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සමාජ විද්‍යාවේ ඉතිහාසය

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[[en:History of  sociology'''[[Sociology]]''' emerged from [[Enlightenment in Western secular tradition|enlightenment]] thought, shortly after the [[French Revolution]], as a [[positivist]] ''[[science]] of [[society]]''. Its genesis owed to various key movements in the [[philosophy of science]] and the [[philosophy of knowledge]]. Social analysis in a broader sense, however, has origins in the common stock of philosophy and necessarily pre-dates the field. Modern academic sociology arose as a reaction to [[modernity]], [[capitalism]], [[urbanization]], [[Rationalization (sociology)|rationalization]], and [[secularization]], bearing a particularly strong interest in the emergence of the modern [[nation state]]; its constituent [[institution]]s, its units of [[socialization]], and its means of [[surveillance]]. An emphasis on the concept of modernity, rather than [[the Enlightenment]], often distinguishes sociological discourse from that of classical [[political philosophy]].<ref>Harriss, John. ''The Second Great Transformation? Capitalism at the End of the Twentieth Century'' in Allen, T. and Thomas, Alan (eds) ''Poverty and Development in the 21st Century', Oxford University Press, Oxford. p325.</ref>

Within a relatively brief period the discipline greatly expanded and diverged, both topically and methodologically, particularly as a result of myriad reactions against [[empiricism]]. Historical debates are broadly marked by theoretical disputes over the primacy of either [[structure and agency|structure or agency]]. Contemporary social theory has tended toward the attempt to reconcile these dilemmas. The [[linguistic turn|linguistic]] and [[cultural turn]]s of the mid-twentieth century led to increasingly [[verstehen|interpretative]], and [[philosophic]] approaches to the analysis of society. Conversely, recent decades have seen the rise of new [[analytical sociology|analytically]] and [[computational sociology|computationally]] rigorous techniques.

Quantitative [[social research]] techniques have become common tools for governments, businesses and organizations, and have also found use in the other social sciences.  This has given [[social research]] a degree of autonomy from the discipline of sociology. Similarly, ''"[[social science]]"'' has come to be appropriated as an umbrella term to refer to various disciplines which study society or human culture.

==Precursors==
===Ancient times===
Sociological reasoning may be traced back at least as far as the [[ancient Greeks]] (cf. [[Xenophanes]]′ remark: "''If horses would adore gods, these gods would resemble horses''"). Proto- sociological observations are to be found in the founding texts of Western philosophy ([[Herodotus]], [[Thucydides]], [[Plato]], [[Polybius]] and so on), as well as in the non-European thought of figures such as [[Confucius]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Macionis|first=John J.|coauthors=Plummer, Ken|year=2005|title=Sociology. A Global Introduction|publisher=Pearson Education|location=Harlow|edition=3rd|page=12|isbn=0-13-128746-X}}</ref> The characteristic trends in the sociological thinking of the ancient Greeks can be traced back to the social environment.  Because there was rarely any extensive or highly centralized political organization within states this allowed the tribal spirit of localism and provincialism to have free play.  This tribal spirit of localism and provincialism pervaded most of the Greek thinking upon social phenomena.<ref>{{cite book|last=Barnes|first=Harry E.|year=1948|title=An Introduction to the History of Sociology|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location= Chicago, Illinois|page=5}}</ref> The origin of the [[Statistical survey|survey]] can be traced back to the [[Doomesday Book]] ordered by king [[William I of England|William I]] in 1086.<ref>A. H. Halsey(2004),''A history of sociology in Britain: science, literature, and society'',p.34</ref><ref>Geoffrey Duncan Mitchell(1970),''A new dictionary of sociology'',p.201</ref>
There is evidence of [[early Muslim sociology]] from the 14th century. [[Ibn Khaldun]] (1332–1406), in his ''[[Muqaddimah]]'' (later translated as ''Prolegomena'' in [[Latin]]), the introduction to a seven volume analysis of [[universal history]], was the first to advance [[social philosophy]] and [[social science]] in formulating theories of [[Structural cohesion|social cohesion]] and [[social conflict]]. He is thus considered by some to be the forerunner of sociology.<ref name=Mowlana>H. Mowlana (2001). "Information in the Arab World", ''Cooperation South Journal'' '''1'''.</ref><ref name=Akhtar>Dr. S. W. Akhtar (1997). "The Islamic Concept of Knowledge", ''Al-Tawhid: A Quarterly Journal of Islamic Thought & Culture'' '''12''' (3).</ref><ref>Amber Haque (2004), "Psychology from Islamic Perspective: Contributions of Early Muslim Scholars and Challenges to Contemporary Muslim Psychologists", ''Journal of Religion and Health'' '''43''' (4): 357-377 [375].</ref><ref name=Enan>{{Cite book|title=Ibn Khaldun: His Life and Works|first=Muhammed Abdullah|last=Enan|publisher=[[The Other Press]]|year=2007|isbn=983-9541-53-6|page=v|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Alatas|first=S. H.|title=The Autonomous, the Universal and the Future of Sociology|journal=Current Sociology|year=2006|volume=54|pages=7–23 [15]|doi=10.1177/0011392106058831|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref><ref name=Gates>{{Cite journal|title=The Spread of Ibn Khaldun's Ideas on Climate and Culture|author=Warren E. Gates|journal=[[Journal of the History of Ideas]]|volume=28|issue=3|date=July–September 1967|pages=415–422 [415]|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]]|jstor=2708627|doi=10.2307/2708627|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref>

