International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations
The International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations (ISCSC) is an international scholarly organization dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of civilizations. Based at Western Michigan University in the United States,[1] the ISCSC holds an annual conference and publishes the journal Comparative Civilizations Review.
Brief history
The ISCSC was founded in Salzburg, Austria in 1961 during a meeting organized by Othmar Anderle. Attendees of this initial gathering included Arnold J. Toynbee and Rushton Coulborn.[2] Its first president was Pitirim A. Sorokin.[3] Since Benjamin Nelson became its first American president in the 1970s,[4] the bulk of the membership has resided in North America,[5] although members can be found in more than 30 countries. Moreover, the Annual Conference has frequently been held abroad in cooperation with notable institutions. Recent international conference sites include Paris (2006), St. Petersburg (2003), Jamaica (2002), Tokyo (1998), and Dublin (1994).
Activities
The International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations is a multidisciplinary scholarly organization that has connections with comparative studies programs throughout the world. The Society holds an annual conference, often with the cooperation of other scholarly organizations based in the conference locale. One example of this is the 1998 conference held at Reitaku University in Japan together with the Japan Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations, and the two organizations continue to have a close relationship.
The International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations publishes the semi-annual Comparative Civilizations Review, a peer-reviewed journal. The 59th issue was published in the Fall of 2008. The ISCSC also publishes a regular newsletter that is distributed both electronically and by postal mail.
Presidents
- Pitirim Sorokin, 1961–64
- Othmar Anderle, 1964–71
- Benjamin Nelson, 1971–77
- Vytautas Kavolis, 1977–83
- Matthew Melko, 1983–86
- Michael Palencia-Roth, 1986–92
- Roger W. Wescott, 1992–95
- Shuntaro Ito, 1995–98
- Wayne Bledsoe, 1998–2004
- Lee Daniel Snyder, 2004–07
- Andrew Targowski, 2007–2013
References
- ↑ Brett Bowden (July 2012). "Politics in a World of Civilizations: Long-term Perspectives on Relations between Peoples". Human Figurations: Long-term Perspectives on the Human Condition, Volume 1, Issue 2. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ↑ "About us". International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations. Retrieved August 27, 0214. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "The Russian-American Project "Pitirim Sorokin"". Pitirim Sorokin – Nikolay Kondratieff International Institute. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ↑ "Partner Organizations". International Studies Association. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ↑ "International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations records". Dickinson College. Retrieved August 27, 2014.