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The Society for Anthropological Sciences (SASci) is a scholarly association formed in 2004 to promote the development of empirical theory and methods in anthropology.
The impetus for forming the SASci lay in changes that have occurred in the American Anthropological Association (AAA). The AAA, founded in 1902, is the largest professional organization for anthropologists in the world. It was founded as a scientific society and was so regarded by most of its membership for most of its history. Nominally, it still is one. In recent years, however, a substantial portion of its membership has rejected the idea that anthropology can be or should be a science. At the same time, the AAA has grown numerically and reorganized. Instead of a single decision-making body it has become an association of constituent societies, called “sections” and "interest groups." In the process it has delegated to sections control over the portions of the annual meetings that fall within their respective areas of substantive interest. One consequence of these changes has been that many anthropologists whose methods are more clearly those of the physical sciences have dropped away and either formed or joined independent scientific societies, such as the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and Society for American Archaeology. Another consequence was that in 2004 a substantial group of more scientifically oriented panels that had been proposed for the annual meetings of the AAA was rejected for lack of an interested section. It then became clear to many who remained in the AAA that while there were organized bodies arguing strongly against scientific methods and values, there was no equivalent voice dedicated to arguing for them. This SASci was then formed to argue for the pro-science position within the American Anthropological Association and to create a bridge between the American Anthropological Association and anthropologists and others outside of it who shared their concerns.
The stated objective of the SASci is to advance the scientific study of human societies through scholarly meetings, publications, and related activities. The SASci also advances the dissemination of anthropological knowledge within the scientific community, to other educators, and to the broader general public. The SASci encourages active student participation and facilitates student incorporation into the professional research community.
Within the AAA, the present status of the Society for Anthropological Sciences is that it is a section. The acronym for this group is SAS. SASci also incorporated as an independent, non-profit, scholarly and educational association. Non members of the AAA belong to the latter organization only. AAA members have dual membership.
The SASci sponsors or engages in four main activities.
The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, biological anthropologists, linguistic anthropologists, linguists, medical anthropologists and applied anthropologists in universities and colleges, research institutions, government agencies, museums, corporations and non-profits throughout the world. The AAA publishes more than 20 peer-reviewed scholarly journals, available in print and online through AnthroSource. The AAA was founded in 1902.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the betterment of all humanity. AAAS was the first permanent organization established to promote science and engineering nationally and to represent the interests of American researchers from across all scientific fields. It is the world's largest general scientific society, with over 120,000 members, and is the publisher of the well-known scientific journal Science.
Applied anthropology is the practical application of anthropological theories, methods, and practices to the analysis and solution of practical problems. The term was first put forward by Daniel G. Brinton in his paper titled, "The Aims of Anthropology" and John Van Willengen simply defined applied anthropology as "anthropology put to use" Applied anthropology includes conducting research with a primary or tertiary purpose to solve real-world problems in areas such as public health, education, government, business, and more.
The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is one of the world's largest professional geological societies with about 17,000 members across 129 countries. The AAPG works to "advance the science of geology, especially as it relates to petroleum, natural gas, other subsurface fluids, and mineral resources; to promote the technology of exploring for, finding, and producing these materials in an economically and environmentally sound manner; and to advance the professional well-being of its members." The AAPG was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma; currently almost one-third of its members live outside the United States.
The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality is a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional membership organization "dedicated to advancing knowledge of sexuality and communicating scientifically based sexuality research and scholarship to professionals, policy makers, and the general public." SSSS was originally incorporated in 1966 as The Society for the Scientific Study of Sex, but in 1996, the name was expanded to The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality to better reflect the wide range of members' research interests and because the term "sex" was often interpreted narrowly to refer only to "sexual behavior". The membership includes anthropologists, biologists, educators, historians, nurses, physicians, psychologists, sociologists, theologians, therapists, and others. SSSS produces the Journal of Sex Research, a scholarly journal currently published by Taylor & Francis.
The American Ethnological Society (AES) is the oldest professional anthropological association in the United States.
The Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) is a worldwide organization for the Applied Social Sciences, established "to promote the integration of anthropological perspectives and methods in solving human problems throughout the world; to advocate for fair and just public policy based upon sound research; to promote public recognition of anthropology as a profession; and to support the continuing professionalization of the field." Members include academic as well as practicing and applied anthropologists. The Society is unique among professional associations in membership and purpose – and in representing the interests of professionals in a wide range of settings including academia, business, law, public health, medicine, environment, and government. The unifying factor is a commitment to making an impact on the quality of life in the world. The Society publishes two journals: Human Organization and Practicing Anthropology. The SfAA was founded in 1941 and has maintained its status as an important resource for practicing and academic anthropologists alike.