==Origins==
===Comte, Spencer and Marx===
[[File:Buste Auguste Comte.jpg|thumb|120px|left|[[Auguste Comte]]]]
[[File:Templo Positivista em Porto Alegre.JPG|left|thumb|140px|The Positivist temple in Porto Alegre]]
The term ("''sociologie''") was first coined by the French essayist [[Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès]] (1748–1836).<ref>''Des Manuscrits de Sieyès. 1773-1799'', Volumes I and II, published by Christine Fauré, Jacques Guilhaumou, Jacques Vallier et Françoise Weil, Paris, Champion, 1999 and 2007   See also and Jacques Guilhaumou, ''Sieyès et le non-dit de la sociologie : du mot à la chose, in Revue d’histoire des sciences humaines'', Numéro 15, novembre 2006 : Naissances de la science sociale.</ref> (from the Latin: ''socius'', "companion"; and the suffix ''-ology'', "the study of", from Greek λόγος, ''lógos'', "knowledge" <ref name="etymology">"Comte, Auguste" A Dictionary of Sociology (3rd Ed), John Scott & Gordon Marshall (eds), Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-860986-8, ISBN 978-0-19-860986-5</ref><ref>"Sociology" in ''Dictionary of the Social Sciences'', Craig Calhoun (ed), Oxford University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-19-512371-9, ISBN 978-0-19-512371-5</ref>).

The term was independently re-invented, and introduced as a neologism, by the [[France|French]] thinker [[Auguste Comte]] (1798–1857) in 1838.<ref name="comte">''A Dictionary of Sociology'', Article: Comte, Auguste</ref> Comte had earlier expressed his work as "social physics", but that term had been appropriated by others, most notably a Belgian statistician, [[Adolphe Quetelet]] (1796–1874). Writing after the original [[Enlightenment in Western secular tradition|enlightenment]] [[political philosophers]] of [[social contract]], Comte hoped to unify all studies of humankind through the scientific understanding of the social realm. His own sociological scheme was typical of the 19th century humanists; he believed all human life passed through distinct historical stages and that, if one could grasp this progress, one could prescribe the remedies for social ills. Sociology was to be the "queen science" in Comte's schema; all basic physical sciences had to arrive first, leading to the most fundamentally difficult science of human society itself.<ref name="comte"/> Comte has thus come to be viewed as the "Father of Sociology".<ref name="comte"/> Comte delineated his broader philosophy of science in ''[[The Course in Positive Philosophy]]'' [1830-1842], whereas his [[A General View of Positivism]] (1865) emphasised the particular goals of sociology.

In later life, Comte developed a '[[religion of humanity]]' for positivist societies in order to fulfil the cohesive function once held by traditional worship. In 1849, he proposed a [[calendar reform]] called the '[[positivist calendar]]'. For close associate [[John Stuart Mill]], it was possible to distinguish between a "good Comte" (the author of the ''Course in Positive Philosophy'') and a "bad Comte" (the author of the secular-religious ''system'').<ref>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/comte/ Stanford Encyclopaedia: Auguste Comte</ref> The ''system'' was unsuccessful but met with the publication of [[Charles Darwin|Darwin]]'s ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'' to influence the proliferation of various [[Secular Humanist]] organizations in the 19th century, especially through the work of secularists such as [[George Holyoake]] and [[Richard Congreve]]. Although Comte's English followers, including [[George Eliot]] and Harriet Martineau, for the most part rejected the full gloomy panoply of his system, they liked the idea of a religion of humanity and his injunction to "vivre pour altrui" ("live for others", from which comes the word "[[altruism]]").<ref>"Comte's secular religion is no vague effusion of humanistic piety, but a complete system of belief and ritual, with liturgy and sacraments, priesthood and pontiff, all organized around the public veneration of Humanity, the ''Nouveau Grand-Être Suprême'' (New Supreme Great Being), later to be supplemented in a positivist trinity by the ''Grand Fétish'' (the Earth) and the ''Grand Milieu'' (Destiny)"  According to Davies (p. 28-29), Comte's austere and "slightly dispiriting" philosophy of humanity viewed as alone in an indifferent universe (which can only be explained by "positive" science) and with nowhere to turn but to each other, was even more influential in Victorian England than the theories of Charles Darwin or Karl Marx.</ref>
[[File:KarlMarx Tomb.JPG|thumb|120px|right|Karl Marx rejected the positivist sociology of Comte but was of central influence in founding structural social science.]]
Comte's account of [[social evolution]] bears similarity to [[Karl Marx]]'s (1818–1883) view that human society would progress toward a [[communist]] peak. This is perhaps unsurprising as both were profoundly influenced by the early [[Utopian socialist]], [[Henri de Saint-Simon]] (1760–1825), who was at one time Comte's mentor. Both thinkers intended to develop a new scientific ideology in the wake of European [[secularisation]]. Marx, in the tradition of [[Hegelianism]], rejected the positivist method, but in attempting to develop a ''science of society'' nevertheless became recognized as a founder of sociology later as the word gained wider meaning. [[Isaiah Berlin]] described Marx as the "true father" of modern sociology, "in so far as anyone can claim the title."<ref>Berlin, Isaiah. 1967. ''Karl Marx''. Time Inc Book Division, New York. pp130</ref>

