International Institute of Sociology

The International Institute of Sociology (IIS) was created in Paris in 1893 by René Worms. Among its members and associates were prominent scholars such as: Franz Boas, Lujo Brentano, Theodor Geiger, Gustave Le Bon, Karl Mannheim, William F. Ogburn, Pitirim Sorokin, Georg Simmel, Werner Sombart, Gabriel Tarde, Ferdinand Toennies, Thorstein Veblen, Lester F. Ward, Sidney Webb, Max Weber, and Florian Znaniecki.

Since its foundation the IIS has promoted regular meetings and working relations of scholars from various countries. In recent years, the IIS holds a World Congress every two years and its principal publication consists of the Annals which stem out from each Congress - the first issue of the Annals was published in 1895. The more recent IIS World Congresses were held in Beijing (2004), Krakow (2001), Tel Aviv (1999), Köln (1997), Trieste (1995), Paris (1993), Kobe (1991) and Rome (1989).

The IIS is proud of its longstanding tradition of promoting discussions on the most crucial theoretical issues of the day and on the practical use of social scientific knowledge.