Community and Urban Sociology

By Elena Vesselinov

July 12, 2024

Dear all,

As we approach the ASA Annual Meeting in Montreal, and therefore the end of my term as the section’s chair, I would like to share some reflections. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the section in many different roles over the years, including as chair. The most remarkable affair for me to witness, in this latest position, was the enthusiasm of our members to take part in all different section activities. Throughout the year, members readily responded to all calls for participation! For example, the section’s awards committees had the privilege of reviewing numerous excellent nominations and selected outstanding winners and honorable mentions for all awards. We will celebrate this successful award season at the CUSS reception!

In April, we held an inaugural virtual Mini-Conference, “Building Communities in Research and Practice.” Graduate students, postdocs, mentors and peer-reviewed journal editors came together at this forum to support our early career scholars in a friendly and collaborative fashion. The support was further extended to two professional workshops: Finding an Academic Job, and Publishing in Peer-Reviewed Journals. Members also turned out at the ballot and supported the election of several new CUSS leaders, as well as approved the two proposed amendments to our by-laws: instituting a new Early Career Award and renaming the section’s book award as the Outstanding Book Award.

There are four exceptional CUSS-sponsored paper sessions that will take place at the ASA Conference in Montreal, I am going to only mention the titles, please make sure to check them out: Interdisciplinarity and Urban Sociology; Racial Capitalism and the Financialization of the City; Suburbs, Small Towns, and Midsize Cities; and Urban Inequalities Across Canada. As we do every year, we will also host a large Refereed Roundtables session, followed by the section’s Business Meeting. I hope that all members present at the conference will make an effort to attend it.

Throughout all this action – and much more – I could not have asked for better Council members! You would see me repeat this praise many more times because nobody can lead the section alone. As David McCullough writes: “The lessons of history are innumerable, but one of the more obvious lessons, and one that we cannot forget or ignore, is that very seldom is anything of consequence accomplished alone.” My deepest appreciation goes to Prentiss Dantzler and Krista Paulsen, as I leaned on them most during the last year. The Chair-Elect, Jeff Timberlake, readily lent his support, as well, taking on several initiatives, which is the best sign that the section will be in good hands next academic year.

There are two more points I would like to make: (1) While the section is incorporating more members from diverse backgrounds, there is a lot more work to be done to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. I think that even more efforts should be placed in this direction, given the wider socio-political context in the country. (2) As chair, I have received messages from the ASA administration regarding possible protests that might take place and perhaps “disrupt” scheduled sessions/events at the upcoming conference. I personally would like to encourage respect for academic freedom and human rights, allowing room for diverse opinions, and supporting a context of open debate. As someone who grew up in Eastern Europe, participated in and witnessed major societal changes, I can attest to the fact that oppression doesn’t last.

On a final note, please don’t forget to renew your membership. And I hope that all attendees enjoy the ASA Annual Meeting in Montreal!

Elena Vesselinov
Chair, Community and Urban Sociology Section