{{Quotation|To have given clear and unified answers in familiar empirical terms to those theoretical questions which most occupied men's minds at the time, and to have deduced from them clear practical directives without creating obviously artificial links between the two, was the principle achievement of Marx's theory ... The sociological treatment of historical and moral problems, which Comte and after him, Spencer and [[Hippolyte Taine|Taine]], had discussed and mapped, became a precise and concrete study only when the attack of militant Marxism made its conclusions a burning issue, and so made the search for evidence more zealous and the attention to method more intense.|[[Isaiah Berlin]] ''Karl Marx'' 1967|<ref>Berlin, Isaiah. 1967. ''Karl Marx''. Time Inc Book Division, New York. pp13-14, pp130</ref>}}

The early sociology of [[Herbert Spencer]] (1820–1903) came about broadly as a reaction to Comte; writing after various developments in evolutionary biology, Spencer attempted (in vain) to reformulate the discipline in what we might now describe as [[social Darwinism|socially Darwinistic]] terms. (Spencer was in actual fact a proponent of [[Lamarckism]] rather than Darwinism).

===Other precursors===
Many other philosophers and academics were influential in the development of sociology, not least the Enlightenment theorists of [[social contract]], and historians such as [[Adam Ferguson]] (1723–1816). For his theory on [[social interaction]], Ferguson has himself been described as "the father of modern sociology"<ref>{{Cite book | first = William Bradford | last = Willcox | coauthor=Arnstein, Walter L. | edition=Sixth Edition, 1992 | title = The Age of Aristocracy, 1688 to 1830 | others=Volume III of A History of England, edited by Lacey Baldwin Smith | page = 133 | location=[[Lexington, MA]] | year = 1966 | isbn = 0-669-24459-7 }}</ref> Other early works to appropriate the term 'sociology' included ''A Treatise on Sociology, Theoretical and Practical'' by the North American lawyer [[Henry Hughes]] and ''Sociology for the South, or the Failure of Free Society''<ref>[http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/fitzhughsoc/fitzhugh.html Sociology For The South Or The Failure of Free Society]</ref> by the American lawyer [[George Fitzhugh]]. Both books were published in 1854, in the context of the debate over slavery in the [[Antebellum era|antebellum]] US. ''The Study of Sociology'' by the English philosopher [[Herbert Spencer]] appeared in 1874. [[Lester Frank Ward]], described by some as the father of American sociology, published ''Dynamic Sociology'' in 1883. [[Harriet Martineau]], a [[Whig (British political party)|Whig]] social theorist and the English translator of many of Comte's works, has been cited as the first female sociologist.

Various other early social historians and economists have gained recognition as classical sociologists, perhaps most notably [[Robert Michels]] (1876–1936), [[Alexis de Tocqueville]] (1805–1859), [[Vilfredo Pareto]] (1848–1923) and [[Thorstein Veblen]] (1857–1926). The classical sociological texts broadly differ from [[political philosophy]] in the attempt to remain scientific, systematic, structural, or [[dialectic]]al, rather than purely moral, [[normative]] or subjective. The new class relations associated with the development of Capitalism are also key, further distinguishing sociological texts from the political philosophy of the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras.

== Foundation of the academic discipline ==
Classical theorists of sociology from the late 19th and early 20th centuries include [[Ludwig Gumplowicz]] (1838–1909), [[Ferdinand Tönnies]] (1855–1936), [[Émile Durkheim]] (1858–1917), [[Georg Simmel]] (1858–1918), [[Max Weber]] (1864–1920), and [[Karl Mannheim]] (1893–1947). Many of these figures did not consider themselves strictly 'sociologists' and regularly contributed to [[jurisprudence]], economics, psychology, and philosophy.

