EDITH KURZWEIL
593
to obtain a taxi to reach a restaurant during the two-hour lunch break or at
night - in this outlying area - became a major task.
According to rumors, the meetings originally were to have been held in
the Congress Center in the middle of town. In fact, we had our opening ses–
sion in this beautiful and air-conditioned building - constructed to receive dig–
nitaries and to hold conferences. And we were greeted by King Juan Carlos
and Queen Sophia. The organizers were proud to have gotten them to
inaugurate the Congress, and I was amused to note that so many participants
who soon would be denouncing "imperialism" were pleased to be greeted by
royalty and to be served drinks and hors d'oeuvres by elegantly-clad waiters
- who unobtrusively officiated around the marble-clad halls.
Unfortunately, in order to save money the organizers changed their
original plans to have
all
the meetings there. On what, we aU wondered, did
they spend the $230 registration fee? Apparently, they assumed that
sociologists mean what they say and thus prefer to mix with the masses
rather than be comfortable. At the university, however, they did not mix
with any of the Spaniards other than sociologists: Madrilenos, I was told, flee
the heat ofJuly and August. Moreover, there was no simultaneous transla–
tion. I was told that the organizers had decided to dispense with it because it
would have cost $500,000 and doubled the conference budget. Yet it was
the Spanish contingent who objected to the use of English as the
lingua
franca
as part of an American imperialist plot. Since I know French and Ital–
ian, I managed to follow the Spanish presentations. But the inability to com–
municate undercut to a large extent the major aim of this, and every other,
international gathering - to make foreign contacts.
I also was frustrated, along with the ninety-five percent of ISA mem–
bers who had no idea ofwhat was going on. Only after the fact did I read in
the daily bulletin that the Council, made up of representatives of national
sociological associations, elects officials with one vote per country - which in
turn elects the Executive Committee. Most of the membership, though in
touch with one or more research committees, does not know by whom they
are represented. America, England and India each have two of the sixteen
persons on the Executive Committee. Through the grapevine I heard that
one of our people, Neil Smelser, was running for President, but that "as an
American" he did not have a chance. In the bulletin he was described as
"tending toward ethnocentrism and inclined toward functionalism," while the
Spanish and Indian candidates were praised respectively as "internationally
known," and "from an important Third World country." Under the circum–
stances it was surprising that Smelser became Vice-President. Professor
T.
K.
Oommen from New Delhi was elected. "Yes," he said in the post-election in–
terview, "I did expect to be elected, but I did not expect such an over–
whelming majority, and I must thank the sociological community for having
placed their confidence in me."
