The new web site of the European Sociology Students' Association is still under construction in terms of creating content, while the technical segments and design are finalized. Our goal is to make it the number one resource site for sociology students in Europe, but one where students from other parts of the world can find useful information as well. Also, it is our wish that the site will become a venue for comunication between students from different countries where they will be able to exchange opinions, information and sociological knowledge. You can expect to find up-to-date information about sociology (authors, books, journals, research centers, postgraduate education, and other), so be sure to stop by and spread the word.

We are still in the process of building the editoral board, so any sociology student interested in participating should contact us by e-mail, providing your personal name, name of the university where you study, year of study and with brief description of your interest in editing the ESSA web site (news from the publishing industry, information about postgraduate education, forum administration, etc). We are looking forward to getting in touch with you, and we hope you will find it useful and interesting. In case you have any comments of suggestion, feel free to let us know.

Valerio Bacak
contact: vabacak(AT)gmail.com

The Association of the Sociology Students at Sofia University - ASSSU reminds you that there is still a week before the final deadline for applying for  ESSA Spring School 2008: “New forms of human rights and civic engagement in the 21st century”. The school takes place in Sofia, Bulgaria between May 9th - May 12th, 2008 and will be followed by an ESSA General Assembly on May 13th. 5 lecturers, coming from Bulgaria, Slovenia, Holland and Germany, will, each in their own workshop and from their own standpoint, address the issues concerning the theme. All the info and the list of workshops you can find on http://asssu.eu/ . For more information about the keynote speakers: http://asssu.eu/taxonomy/term/7

In the attachment you can find the official announcement and the application form. We are kindly asking everyone interested to fill in the application form and send it to the following e-mail address This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . Please note that the application deadline is April 14th 2008. Successful candidates will be notified by April 20th via e-mail. When applying, everybody is required to submit a short essay (2-5 pages) on the position of the human rights and civic engagement. The working language for the spring school and the assembly, as well as for the essays, will be English.

Both accommodation and food expenses will be fully covered by the organizers. Travel expenses will be fully covered by the organizers, provided that you use second class train ticket or another cheap way of traveling (please inform us) and bring all your original travel receipts and tickets. Participation fee: none

We are looking forward to receiving your applications and seeing you in Sofia!

Summer issue of the European Economic Sociology Newsletter is out, with various contributions by the most prominent authors working in the field of economic sociology. For instance, Karin Knorr Cetina has written an editorial on economic sociology and sociology of finances, and there is an interview with Viviana Zelizer. In addition to authored essays, you can find book reviews and recommendations, and information about some PhD projects in economic sociology. The editor of the newsletter is Nina Bandelj. Be sure to look this issue up online. 

Department of Sociology, University of Oxford: 26 – 28 June 2007

The Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, is offering a three day course on practical aspects of survey analysis and interpretation, aimed at practising social researchers working in the public and private sectors, academics and graduate students.

The course will be led by Professor Anthony Heath FBA and Jean Martin AcSS, both of whom have unrivalled experience in survey analysis. Professor Heath, currently the Head of the Department of Sociology, was the Director of the 1983-1997 British Election Surveys and principal investigator of many ESRC-funded projects on survey analysis. He has publishes widely, including books, articles in leading refereed journals, and reports for government. Jean Martin is a former Director of Social Analysis and Reporting Division at the Office for National Statistics, and has been responsible for many major government surveys.

This three day course in the Department of Sociology provides a practical guide to all the key elements of survey analysis necessary for drafting a research report or an article.  The focus of the course is on the practical issues that arise in the analysis of survey data and the kinds of decisions that survey analysts have to make from the initial checking the survey to the final write up and presentation of the results.

The full cost of the course is £450, which includes lunch, a drinks reception on Tuesday evening, and a tour of historical Oxford for all participants. The cost for students at academic institutions is £350. The cost of en-suite accommodation is £55.75 per night (inc. breakfast).

From the 2nd till 9th of September 2007, the University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp organises a summer school on "Religion, Culture and Society" in Antwerp, Belgium. With this, the centre continues the tradition it started in 2003 with its summer seminars on intercultural dialogue and on faith-based radicalism.

It is obvious that religion, culture and society are strongly interwoven and are crucial for understanding the contemporary world. It is the aim of the interdisciplinary UCSIA summer school to learn and reflect on this interconnection.

This call for application is addressed to graduate and postgraduate students and young scholars in theology, the humanities, the social sciences or other disciplines who are involved in active research work pertaining to this subject matter.

Participants should stay for the whole duration of the seminar. Tuition fee, accommodation and meals are provided by the organizer. In principle, the participant only has to bear his or her travel expenses and his or her personal expenses.

The completed application form and other required application documents must be submitted to the UCSIA Selection Committee not later than Sunday April 15th 2007.

For further information please visit the website: www.ucsia.org/summerschool .