Formal academic sociology began when Durkheim set up the first European department of sociology at the [[University of Bordeaux]] in 1895, publishing his ''[[Rules of the Sociological Method]]''. In 1896, he established the journal ''[[L'Année Sociologique]]''. Durkheim's seminal monograph, ''[[Suicide (book)|Suicide]]'' (1897), a case study of suicide rates amongst [[Catholic]], [[Protestant]] and [[Jewish]] populations, distinguished sociological analysis from psychology or philosophy. It also marked a major contribution to the concept of [[structural functionalism]].<ref>Gianfranco Poggi (2000). ''Durkheim.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 1.</ref>

A course entitled "sociology" was in the United States taught under its own name for the first time in 1875 by [[William Graham Sumner]], drawing upon the thought of Comte and [[Herbert Spencer]] rather than the work Durkheim was advancing in Europe.<ref>http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-Sociology.html</ref> In 1890, the oldest continuing sociology course in the United States began at the [[University of Kansas]], lectured by [[Frank Blackmar]]. The Department of History and Sociology at the University of Kansas was established in 1891 <ref>[http://www.ku.edu/%7Esocdept/about/ About Us - Sociology department],</ref><ref>[http://www.news.ku.edu/2005/June/June15/sociology.shtml KU News Release],</ref> and the first full fledged independent university department of sociology was established in 1892 at the [[University of Chicago]] by [[Albion W. Small]] (1854–1926), who in 1895 founded the ''[[American Journal of Sociology]]''.<ref>[http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJS/home.html University of Chicago Press - Cookie absent<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> American sociology arose on a broadly independent trajectory to European sociology. [[George Herbert Mead]] and [[Charles H. Cooley]] were influential in the development of [[symbolic interactionism]] and [[Social psychology (sociology)|social psychology]] at the University of Chicago, whilst [[Lester Ward]] emphasised the central importance of the scientific method with the publication of ''Dynamic Sociology'' in 1883.

The first sociology department in the United Kingdom was founded at the [[London School of Economics]] in 1904. In 1919 a sociology department was established in Germany at the [[Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich]] by Max Weber, who had established a new [[antipositivist]] sociology. In 1920 a department was set up in [[Poland]] by [[Florian Znaniecki]] (1882–1958). The "[[Institute for Social Research]]" at the [[Goethe University Frankfurt|University of Frankfurt]] (later to become the "[[Frankfurt School]]" of [[critical theory]]) was founded in 1923.<ref name="britannica">"[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/217277/Frankfurt-School Frankfurt School]". (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 12, 2009, from [[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] (Retrieved September 12, 2009)</ref> Critical theory would take on something of a life of its own after WW2, influencing [[literary theory]] and the "[[Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies|Birmingham School]]" of [[cultural studies]].

International cooperation in sociology began in 1893 when [[René Worms]] (1869–1926) founded the small ''Institut International de Sociologie'', eclipsed by much larger [[International Sociological Association]] from 1949. In 1905 the [[American Sociological Association]], the world's largest [[Voluntary association|association]] of professional sociologists, was founded, and Lester F. Ward was selected to serve as the first President of the new society.

=== The canon: Durkheim, Marx, Weber ===
[[File:Vilfredo Pareto.jpg|thumb|120px|left|[[Vilfredo Pareto]]]]
Durkheim, Marx, and Weber are typically cited as the three principal architects of modern social science. The sociological "canon of classics" with Durkheim and Weber at the top owes in part to [[Talcott Parsons]], who is largely credited with introducing both to American audiences.<ref name="camic">Camic, Charles. 1992. "Reputation and Predecessor Selection: Parsons and the Institutionalists", American Sociological Review, Vol. 57, No. 4 (Aug., 1992), pp. 421-445</ref> Parsons' ''[[Action theory (sociology)|Structure of Social Action]]'' (1937) consolidated the American sociological tradition and set the agenda for American sociology at the point of its fastest disciplinary growth. In Parsons' canon, however, [[Vilfredo Pareto]] holds greater significance than either Marx or Simmel. His canon was guided by a desire to "unify the divergent [[social theory|theoretical traditions]] in sociology behind a single theoretical scheme, one that could in fact be justified by purely scientific developments in the discipline during the previous half century."<ref name="levine">Levine, Donald.  1991.  "Simmel and Parsons Reconsidered". The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 96, No. 5 (Mar., 1991), pp. 1097-1116</ref> Whilst the secondary role Marx plays in early American sociology may be attributed to Parsons,<ref name="levine"/> as well as to broader political trends,<ref>http://www.jstor.org/pss/3083237/ Burawoy, Michael: The Resurgence of Marxism in American Sociology</ref> the dominance of [[Marxism]] in European sociological thought had long since secured the rank of Marx alongside Durkheim and Weber as one of the three "classical" sociologists.<ref>Morrison, Ken. 2006 (2nd ed.) "Marx, Durkheim, Weber", Sage, pp. 1-7</ref>

