This is the first Volume of the Proceedings of the International Sym-posium on The Present and Future of Symbolic Interactionism held in Pisa, 3-5 June 2010, sponsored by the University of Pisa, the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (SSSI) and the Italian Sociological Association (AIS).
This collection of keynote addresses by some of the most important and influential interactionists anywhere illustrates well the strengths as well as the promise of a truly international Symbolic Interactionism, and shows the vitality of the perspective in the present social sciences. The essays included in the book show a deep respect for the intellectual roots of interactionism, but also the more contemporary interpretations and extension of these roots.
The Editors hope that this book will be read and appreciated by the international community of interactionists, but also by an increasing number of young scholars (in Italy as well as worldwide) interested in the intellectual proposals coming from the wide-ranging perspective of Symbolic Interactionism.
This first volume will be followed by the Volume Two, consisting in a wide selection of the papers that were presented in parallel sessions.

Andrea Salvini , PhD, is Professor of Methodology of Social Research at the University of Pisa. After having worked for several years in the field of social network analysis, his present theoretical and empirical interests are in Symbolic Interactionism that is applied to the study of voluntary organizations, social work and community studies, and in the analysis of social networks.
Joseph A. Kotarba , PhD, is Professor of Sociology at Texas State University-San Marcos. He is also founder and director of the Center for Social Inquiry at Texas State. Dr. Kotarba previously served as Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Houston. His scholarly focus is the sociology of everyday life, and he works primarily in the areas of health, culture, education, and existential social theory.
Bryce Merrill , PhD, is Senior Associate Director for the Western States Arts Federation, where he develops arts and culture research, policy, and technology projects. His most recent study is applied research on the careers of independent musicians in the American West. He is a Faculty fellow at the Center for Social Inquiry, Texas State University, and he teaches advanced research methods in the Department of intercultural communications at Royal Roads University.