You are here: / The Association

THE SWISS SOCIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (SSA)

  • The SSA aims to promote sociology in Switzerland

    The SSA links sociologists in Switzerland. As a member of the International Sociological Association (ISA) and of the European Sociological Association (ESA), it also contributes to international exchanges between sociologists. As a scientific association, it defends the interests of sociology in the science policy institutions in Switzerland (e.g. the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Swiss Council of Science and Technology).

  • The SSA promotes teaching, research and publications in sociology

    The SSA publishes the Swiss Journal of Sociology, as well as a Newsletter and Bulletin. Through the book series “Social sciences and social problems” published by Seismo Verlag, the SSA has an important media for promoting the wider circulation of sociological knowledge. The headquarters of Seismo Verlag are located in Zürich, whilst a subsidiary located in Geneva is dedicated to French-speaking authors.

  • The SSA deals with all issues related to the professional activity of Swiss sociologists

    The Bulletin, the Newsletter and the website inform members about current activities, job offers, conferences and research funding opportunities.
    Sociologists working on similar subjects can exchange ideas during the meetings of the various Research committees.
    The SSA receives financial support from the Swiss Academy for Humanities and Social Sciences, of which it is a member.

RESEARCH COMMITTEES

Sociologists interested in specific themes can organize a Research committee.

A list of those committees is available here.

CONGRESSES

The SSA organizes regular congresses. They are used as places for exchange of information between the different research committees and to promote contacts between sociologists from all over Switzerland. Read the following…

PUBLICATIONS

All scientific activity depends on the publication of specialized books and journals The SSA works actively to promote the publication of sociological research and teaching material. It has its’ own regular publications (The Swiss Journal of Sociology and the Bulletin) and has funded the activities of the Seismo publishing house since 1988.

The Swiss Journal of Sociology

Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Soziologie

www.sociojournal.ch

The Swiss Journal of Sociology was established in 1975 on the initiative of the Swiss Sociological Association. It is published three times a year with the support of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The journal is a multilingual voice for analysis and research in sociology. It publishes work on the theory, methods, practice, and history of the social sciences in English, French, or German.

In 2017 two special issues will be published: the issue 43(2) on the topic “Art, work and (de-)regulation” and the issue 43(3) on the topic “Educational Expansion, Partnership, and the Family”.

Since 2016 all articles of the Swiss Journal of Sociology are available as open access documents on De Gruyter open: https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/sjs

Editions Seismo: Social sciences and social problems

The editions SEISMO publish (in French and German) authored books and edited volumes in all the social sciences. They are a professional publishing house that submits all the manuscripts received to a peer review process, involving Swiss and foreign experts. The list of their publications can be obtained from: Seismo Verlag, Zähringerstrasse 26, 8001 Zürich, or on the web site: www.seismoverlag.ch.

Bulletin

The Bulletin is the main communication tool of the SSA. It is published twice a year and offers a lot of information on professional and academic current affairs, scientific policy debates, job advertisements, and many other issues that might be of interest to Swiss sociologists in their everyday work. It is distributed to all SSA members, as well as to the media.

PROMOTION OF SOCIOLOGY

On an interdisciplinary basis

The SSA promotes regular exchanges with other Swiss Social Science Associations.

On a scientific policy basis

The SSA is in regular contact with the institutions that plan, finance and evaluate Swiss scientific policy, such as the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAHS) and the Swiss Council of Science and Technology (SCST). The SSA is also active in the Social Science Policy Council of the SAHS.

On a international basis

The SSA encourages regular exchanges with other national or international Associations, such as the International Association of French-speaking sociologists (AISLF), the German Association of Sociology (DGS) and the Austrian Association of Sociology (ÖGS). The SSA is also an active member of the International Association of Sociology (IAS) and of the European Association of Sociology (ESA).