Thematic Groups

The Thematic Group 09 (hereafter TG09) was established in March 2019 in accordance with Article 4 of the ISA Statutes. TG09 Statutes were first adopted in February 2021.

Article 1. Purposes

The aim of TG09 of the International Sociological Association is:
1.1 To bring together international sociologists who have an active research interest in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, specialize in teaching sociology, and incorporate sociological insights into their teaching practices.
1.2 To facilitate transnational discussions and exchange of both research findings and specific teaching practices.
1.3 To initiate collaboration with other ISA groups which work in areas related to sociological teaching, for example RC04 Sociology of Education. We also seek to develop partnerships with other teaching-focused professional organizations around the world and/or subgroups within those organizations.
1.4 To encourage research, publication, and teaching collaboration in the interest of advancing sociological teaching and learning internationally.
1.5 To disseminate theoretical work, empirical studies, descriptions of teaching practices, reflections, or commentaries related to the broader fields of teaching sociology and sociological teaching.
1.6 To act as the international representative body of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Sociology and sociological teaching.

Article II. Activities

To fulfil its purpose TG09 engages in the following activities:
2.1 Encourage research among its members and others and serve as a conduit for research, ideas and collaboration internationally, for example through social media communication.
2.2 Organize sessions at meetings of the ISA.
2.3 Organize and facilitate professional development workshops and seminars related to ‘Sociological Teaching’ at ISA meetings to share pedagogical approaches and discuss how we document our teaching practice as educators working in diverse institutional and cultural contexts.
2.4 Provide information on significant developments in the field through the Pedagogy Series.
2.5 Develop, curate, and coordinate a peer-reviewed global repository of sociology teaching exemplars, including syllabi, teaching practices (including integration of theory and practice from different world contexts) and strategies, lesson plans and assessments, teaching philosophies and dossiers.
2.6 Organize meetings, pedagogical workshops, and exchange opportunities outside of bi-annual ISA meetings.
2.7 Circulate a newsletter regularly to disseminate information about activities of the thematic group, such as upcoming meetings, opportunities for collaboration, as well as publications and teaching awards.
2.8 Generate funding to support memberships, conference attendance, workshop participation, and access to teaching materials for sociology educators who might be excluded from these opportunities due to financial reasons.
2.9 Grow the TG09 membership through active recruitment.

Article III. Membership

3. Members shall be either regular members or affiliated members.
3.1 Regular members shall be individuals or institutions in good standing within the ISA.
3.2 Affiliated members shall be individuals or institutions interested in the activities of TG09, who are not members of the ISA.
3.3 All regular and affiliated members of TG09 shall be entitled to vote in the discussions about organisational matters at the General Meetings according to the principle "one member, one vote" that means that one institution also has one vote.
3.4 All regular and affiliated members of TG09 shall be entitled to:
3.4.1 Participate in the scientific activities of the Thematic Group
3.4.2 Receive/access free of charge the Newsletter / website / blog maintained by TG09
3.5. All regular and affiliated members of TG09 shall be obliged to:
3.5.1 Uphold the present Statutes of TG09 and to adhere to the stipulations of the present Statutes
3.5.2 Conscientiously fulfil the tasks entrusted to them by the General Meeting or other bodies of TG09
3.5.3 Pay their fees for the respective period of 4 years. The fees shall be fixed by the RC Board of at each General Meeting for both individual members and organisations. The respective amounts to be paid are specified in the By-Laws to the present Statutes.

Article IV. Officers

4.1 Officers of the Thematic Group shall be elected once every four years just prior to the ISA World Congress of Sociology, as stipulated in Article V.
4.2 The composition of the Board shall be:
President
Vice-President(s)
Secretary/Treasurer
Editor Pedagogy Series
Conference Session Coordinator(s)
Communications Officer
Editor Global Teaching Repository
Ex-officio Former President(s)
4.3 The term of office shall be as established by the ISA:
President: maximum 2 terms
Officers (Vice-Presidents, Secretary/Treasurer, Editor Pedagogy Series, Communications): no more than 3 consecutive terms
Conference session coordinator: no more than 2 terms
4.4 To ensure diversity of board members, elected officials must be recruited from at least 3 different countries in 3 different continents.