== 19th Century: From positivism to antipositivism ==

The methodological approach toward sociology by early theorists was to treat the discipline in broadly the same manner as [[natural science]]. An emphasis on [[empiricism]] and the [[scientific method]] was sought to provide an incontestable foundation for any sociological claims or findings, and to distinguish sociology from less empirical fields such as [[philosophy]]. This perspective, called [[Sociological positivism|positivism]], is based on the assumption that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge, and that such knowledge can come only from positive affirmation of theories through strict scientific and [[Quantitative research|quantitative]] methods. [[Émile Durkheim]] was a major proponent of theoretically grounded empirical research,<ref name="Classical Statements10">{{cite book |author=Ashley D, Orenstein DM |title=Sociological theory: Classical statements (6th ed.) |publisher=Pearson Education |location=Boston, MA, USA |year=2005 |page=94|isbn=}}</ref> seeking correlations to reveal structural laws, or "[[social fact]]s".  For him, sociology could be described as the "science of [[institution]]s, their genesis and their functioning".<ref>Durkheim, Émile [1895] "The Rules of Sociological Method" 8th edition, trans. Sarah A. Solovay and John M. Mueller, ed. George E. G. Catlin (1938, 1964 edition), pp. 45</ref> Durkheim endeavoured to apply sociological findings in the pursuit of political reform and social [[solidarity]].  Today, scholarly accounts of Durkheim's positivism may be vulnerable to exaggeration and oversimplification: Comte was the only major sociological thinker to postulate that the social realm may be subject to scientific analysis in the same way as noble science, whereas Durkheim acknowledged in greater detail the fundamental [[epistemological]] limitations.<ref name="Classical Statements11">{{cite book |author=Ashley D, Orenstein DM |title=Sociological theory: Classical statements (6th ed.) |publisher=Pearson Education |location=Boston, MA, USA |year=2005 |pages=94–98, 100–104|isbn=}}</ref><ref name="Fish, Jonathan S 2005">Fish, Jonathan S. 2005. 'Defending the Durkheimian Tradition. Religion, Emotion and Morality' Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.</ref>

Reactions against positivism began when German philosopher [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] (1770–1831) voiced opposition to both empiricism, which he rejected as uncritical, and determinism, which he viewed as overly mechanistic.<ref name="Classical Statements">{{cite book |author=Ashley D, Orenstein DM |title=Sociological theory: Classical statements (6th ed.) |publisher=Pearson Education |location=Boston, MA, USA |year=2005 |page=169 |isbn=}}</ref> [[Karl Marx]]'s methodology borrowed from Hegel [[dialectic]]ism but also a rejection of positivism in favour of critical analysis, seeking to supplement the empirical acquisition of "facts" with the elimination of illusions.<ref name="Classical Statements2">{{cite book |author=Ashley D, Orenstein DM |title=Sociological theory: Classical statements (6th ed.) |publisher=Pearson Education |location=Boston, MA, USA |year=2005 |pages=202–203 |isbn=}}</ref> He maintained that appearances need to be critiqued rather than simply documented. Marx nonetheless endeavoured to produce a ''science of society'' grounded in the [[economic determinism]] of [[historical materialism]].<ref name="Classical Statements2"/> Other philosophers, including [[Wilhelm Dilthey]] (1833–1911) and [[Heinrich Rickert]] (1863–1936) argued that the natural world differs from the [[Social reality|social world]] because of those unique aspects of human society (meanings, signs, and so on) which inform human cultures.

At the turn of the 20th century the first generation of German sociologists formally introduced methodological [[antipositivism]], proposing that research should concentrate on human cultural [[Norm (sociology)|norm]]s, [[Value (personal and cultural)|values]], symbols, and social processes viewed from a [[Subject (philosophy)|subjective]] perspective. [[Max Weber]] argued that sociology may be loosely described as a 'science' as it is able to identify causal relationships&mdash;especially among [[ideal type]]s, or hypothetical simplifications of complex social phenomena.<ref name="Classical Statements5">{{cite book |author=Ashley D, Orenstein DM |title=Sociological theory: Classical statements (6th ed.) |publisher=Pearson Education |location=Boston, MA, USA |year=2005 |pages=239–240 |isbn=}}</ref> As a nonpositivist, however, one seeks relationships that are not as "ahistorical, invariant, or generalizable"<ref name="Classical Statements6">{{cite book |author=Ashley D, Orenstein DM |title=Sociological theory: Classical statements (6th ed.) |publisher=Pearson Education |location=Boston, MA, USA |year=2005 |page=241 |isbn=}}</ref> as those pursued by natural scientists. [[Ferdinand Tönnies]] presented [[Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft]] (lit. ''community'' and ''society'') as the two [[normal type]]s of human association. Tönnies drew a sharp line between the realm of conceptuality and the reality of [[social action]]: the first must be treated axiomatically and in a deductive way ('pure' sociology), whereas the second empirically and in an inductive way ('applied' sociology). Both Weber and [[Georg Simmel]] pioneered the [[Verstehen]] (or 'interpretative') approach toward social science; a systematic process in which an outside observer attempts to relate to a particular cultural group, or indigenous people, on their own terms and from their own point-of-view. Through the work of Simmel, in particular, sociology acquired a possible character beyond positivist data-collection or grand, deterministic systems of structural law. Relatively isolated from the sociological academy throughout his lifetime, Simmel presented idiosyncratic analyses of modernity more reminiscent of the [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenological]] and [[Existentialism|existential]] writers than of Comte or Durkheim, paying particular concern to the forms of, and possibilities for, social individuality.<ref>Levine, Donald (ed) 'Simmel: On individuality and social forms' Chicago University Press, 1971. pxix.</ref> His sociology engaged in a [[neo-Kantian]] critique of the limits of perception, asking 'What is society?' in a direct allusion to Kant's question 'What is nature?'<ref>Levine, Donald (ed) 'Simmel: On individuality and social forms' Chicago University Press, 1971. p6.</ref>

