the SRSA Archive
The SRSA Archive preserves the records, publications, photographs, programs, and other materials that document the history and institutional life of the Southern Rural Sociological Association. Together, these materials trace the people, meetings, ideas, and organizations that have shaped rural sociology in the South across generations.
The SRSA History is a documentary history of the Southern Rural Sociological Association and the institutional life that developed around it. Rather than presenting a simple chronology of names and dates, it draws on annual meeting programs, organizational records, publications, archival collections, correspondence, photographs, anniversary materials, and other surviving evidence to reconstruct how the association was built, sustained, and transformed over time.
The history is organized around major periods and institutional developments, including SRSA’s roots in the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists (SAAS), the emergence of an independent association, the development of its meetings and publications, changing generations of leadership, and the evolving role of southern rural sociology. Throughout, chronology provides structure, but the emphasis remains on the people, relationships, practices, and institutions that gave the organization its life.
Previous SRSA Websites
Past Programs
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2026 · Louisville, KY · Distilling Change: Rural Roots & River Currents in the New South
2025 · Irving, TX · Rural Communities: Policy, Practice, and Impact
2024 · Atlanta, GA · Rural Livelihood Stories: Past, Present, and Future
2023 · Oklahoma City, OK · Social Justice Praxis, Community Development, and Building Resilient Communities in the Rural South
2022 · New Orleans, LA · Climate Change, Agricultural Food Systems, Rural Livelihoods, and Resilience
2021 · Virtual (COVID-19) ·
2020 · Louisville, KY · Migration, Marginalization, and Institutional Injustice in the Rural South
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2019 · Birmingham, AL · Pathways for Equity in Development: Exploring the Past and Informing the Future through the Rural Social Sciences
2018 · Jacksonville, FL · Pursuing the New Sustainable South: Rural Sociology in a Changing Era
2017 · Mobile, AL · Adjusting to Changing Climates in the South: Prospects for Rural Progress in a Time of Uncertainty and Discensus
2016 · San Antonio, TX · Exploring SRSA's Role in Leading the Conversation toward Positive Social Action and Change across the Rural South
2015 · Atlanta, GA · 125th Anniversary of the Second Morrill Act: 1890–2015, “Southern Rural Sociology: A Catalyst for 1890 Partnerships to Address an Underserved South”
2014 · Dallas, TX · Reimagining the Future of Agriculture: Building Knowledge for Sustainability and Resilience
2013 · Orlando, FL · Social Stabilization in the Twenty-First Century: The Role of Rural Communities
2012 · Birmingham, AL · Beyond Sociology: Enunciating Multiple Perspectives on Rural Social Problems
2011 · Corpus Christi, TX · From Vulnerability to Resiliency: Achieving Sustainable Communities through Social Science
2010 · Orlando, FL · Connecting Theory with Practice: The Quest for Improving Rural Quality of Life
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2009 · Atlanta, GA · Modification and Adaptation in Rural Sociology
2008 · Dallas, TX · Opportunities and Challenges in Rural Areas: Professionals and Communities Working Together to Achieve Success
2007 · Mobile, AL · Small Town in Global Society
2006 · Orlando, FL · Rural Leadership and Legacy: Partnering for Progress
2005 · Little Rock, AR ·
2004 · Tulsa, OK · Making Dreams Come True: Discovering and Applying Knowledge to Enhance the Rural South’s Quality of Life
2003 · Mobile, AL · Social Science and Rural Development Initiatives in the South
2002 · Orlando, FL ·
2001 · Fort Worth, TX · Changes in Rural America: Producer and Community Strategies
2000 · Lexington, KY ·
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1999 · Memphis, TN
1998 · Little Rock, AR · Regenerating Communities in the Rural South: New Identities, Collaborations and Responses to Devolution
1997 · Memphis, TN
1996 · Greensboro, NC
1995 · New Orleans, LA
1994 · Nashville, TN
1993 · Tulsa, OK
1992 · Lexington, KY
1991 · Fort Worth, TX · Rural Societies in the 90’s, Prepping for the New Century
1990 · Little Rock, AR
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1989 · Nashville, TN
1988 · New Orleans, LA
1987 · Nashville, TN
1986 · Orlando, FL
1985 · Biloxi, MS
1983 · Atlanta, GA
1982 · Orlando, FL · Rural Sociology in the South: 1982
1981 · Atlanta, GA
1980 · Hot Springs, AR
Help Build the Archive
SRSA’s history is scattered across personal files, departmental records, old programs, photographs, newsletters, correspondence, and other materials. There are boxes of very rare documents scattered across a dozen University archives (key SRSA collections listed below). If you have records that document the association’s meetings, leadership, publications, awards, or organizational life, we would be glad to hear from you. Contributions can help preserve materials that might otherwise be lost and strengthen the historical record for future generations.
> Farm Foundation Southern Region Committee files at Illinois
> Kaufman at the State Historical Society of Missouri
> Flatt Collection at UGA
> Cushing at Texas A&M
> Mississippi State
> Bertrand at LSU
> the NCSU and Wimberley archive
> The AGRIS record and ERIC ED068213