The International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) is the largest world forum of anthropologists and ethnologists, with members from more than fifty countries. Every five years, in different parts of the world, the IUAES sponsors a major Congress, gathering researchers from all of the various subfields and branches of anthropology. The IUAES was founded under the auspices of UNESCO in 1948. The International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (ICAES) had been separately founded in London in 1934. The two organizations united in 1948, and merged officially in 1968. In 2018, IUAES became one of the chambers of the newly established World Anthropological Union (WAU). The main objective of the IUAES is the internationalization of anthropology, and the cross-cultural honing and public dissemination of anthropological research perspectives.
The American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA) is an international group based in the United States which affirms itself as a professional society of biological anthropologists. The organization publishes the American Journal of Biological Anthropology, a peer-reviewed science journal. It was formerly the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA), but changed its name after a series of votes between 2018 and 2020.
The Labor and Working-Class History Association (LAWCHA) is a non-profit association of academics, educators, students, and labor movement and other activists that promotes research into and publication of materials on the history of the labor movement in North and South America. Its current president is James Gregory, professor of history at University of Washington.
The Society for Ethnomusicology is, with the International Council for Traditional Music and the British Forum for Ethnomusicology, one of three major international associations for ethnomusicology. Its mission is "to promote the research, study, and performance of music in all historical periods and cultural contexts."
The Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) is a scholarly society "dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia, and Eastern Europe in regional and global contexts." The ASEEES supports teaching, research, and publication relating to the peoples and territories within this area.
The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB) was founded in 1969 as the Biofeedback Research Society (BRS). The association aims to promote understanding of biofeedback and advance the methods used in this practice. AAPB is a non-profit organization as defined in Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.
The International Society for Justice Research is an interdisciplinary scholarly scientific organization dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of justice and the related phenomena of morality and ethics. ISJR fosters international and interdisciplinary collaboration and promotes the exchange of new ideas, research, and theories related to justice and these related phenomena. ISJR facilitates such collaboration and exchange and the dissemination of knowledge through the publication of an academic journal Social Justice Research, the conduct of biennial scientific conferences, regular newsletters, and informal discussion by means of a listserv. Through these activities ISJR connects scholars in a wide variety of disciplines and geographic locations who are all focused on the study of justice. Scholars from a host of fields, including social psychology, sociology, economics, ethology and animal behavior, history, law and others are represented among the society's membership.
The American Physiological Society is a non-profit professional society for physiologists. It has nearly 10,000 members, most of whom hold doctoral degrees in medicine, physiology, or other health professions. Its mission is to support research and education in the physiological sciences. The society publishes 16 peer-reviewed journals, sponsors scientific conferences, and sponsors awards to further this mission.
The Australian Anthropological Society (AAS) is the professional association representing anthropologists in Australia.
Educational anthropology, or the anthropology of education, is a sub-field of socio-cultural anthropology that focuses on the role that culture has in education, as well as how social processes and cultural relations are shaped by educational settings. To do so, educational anthropologists focus on education and multiculturalism, educational pluralism, culturally relevant pedagogy and native methods of learning and socializing. Educational anthropologists are also interested in the education of marginal and peripheral communities within large nation states. Overall, educational anthropology tends to be considered as an applied field, as the focus of educational anthropology is on improving teaching learning process within classroom settings.
The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) is a professional society, founded in 1978, dedicated to promoting and advancing communication and networking among all sectors of the scholarly communications community. It has approximately 1,100 members from 24 countries including publishers, service providers, librarians, researchers, and consultants.
Founded in 1975, the Association of Black Anthropologists (ABA) is an American organization that brings together Black anthropologists in an effort to better highlight the history of African Americans, especially in regard to exploitation, oppression, and discrimination. It encourages, in particular, the involvement of Black students, including the recruitment of graduates, and establishes exchanges with African anthropologists. It publishes the journal Transforming Anthropology. The ABA seeks to address theories across academic disciplines that do not accurately represent the experience and oppression of communities of color and to aid and strengthen these theories with the inclusion of an African American historical perspective. It is one of the sections of the American Anthropological Association.
Dr. Faye Venetia Harrison is an American anthropologist. Her research interests include political economy, power, diaspora, human rights, and the intersections of race, gender, and class. She is currently Professor of African American Studies and Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She formerly served as Joint Professor of Anthropology and African American Studies at the University of Florida. Harrison received her BA in Anthropology in 1974 from Brown University, and her MA and PhD in Anthropology from Stanford University in 1977 and 1982, respectively. She has conducted research in the US, UK, and Jamaica. Her scholarly interests have also taken her to Cuba, South Africa, and Japan.
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