annual conference -- in Madison in 2009. RSS's website can be found at www.ruralsociology.org.

There are several regional organizations of sociologists as well. In this part of the country, the Midwest Sociological Society (MSS), brings sociologists together at an annual conference and through its scholarly journal, The Sociological Quarterly. The annual conference site rotates between Chicago, St. Louis, Des Moines, Omaha, Minneapolis and Milwaukee. The MSS’s website can be accessed at www.themss.org.

The state association, the Wisconsin Sociological Association (WSA), likewise holds an annual conference and publishes a journal, Sociological Imagination. Its conference is especially open and welcoming to student presenters. Check it out: www.uwrf.edu/wsa/welcome.html.