== 20th Century: Critical theory, postmodernism, and positivist revival ==
In the early 20th century, sociology expanded in the U.S., including developments in both [[macrosociology]], concerned with the [[evolution of societies]], and [[microsociology]], concerned with everyday human social interactions. Based on the [[pragmatism|pragmatic]] social psychology of [[George Herbert Mead]] (1863–1931), [[Herbert Blumer]] (1900–1987) and, later, the [[Chicago school (sociology)|Chicago school]], sociologists developed [[symbolic interactionism]].<ref>[http://www.brocku.ca/MeadProject Mead Project 2.0]</ref> In the 1920s, [[György Lukács]] released ''[[History and Class Consciousness]]'' (1923), whilst a number of works by Durkheim and Weber were published posthumously. In the 1930s, [[Talcott Parsons]] (1902–1979) developed [[action theory (sociology)|action theory]], integrating the study of social order with the structural and voluntaristic aspects of macro and micro factors, while placing the discussion within a higher explanatory context of [[systems theory#Sociology and Sociocybernetics|system theory]] and [[cybernetics]]. In Austria and later the U.S., [[Alfred Schütz]] (1899–1959) developed social [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]], which would later inform [[social constructionism]]. During the same period members of the [[Frankfurt school]], such as [[Theodor W. Adorno]] (1903–1969) and [[Max Horkheimer]] (1895–1973), developed [[critical theory]], integrating the historical materialistic elements of Marxism with the insights of Weber, Freud and [[Antonio Gramsci|Gramsci]]—in theory, if not always in name—often characterizing capitalist modernity as a move away from the central tenets of [[Enlightenment in Western secular tradition|enlightenment]].

During the [[Interwar period]], sociology was undermined by totalitarian governments for reasons of ostensible political control. After the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]], sociology was gradually "politicized, Bolshevisized and eventually, Stalinized" until it virtually [[sociology in the Soviet Union|ceased to exist]] in the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name=eaw8-9>Elizabeth Ann Weinberg, ''The Development of Sociology in the Soviet Union'', Taylor & Francis, 1974, ISBN 0-7100-7876-5, [http://books.google.com/books?id=RXwOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA8&vq=sociology+disappeared&dq=sociology+%22Soviet+Union%22&lr=&as_brr=3&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0 Google Print, p.8-9]</ref> In China, the discipline [[sociology in China|was banned]] with [[semiotics]], [[comparative linguistics]] and [[cybernetics]] as "[[Bourgeois pseudoscience]]" in 1952, not to return until 1979.<ref name=wu>Xiaogang Wu, ''[http://www.asanet.org/footnotes/intl_0509.html Between Public and Professional: Chinese Sociology and the Construction of a Harmonious Society]'', ASA Footnotes, May–June 2009 Issue • Volume 37 • Issue 5</ref> During the same period, however, sociology was also undermined by conservative universities in the West. This was due, in part, to perceptions of the subject as possessing an inherent tendency, through its own aims and remit, toward [[social liberalism|liberal]] or [[left wing]] thought. Given that the subject was founded by structural functionalists; concerned with organic cohesion and social solidarity, this view was somewhat groundless (though it was Parsons who had introduced Durkheim to American audiences, and his interpretation has been criticized for a latent conservatism).<ref name="Fish, Jonathan S 2005"/>

In the mid-20th century there was a general—but not universal—trend for U.S.-American sociology to be more scientific in nature, due to the prominence at that time of action theory and other system-theoretical approaches. [[Robert K. Merton]] released his ''[[Social Theory and Social Structure]]'' (1949). By the turn of the 1960s, sociological research was increasingly employed as a tool by governments and businesses worldwide. Sociologists developed new types of quantitative and qualitative research methods. [[Paul Lazarsfeld]] founded [[Columbia University]]'s [[Bureau of Applied Social Research]], where he exerted a tremendous influence over the techniques and the organization of [[social research]]. His many contributions to sociological method have earned him the title of the "founder of modern empirical sociology".<ref name="Hynek">Jeábek, Hynek. ''Paul Lazarsfeld — The Founder of Modern Empirical Sociology: A Research Biography.'' International Journal of Public Opinion Research 13:229-244 (2001)</ref>  Lazarsfeld made great strides in [[statistical survey]] analysis, panel methods, latent structure analysis, and contextual analysis.<ref name="Hynek"/>  He is also considered a co-founder of [[mathematical sociology]]. Many of his ideas have been so influential as to now be considered self-evident.<ref name="Hynek"/>

