​​​Welcome to District of Columbia Sociological Society


Founded in 1934, the District of Columbia Sociological Society is one of the oldest regional sociological associations in the United States. From its beginnings, DCSS has been a meeting place for practitioners and academics in sociology. DCSS offers opportunities to:

  • network with sociologists in the DC area.

  • build a vibrant sociological community in the DC area.

  • welcome new sociologists to the DC area. 

  • promote the rigorous study of sociology and the application of sociological ideas. 

  • continue members’ sociological education and development. 

  • participate in lectures and panel discussions on sociological topics.

  • enhance public understanding of sociology and increase the level of sociological literacy in the DC area, both in the federal government and in the broader community.

  • help develop the next generation of sociologists. 


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DCSS Leaders

DCSS History




This is our 87th Year!


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The Sociologist

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Next Spring, DCSS will be seeking new leadership.    Yoku Shaw-Taylor, current DCSS President, will hand over the presidency and Katie Kerstetter's term as Secretary will end. John Curtis will continue as Treasurer. DCSS Executive Committee Members are:      Jill Brantley, Editor, The Sociologist

Sally Hillsman, Immediate Past President

Carl Schmitt, At Large      
Howard Iams, At Large 

Kathleen Guidroz, At Large
Michelle Kelso, At Large  
Amaka Okechukwu, At Large                                       Britany Gatewood, At Large                                         JaQuon Epps, At Large      
Alexandra Rodriguez, Graduate Student Representative  
Eli Pine, Undergraduate Student Representative 

 
We welcome all area sociologists to join our Executive Committee! If you would like to be considered for a leadership role, please reach out to any leader for more information. 


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The Sociologist is the mouthpiece of DCSS. The Sociologist began as a newsletter for members of DCSS. Beginning in 2014, we transformed the newsletter into a periodic magazine of public sociology for a general audience. The Sociologist is an open-access publication and is supported by DCSS and George Mason University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Our aim is to continue to foster our project as a meeting place for all sociologists in the Washington, D.C. area. The Sociologist is issued periodically to coincide with our public events.


Send us the sociology of your neighborhood, where you learn and work, or your playground.

​​​​​In 1934, E. Franklin Frazier

moved to Howard University

and helped found the DCSS.

Frazier was a founding 

member of the D.C.

Sociological Society, serving

as President of DCSS in

1943-44. Frazier also served as President of the Eastern Sociological Society in 1944-45. In 1948, Frazier was the first black to serve as President of the American Sociological Society (later renamed Association). His Presidential Address “Race Contacts and the Social Structure,” was presented at the organization’s annual meeting in Chicago in December 1948. ​