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Research Committees

Bylaws

Adopted in 1994; revised in 2014 and in July 2016

I. Purpose

The purpose of the Research Committee on Sociology of Arts (RC37) of the International Sociological Association (ISA) is to encourage research of high quality research on the arts and culture more generally

II. Activities

To fulfil this purpose the Committee engages in the following activities:

  1. It organizes the sessions of the Sociology of Arts at the meetings of the ISA.
  2. It sponsors or co-sponsors International seminars on topics of theoretical, methodological or substantive importance in this field.
  3. It arranges for publication of matters related to research.
  4. It develops an international roster of sociologists of the arts and culture, and organizations involved in similar pursuits.
  5. It fosters cross-national sociological research through the international membership in the research committee meetings, newsletters, and other correspondence.
  6. It seeks to keep its members informed of RC37 activities.
  7. It engages in additional activities to disseminate its activities and encourage intellectual networks in and among many countries.

III. Membership

  1. Members shall either be regular members or affiliated members

1.1. Regular members shall be individuals or institutions in good standing within the ISA, defined as financial members of both RC37 and the ISA.
1.2. Affiliated members shall be individuals or institutions interested in the activities of RC37, and financial members of the RC37, but who are not members of the ISA 

  1. All regular and affiliated members of RC37 shall be entitled to vote as individual members in the discussions about organizational matters at the General Meetings according to the principle "one member, one vote" that means that one institution also has one vote.
  1. All regular and affiliated members of RC37 shall be entitled to:

3.1. Participate in the scientific activities of the Research Committee
3.2. Receive any newsletters issued by RC37 free of charge 

  1. All regular and affiliated members of RC37 shall be obliged to:

4.1. Uphold and adhere to the stipulations of the present Statutes of RC37.
4.2. Conscientiously fulfill the tasks entrusted to them by the General Meeting or other bodies of RC37.
4.3. Pay their fee for the respective period (i.e. 4 years). This fee shall be fixed by the Board of the Research Committee at each General Meeting, for both individual members and organizations. The respective amounts to be paid shall be specified in the present Statutes. 

IV. Steering Board and Board

    1. The Steering Board of RC37 shall consist of the President, the Vice President Secretary, the Vice President Treasurer and two Vice President Newsletter Editors. The 2 former ex-Presidents will be considered members ex-officio of the board. Members of the Steering Board and Board shall be elected at the RC37 World Congress General Meetings every 4 years.
       
    2. The board will be composed of 12 members also elected at the World Congress business meeting.
       
    3. The Vice Presidents shall:

      3.1. Organize the General Meetings and the meetings of the Board of RC37 in co-operation with the President
      3.2. Assist the President in organizing the work of the Board and observe the fulfillment of its decisions 
       
    4. The Secretary shall:

      4.1. Keep membership and affiliation updated.
      4.2. Prepare and publicize all RC decisions to all members.
      4.3. Organize the nomination and the process of the elections.
       
    5. The Vice President Treasurer shall:

      5.1. Collect the membership fees and other incomes
      5.2. Keep financial documentation
      5.3. Prepare the financial report to the Board to be accepted by the General Meeting
      5.4. Realize the financial relations between RC37 and the ISA
       
    6. The Vice President Newsletter Editors shall:

      6.1 Elaborate the publication of a newsletter at least twice annually.
      6.2 The Newsletter shall be distributed to the Board Members and all the remainder regular and affiliated members of RC37.
       
    7. The President in consultation with the Board shall be responsible for selecting a steering committee to oversee nominations and the adjudication of the RC37 awards: ‘Best Junior Paper in the Sociology of Art Award’, and ‘Richard Peterson Lifetime Achievement Prize in the Sociology of Art’

      7.1. The selection process for these prizes will follow the guidelines for each award nomination and voting procedures as posted on the RC37 website; at least 1 year before either prize is to be awarded the RC37 newsletter will announce whether the ‘Best Junior Paper’ and/or ‘Richard Peterson Lifetime Achievement’ awards are to be awarded at either the next World Congress or the Sociology Forum.

V. Nomination procedures for board members, steering board and president

  1. To ensure participation of all regular and affiliated members, nominations for Board Members shall be done by email. To this end, the Vice President Secretary and the Vice President Treasurer shall prepare a form to be sent to all regular and affiliated members in good standing at least 14 weeks before the election day, together with a list of all regular members of RC37 in good standing.
  1. All regular and affiliated members in good standing of RC37 at at least two years shall be entitled to apply for candidacy for the Board and Steering Board.
  1. Nominated candidates shall be regular member of RC37 whose nomination is supported by, at least, 3 of current Steering and Board Members.
  1. Nominees shall confirm their preparedness to accept the respective position on the Board/Steering Board in case they are elected, and to remain a regular member in good standing for the duration of their mandate. Nominees shall send their applying form to the Secretary and Treasurer by email.
  1. The Secretary and Treasurer 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.
  1. The Secretary shall forward a ballot listing of all nominated candidates to all the Board Members at least 10 weeks before an election day.
  1. The ballot shall also be sent to all regular and affiliated members of RC37 by email at least 8 weeks before an election day.
  1. Regular and affiliated members in good standing shall send their ballot by email to the Secretary/Treasurer. Ballots received later than 1 week before the beginning of the World Congress shall not be counted.
  1. The election will also take place in the world congress before the business meeting.
  1. Each member of the RC37 Board must at all times be:
    10.1. A member in good standing of the ISA in accordance with the ISA Statutes.
    10.2. A regular member in good standing of RC37.
     