In 1959, [[Erving Goffman]] published ''[[The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life]]'' and introduced the theory of dramaturgical analysis which asserts that all individuals aim to create a specific impression of themselves in the minds of other people. [[C. Wright Mills]] presented ''[[The Sociological Imagination]]'', encouraging humanistic discourse and a rejection of abstracted empiricism and grand theory. Parallel with the rise of various [[social movements]] in the 1960s, particularly in Britain, the [[cultural turn]] saw a rise in [[conflict theory|conflict theories]] emphasizing social struggle, such as [[neo-Marxism]] and [[second-wave feminism]].<ref name="Holborn">Haralambos & Holborn. 'Sociology: Themes and perspectives' (2004) 6th ed, Collins Educational. ISBN 978-0-00-715447-0.</ref> [[Ralf Dahrendorf]] and [[Ralph Miliband]] presented pioneering theory on class conflict and industrialized nation states. The [[sociology of religion]] saw a renaissance in the decade with new debates on [[secularization|secularisation thesis]], globalization, and the very definition of religious practise. Theorists such as [[Gerhard Lenski|Lenski]] and [[John Milton Yinger|Yinger]] formulated 'functional' definitions of religion; enquiring as to what a religion ''does'' rather than what ''it is'' in familiar terms. Thus, various new social institutions and movements could be examined for their religious role. Marxist theorists continued to scrutinize consumerism and capitalist ideology in analogous terms. [[Antonio Gramsci]]'s ''Selections from the [[Prison Notebooks]]'' [1929-1935] was finally published in English during the early 1970s.<ref>http://www.lwbooks.co.uk/books/archive/prison_notebooks.html</ref>

[[File:Zygmunt Bauman by Kubik.JPG|thumb|140px|left|[[Zygmunt Bauman]]]]
In the 1960s and 1970s so-called [[post-structuralist]] and [[postmodernist]] theory, drawing upon [[structuralism]] and [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]] as much as classical social science, made a considerable impact on frames of sociological enquiry.{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}} Often understood simply as a cultural style 'after-[[Modernism]]' marked by [[intertextuality]], [[pastiche]] and [[irony]], sociological analyses of postmodernity have presented a distinct ''era'' relating to (1) the dissolution of [[metanarrative]]s (particularly in the work of [[Lyotard]]), and (2) [[commodity fetishism]] and the 'mirroring' of identity with consumption in late capitalist society ([[Guy Debord|Debord]]; [[Baudrillard]]; [[Fredric Jameson|Jameson]]).<ref>'Cultural Studies: Theory and Practise'. By: Barker, Chris. Sage Publications, 2005. p446.</ref> Postmodernism has also been associated with the rejection of enlightenment conceptions of the human subject by thinkers such as [[Michel Foucault]], [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]] and, to a lesser extent, in [[Louis Althusser]]'s attempt to reconcile Marxism with [[anti-humanism]]. Most theorists associated with the movement actively refused the label, preferring to accept postmodernity as a historical phenomenon rather than a method of analysis, if at all. Nevertheless, self-consciously postmodern pieces continue to emerge within the social and political sciences in general.

In the 1980s, theorists outside of France tended to focus on [[globalization]], [[communication]], and [[reflexivity (social theory)|reflexivity]] in terms of a 'second' phase of modernity, rather than a distinct new era ''per se''. [[Jürgen Habermas]] established [[communicative action]] as a reaction to postmodern challenges to the discourse of modernity, informed both by [[critical theory]] and [[American pragmatism]]. Fellow German sociologist, [[Ulrich Beck]], presented ''The [[Risk Society]]'' (1992) as an account of the manner in which the modern nation state has become organized. In Britain, [[Anthony Giddens]] set out to reconcile recurrent theoretical dichotomies through [[structuration theory]]. During the 1990s, Giddens developed work on the challenges of "high modernity", as well as a new '[[Third Way (centrism)|third way]]' politics that would greatly influence [[New Labour]] in U.K. and the [[Clinton administration]] in the U.S. Leading Polish sociologist, [[Zygmunt Bauman]], wrote extensively on the concepts of modernity and postmodernity, particularly with regard to [[the Holocaust]] and [[consumerism]] as historical phenomena.<ref>Bauman, Zygmunt. ''Postmodernity and its discontents.'' New York: New York University Press. 1997. ISBN 0-7456-1791-3</ref> Whilst [[Pierre Bourdieu]] gained significant critical acclaim for his continued work on [[cultural capital]],<ref name=TheGuardian2002>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,640396,00.html Bourdieu ''The Guardian'' obituary, Douglas Johnson 28 January 2002]</ref> certain French sociologists, particularly [[Jean Baudrillard]] and [[Michel Maffesoli]], were criticised for perceived [[obfuscation]] and [[relativism]].<ref>Norris, Christopher. ''Uncritical Theory: Postmodernism, Intellectuals and the Gulf War'' Lawrence and Wishart. 1992.</ref><ref>[[Serge Paugam]], ''La pratique de la sociologie'', Paris, [[PUF]], 2008, p. 117 ; cf. Gérald Houdeville, ''Le métier de sociologue en France depuis 1945. Renaissance d'une discipline'', Rennes, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2007, p. 261-302 (ch. 7, "La sociologie mise en cause"), and [[Bernard Lahire]], "Une astrologue sur la planète des sociologues ou comment devenir docteur en sociologie sans posséder le métier de sociologue ?", in ''L'esprit sociologique'', Paris, La Découverte, 2007, p. 351-387.</ref>

