Academic Representation and Substantive Concerns of Five Annual Meetings of the North Central Sociological Association

This paper involves two objectives. Firstly, a descriptive analysis of the institutions represented at the 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973 an nual meetings of the North Central Sociological Association is presen ted. Although the sociology convention has occasionally been the object of study (e.g., Higbie and Hammond, 1966; Mintz, 1967; Hammond and Hibgie, 1968; Lin, Garvey, and Nelson, 1970, Leonard and Schmitt, 1973), it has not been examined extensively. In view of the increasing in terest in the sociology of sociology, the intrinsic concern of sociologists with formal organizations, and the role of regional, and especially, national psychology conventions in the early dissemination of research findings (Garvey and Griffith, 1971:355-58), this neglect is un warranted. Secondly, an analysis of the substantive concerns, as reflected in session, panel, topic etc. titles, is contained herein. It seems reasonable to conclude that some of the dominant and pressing considerations of the discipline are mirrored in these entries.