The Society for Social Research (SSR) was founded in the early 1920s by the Department of Sociology as a collegial research group for advanced graduate students and faculty. Over the course of its history, it has served as the intellectual home for many of the classic Chicago School studies, published a book by Georg Simmel, and run numerous academic workshops.
Today's SSR is open to all graduate students in the department and is active in two major areas. The first is the Spring Institute, an annual event in its 82nd year that brings together the University of Chicago Sociology community to attend two days of workshops, speeches, dinners, and the Follies, the annual lampooning of the faculty by the first year cohort. Recent Spring Institute speakers include: John Meyer, Michele Lamont, Claude Fischer, Gerald Suttles, Gary Alan Fine, Donald Bogue, Frances Fox Piven, and Loic Wacquant.
The second area of activity for SSR is as the official representative of the department's graduate students. Through SSR, students are active on commitees from faculty hiring to the future of the program.
In addition to these formal functions, SSR has long served as a way to connect graduate students and create a sense of community and support. During the COVID-19 pandemic, students have shown great flexibility and creativity in meeting and gathering virtually.
Introduction to Chicago Politics
With support from SSR, graduate students Reyna Hernandez and Noa Neumark organized a virtual series to introduce the political landscapes of Illinois, Chicagoland, and Chicago’s South Side. These discussions aim to provide a deeper understanding of the social fabric of the city through topics like police brutality, racial and economic equity, and education reform that inform our work as scholars and members of Chicago's neighborhoods and communities.
Part I: Politics in Hyde Park and Chicago's South Side
Part II: Politics in Illinois and Chicagoland