[[File:Sna large.png|thumb|right|150px|[[Social network]] diagram]]
Functionalist systems theorists such as [[Niklas Luhmann]] remained dominant forces in sociology up to the end of the century. In 1994, [[Robert K. Merton]] won the [[National Medal of Science]] for his contributions to the [[sociology of science]].<ref>http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/03/02/robertKMerton.html</ref> The [[positivist]] tradition is popular to this day, particularly in the United States.<ref name="pos_bjs">Positivism in sociological research: USA and UK (1966–1990). By: Gartrell, C. David, Gartrell, John W., British Journal of Sociology, 00071315, Dec2002, Vol. 53, Issue 4</ref> The discipline's two most [[Impact factor|widely cited]] American journals, the ''[[American Journal of Sociology]]'' and the ''[[American Sociological Review]]'', primarily publish research in the positivist tradition, with ASR exhibiting greater diversity (the ''[[British Journal of Sociology]]'', on the other hand, publishes primarily non-positivist articles).<ref name="pos_bjs"/>  The twentieth century saw improvements to the quantitative methodologies employed in sociology.  The development of [[Longitudinal study|longitudinal studies]] that follow the same population over the course of years or decades enabled researchers to study long-term phenomena and increased the researchers' ability to infer [[causality]]. The increase in the size of data sets produced by the new survey methods was followed by the invention of new statistical techniques for analyzing this data. Analysis of this sort is usually performed with statistical software packages such as [[SAS (software)|SAS]], [[Stata]], or [[SPSS]].

[[Social network]] analysis is an example of a new paradigm in the positivist tradition. The influence of social network analysis is pervasive in many sociological sub fields such as [[economic sociology]] (see the work of [[J. Clyde Mitchell]], [[Harrison White]], or [[Mark Granovetter]], for example), [[organizational behavior]], [[historical sociology]], [[political sociology]], or the [[sociology of education]]. There is also a minor revival of a more independent, empirical sociology in the spirit of [[C. Wright Mills]], and his studies of the [[Power Elite]] in the United States of America, according to [[Stanley Aronowitz]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.logosjournal.com/aronowitz.htm |title=Stanley Aronowitz |publisher=Logosjournal.com |date= |accessdate=2009-04-20}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Sociology}}
* [[Outline of sociology]]
** [[Subfields of sociology]]
** [[Timeline of sociology]]
** [[Philosophy of social science]]
** [[List of sociologists]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[[Gerhard Lensky]]. 1982. ''Human societies: An introduction to macrosociology'', McGraw Hill Company.
* Nash, Kate. 2010. ''Contemporary Political Sociology: Globalization, Politics, and Power.'' Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.
*Samuel William Bloom, ''The Word as Scalpel: A History of Medical Sociology'', Oxford University Press 2002
*Raymond Boudon ''A Critical Dictionary of Sociology''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989
*Craig Calhoun, ed. ''Sociology in America. The ASA Centennial History''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
*Deegan, Mary Jo, ed. ''Women in Sociology: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook'', New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
*[[A. H. Halsey]], ''A History of Sociology in Britain: Science, Literature, and Society'', Oxford University Press 2004
*Barbara Laslett (editor), [[Barrie Thorne]] (editor), ''Feminist Sociology: Life Histories of a Movement'', Rutgers University Press 1997
*{{cite book |title=Visions of the Sociological Tradition |last=Levine |first=Donald N. |year=1995 |publisher=University Of Chicago Press |location= |isbn=0-226-47547-6 }}
*T.N. Madan, ''Pathways : approaches to the study of society in India''. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1994
*George Steinmetz, 'Neo-Bourdieusian Theory and the Question of Scientific Autonomy:  German Sociologists and Empire, 1890s-1940s', ''Political Power and Social Theory'' Volume 20 (2009): 71-131.
*{{cite book |title=The Frankfurt School : its history, theories and political significance |last=Wiggershaus |first=Rolf |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1994 |publisher=Polity Press |location= |isbn=0-7456-0534-6 }}
* {{cite book
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| editor-first = Igor
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| title         = A History of Classical Sociology| url           = http://www.archive.org/details/AHistoryOfClassicalSociology
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