Article V. Elections

5.1 To ensure participation of all regular and affiliated members, nomination shall be done by email. The Secretary/Treasurer shall prepare a form to be sent to all regular and affiliated members at least twenty weeks before the election day together with a list of all regular members of TG09.
5.2 All regular and affiliated members of TG09 shall be entitled to nominate candidates for the Board. Nominated candidates shall be regular members of TG09. They shall confirm their preparedness to accept the respective position on the Board in case they are elected and to remain a regular member in good standing of the ISA and of the RC for the duration of their mandate, and shall return the signed nomination form to the Secretary, together with brief curriculum vitae.
5.3 The Secretary shall prepare a ballot listing all nominated candidates along with the respective positions on the Board. In case of several nominations for the same position, the nominated candidates shall be listed in alphabetical order. Pairs of candidates may also be nominated for the positions on the Board to function as Co-President, Co-Secretary/Treasurers, etc.
5.3.1 The ballot shall be sent to all regular and affiliated members of TG09 by email at least ten weeks before the election day.
5.4 Regular and affiliated members shall send their ballot by email to the designated electoral officer(s). Ballots received later than two weeks before the beginning of the World Congress shall not be counted.
5.5 The candidate receiving the highest number of votes cast will be deemed elected to each office.
5.6 An election shall be valid if more than one third of the membership votes.

Article VI. Board

6.1 The officers listed in Art. IV constitute the Board.
6.2 The Board is entrusted with the direction of the activities of the Committee and to nominate a representative (and one alternate) to the Research Council of the ISA.
6.3 Major new activities undertaken by TG09 must first be approved by the Board.
6.4 The Board shall identify the themes and topics for a World Congress of Sociology and at least one mid-term conference and take responsibility for the organization of those sessions.
6.5 The President
6.5.1 The President will preside over meetings of the Committee and its Board
6.5.2 The President will initiate and carry out policies in conformity with TG09 purposes as specified by the Board and the membership.
6.5.3 The President will be responsible for overseeing the creation of TG09 sessions at the ISA meetings are organized.
6.6 The Vice-President(s) will assist the President and conduct activities delegated by the President. They may also be assigned special duties by the President.
6.7 The Secretary/Treasurer is responsible for all TG09 correspondence and communicating TG09 activities and plans to the members twice a year through the Newsletter. The secretary/Treasurer will create and maintain a membership list. The Secretary/Treasurer is in charge of the collection and distribution of funds under the supervision of the Board to which they present annual reports.
6.8 The Editor Pedagogy Series is responsible for managing the publication of the Pedagogy Series, which is to appear 3 times a year. That entails soliciting submissions, assigned papers to editors for review, compiling final paper versions, and providing a thematic summary of the papers in an editor’s introduction to each edition. After ISA meetings, the Editor Pedagogy Series shall collaborate with presenters to publish conference proceedings.
6.9 The Conference Session Coordinator collaborates with the board and the membership to propose conference sessions, seminars and workshops, produce session descriptions for the call for abstracts and conference program, review submissions, and recruit discussants to facilitate sessions. This role may also include organizing seminars and workshops outside of ISA meetings where appropriate.
6.10 The Communications Officer is responsible for public-facing communication of TG09 activities through, for example creating a website, writing blogs, maintaining social media presence, etc. The Communications Officer is responsible for inviting guests to contribute to this communication.
6.11 Editor Global Teaching Repository will develop, curate, and coordinate a peer-reviewed global repository of sociology teaching exemplars, including syllabi, teaching practices (including integration of theory and practice from different world contexts) and strategies, lesson plans and assessments, teaching philosophies and dossiers.
6.12 Each member of the Board must at all times be a member in good standing of the TG09 and of the ISA.
6.13 The places of any Board member not in good standing with either the ISA or TG09 may be declared temporarily vacant by the President, at the President’s discretion, and the vacancy filled according to article IV.
6.14 Temporary vacancies in the Board between consecutive ISA World Congresses may be filled by appointment by the President, in accordance with ISA Statute 4.5.
6.15 One of the Board members, identified by the Board, will assume the responsibilities of the President in the case of the death, incapacitation, resignation, or other inability of the incumbent to carry out the responsibilities of the office of the President.

Article VII. General Meeting

7.1 A General Meeting of RC members shall be held in conjunction with the ISA meeting.
7.2 Announcement of the General Meeting will be made to the members at least three months in advance, together with a tentative agenda of business.
7.3 A written petition of twenty members to the President within six months after the General Meeting can institute a mail ballot to the membership on any issue presented at the general meeting. The Board, by majority, can also institute a mail ballot to the membership at any time.

Article VIII. Revision of the Statutes

8.1 Proposals for the revision of these Statutes may be submitted to the membership upon written petition of twenty members to the President, or a resolution of the Board.
8.2 Revision requires approval by a majority (51 per cent) of the whole membership in an email ballot.

By Laws

Individual membership fees are fixed as follows:
Regular member: USD20 for a 4-year period
Reduced rate (students up to PhD and members residing in countries classified in category B and C): USD10 for a 4-year period
Life member: USD10 (available only to ISA Life Members)