  2. The place of any Board member who has voluntarily resigned, or is not in good standing with either the ISA or RC37, may be declared temporarily vacant by the President. The President will fill the vacancy at his/her discretion.

VI. Replacement of President and Board Members

  1. Failure to carry out presidential responsibilities, or presidential disability, is defined as the president’s inability to take responsibility for overseeing the organization of the RC37’s participation in both the ISA World Congresses and ISA Forums.

1.1. Presidential disability is also defined as allowing his/her financial membership of RC37 and the ISA to lapse.
1.2. The Secretary and Treasurer are required to inform the Board of an existing presidential disability.
1.3. Presidential disability has to be endorsed by 2/3 of the RC37 Board Members.
1.4. The President is to be given a 6 month period of grace notice by the Secretary and Treasurer on behalf of the Board and the Secretary and Treasurer.
1.5. Should the President fail to address his/her responsibilities within this 6 month period of grace, and the irregularity not be resolved by the end of this period, the Secretary and Treasurer is required to inform the Board and to refer the matter to the ISA Secretariat. 

  1. One of the RC37 Board members, voted in by all other Board members, will assume the responsibilities of the President of RC37 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.
  1. The Secretary and Treasurer are to collect nominations from all Board Members to fill in the temporary responsibilities of the President in case of his/her death, incapacitation, resignation, or other inability that prevents him/her from carrying out the responsibilities of the office of the President.
  1. Voting shall take place within 3 weeks of the nomination of temporary Presidents from the current Board.
    In case of a draw, the voting will be repeated, unless one of the candidates decides to withdraw. 
  1. It is the responsibility of the President to nominate and select a Secretary and Treasurer and board members in the case of vacancy, in accordance with ISA Statute 4.5.

5.1. The place of any Board member who has voluntarily resigned, or is not in good standing with either the ISA or RC37, may be declared temporarily vacant by the President. The President will fill the vacancy at his/her discretion. 
5.2.  The maximum allocated time for this nomination is 4 weeks after the vacation.  

VII. Amendments to statutes and by laws

  1. Any proposal for amendments to the Statutes or By Laws may be made by any member of the Board, or by any 5 members in good standing of RC37.
  1. Such a proposal must be received by all Board Members, including the President and Secretary and Treasurer at least 1 year before the World Congress.
  1. The proposal will be circulated among all RC37 members, together with an explanation of its rationale, at least 6 months before the General Meeting at the next World Congress. The President, the Secretary and Treasurer and all Board Members will be entitled to propose amendments.
  1. The proposed amendments are to be circulated at least 2 months before the General Meeting at the next World Congress.
  1. The proposed amendments will be put to the General Meeting, and adopted if approved by a two-thirds majority of voting members present (regular and affiliated members, Board Members, Secretary and Treasurer, and the President).
  1. All RC37 members in good standing will be notified of the amendments to the Statutes and By Laws within 5 weeks of the General Meeting.

VIII. Business meeting

  1. A business meeting shall take place, at least every 4 years at the World Congress.
  1. A business meeting agenda will be compiled and drafted by the Secretary and Treasurer.
  1. The President, all Board Members, as well as regular members in good standing can contribute with items to the agenda.
  1. Attendance to business meetings is open to everyone but only regular and affiliated members of RC37 have a vote.

IX. Mid-term conference

  1. The President, with the voluntary collaboration of the Vice Presidents and the Board Members shall identify the themes and topics for at least one mid-term conference to be held between World Congresses, and take responsibility for its or organization and funding.

X. Delegates to research council meetings

  1. The President shall act as the Research Committee’s delegate to the ISA Research Council and other organizations.
  1. Provision for an alternate delegate to the Research Council meetings shall be made by the President from all the current Board Members, and also including the Secretary and Treasurer.

By-Laws 

Membership and affiliated fees:  

  1. Membership fees are fixed as follows (July 2016):

1.1. US$ 40 per four years for members from "category A" countries' as defined by the ISA. 
1.2. US$ 20 per four years for members from “category B” countries as defined by the ISA. 
1.3. US$10 per four years for “category C” countries and for student members. 
1.4. For a list of "category A, B and C” countries see currently valid ISA membership form.