What Should be Done about the History of British Sociology?

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Platt
Keyword(s):  
History Of Sociology ◽  
History Of ◽  
British Sociology

This chapter deals with the writing of the history of sociology as an activity in Britain. Work on the history of sociology is not usually approached through the study of its institutions, but this chapter argues that they deserve much more attention than they have received. The British Sociological Association has not been merely a mirror or consequence of what was happening elsewhere; it has also been a motor of change and development which has had consequences for the history (as well as being of interest as an institution in its own right). This chapter reviews some of the ways in which the British Sociological Association has played a part in the more general history of sociology, in support of the argument for the value of more work on sociological institutions, leading into a more general discussion of lacunae in what has so far been treated and of some of the problems facing historical work in this field.

Populating Sociology: Carr-Saunders and the Problem of Population

2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 552-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Osborne ◽  
Nikolas Rose
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Specific Problem ◽  
History Of Sociology ◽  
History Of Thought ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Different Shapes ◽  
Thought Styles ◽  
British Sociology

Research programmes in the social sciences and elsewhere can be seen as ‘set-ups’ which combine inscription devices and thought styles. The history of inscription devices without consideration of changing and often discontinuous thought styles effectively takes the historical dimension out of the history of thought. Perhaps thought styles are actually more important than the techniques of inscription that arise from them. The social sciences have relied upon multiple modes of inscription, often using, adapting or extending those invented for other purposes, such as the census. But the strategic prioritisation and deployment of specific inscriptions in analysis and argument has inescapably been dependent on particular thought styles; of which by far the most significant over the course of the first half of the twentieth century was eugenics with its specific problem of ‘population’. This paper describes the way that Alexander Carr-Saunders took up the problem of population within early attempts to develop sociology. We ask whether Carr-Saunders can be considered a ‘precursor’ of a sociologist. The history of British sociology takes different shapes – as indeed does the very idea of a history of sociology – depending on how one answers this question.

scholarly journals Beyond drink, drainage and divorce? What the Sociological Society did for British sociology

2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 1212-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Plamena Panayotova
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
History Of Sociology ◽  
Sociological Tradition ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sociological Society ◽  
British Sociology

This article improves upon our current understanding of the Sociological Society’s contributions to the development of sociology in Britain. It challenges the assessment of the Society’s legacy made by Philip Abrams in 1968 and the more recent conclusions reached by scholars who contributed to a debate published in The Sociological Review in 2007. The article is built on original findings garnered from empirical research undertaken at The Sociological Review’s archives in Keele. It shows that, despite achieving some results in its attempts to introduce a particular type of sociology into Britain, the influence of the Society in establishing, both institutionally and intellectually, a sociological tradition was largely unsuccessful. A limited legacy, however, does not mean that the history of the Society is of little importance in the history of sociology in this country; on the contrary, as this article attempts to highlight, the Society deserves a critical examination precisely because of its limited legacy.

Sociology in Britain in the Twentieth Century: Differentiation and Establishment

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Bulmer
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Of Sociology ◽  
History Of ◽  
British Sociology

Two books, one written by Chelly Halsey (2004) and the other by Jennifer Platt (2003), raise some very stimulating questions about the development of sociology in twentieth-century Britain, but they do not exhaust those questions. This chapter raises what seem to be significant questions stimulated by the two books and by the two-day conference held at the British Academy in May 2004. While there are reasons for disappointment about the history of British sociology in the twentieth century, there are still concrete achievements to celebrate, much distinguished individual scholarship to admire, and a number of salient issues to pursue. This chapter discusses who should write the history of sociology, who count as sociologists, the political embeddedness of sociology, whether sociology is characterized by its methods, the direction of sociology and its aims as an academic discipline, and what sources should be used for the history of sociology.

An Introduction to the History of Sociology. Harry Elmer Barnes

1951 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-171
Author(s):  
Harold Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
History Of Sociology ◽  
History Of

A Short History of Sociology. Heinz Maus

1964 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-86
Author(s):  
Eugen Weber
Keyword(s):  
Short History ◽  
History Of Sociology ◽  
History Of

scholarly journals Ray Pahl's Sociological Career: Fifty Years of Impact

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 184-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Crow ◽  
Naoko Takeda
Keyword(s):  
Half Century ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Current Concerns ◽  
British Sociology

The history of a discipline records the careers of its practitioners as well as providing an account their ideas. Studying these careers reveals much about the particular people and their work, and also provides insights into general questions such as how disciplines evolve, and how impact can be achieved amongst and beyond academic peers. This article focuses on the career of R. E. (Ray) Pahl. It argues that his position in British sociology over the last half century can be attributed in particular to two things. First, Pahl was committed to asking sociological questions whilst being open to other influences; we call him an interdisciplinary sociologist. Secondly, his approach engaged simultaneously with theoretical, methodological and substantive elements of the discipline rather than treating them as areas of separate expertise. These key facets of his work help in understanding why his work has reached such a wide range of audiences, and in explaining his distinctive record as a sociologist within and beyond the academy, which long pre-dates current concerns with ‘impact’.

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