Diverse Histories Of American Sociology

The collection tells the story of early American sociology from the vantage point of women, racial, ethnic, regional, and religious minorities, outsiders, and important representatives of intellectual movements that were not merged into the mainstream of the discipline.

First ever collection of histories of American sociology of religion, including accounts of early dissertations changes in theory, and studies of denominations, globalization, feminism, new religions and Latino/a American religion.

Though the word “sociology” was coined in Europe, the field of sociology grew most dramatically in America. Despite that disproportionate influence, American sociology has never been the subject of an extended historical examination. To remedy that situation—and to celebrate the centennial of the American Sociological Association—Craig Calhoun assembled a team of leading sociologists to produce Sociology in America. Rather than a story of great sociologists or departments, Sociology in America is a true history of an often disparate field—and a deeply considered look at the ways sociology developed intellectually and institutionally. It explores the growth of American sociology as it addressed changes and challenges throughout the twentieth century, covering topics ranging from the discipline’s intellectual roots to understandings (and misunderstandings) of race and gender to the impact of the Depression and the 1960s. Sociology in America will stand as the definitive treatment of the contribution of twentieth-century American sociology and will be required reading for all sociologists. Contributors: Andrew Abbott, Daniel Breslau, Craig Calhoun, Charles Camic, Miguel A. Centeno, Patricia Hill Collins, Marjorie L. DeVault, Myra Marx Ferree, Neil Gross, Lorine A. Hughes, Michael D. Kennedy, Shamus Khan, Barbara Laslett, Patricia Lengermann, Doug McAdam, Shauna A. Morimoto, Aldon Morris, Gillian Niebrugge, Alton Phillips, James F. Short Jr., Alan Sica, James T. Sparrow, George Steinmetz, Stephen Turner, Jonathan VanAntwerpen, Immanuel Wallerstein, Pamela Barnhouse Walters, Howard Winant

From 1915 to 1935 the inventive community of social scientists at the University of Chicago pioneered empirical research and a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods, shaping the future of twentieth-century American sociology and related fields as well. Martin Bulmer's history of the Chicago school of sociology describes the university's role in creating research-based and publication-oriented graduate schools of social science. "This is an important piece of work on the history of sociology, but it is more than merely historical: Martin Bulmer's undertaking is also to explain why historical events occurred as they did, using potentially general theoretical ideas. He has studied what he sees as the period, from 1915 to 1935, when the 'Chicago School' most flourished, and defines the nature of its achievements and what made them possible . . . It is likely to become the indispensible historical source for its topic."—Jennifer Platt, Sociology

The purpose of this volume is to explore existing literature, with an eye towards encouraging scholars not to ask “the same old” questions but to use older writings as a basis for revolutionary and evolutionary thinking. What do the older writings tell us about what questions we should be asking, and what research we should be doing, today?

Publisher Description

"A brilliant treasury of wisdom and insight drawn from leading sociologists throughout the world...It is a striking achievement, of which the International Sociological Association can be very proud, to have brought so many independent-minded scholars into so productive a dialogue." - Dennis Smith, Professor of Sociology, Loughborough University Twenty-nine chapters from prominent international contributors discuss, challenge and re-conceptualise the global discipline of sociology, evaluating the diversities within and between sociological traditions of many regions and nation-states. They assess all aspects of the discipline: ideas and theories; scholars and scholarship; practices and traditions; and ruptures and continuities through an international perspective. The Handbook argues that diversities in sociological traditions can be studied at three levels. First, they need to be studied from multiple spatial locations: within localities, within nation-states, within regions and the globe. Second, they need to be discussed in terms of their sociological moorings in distinct philosophies, epistemologies and theoretical frames, cultures of science and languages of reflection. Third, the intellectual moorings of sociological practices are extensive. The papers discuss the diverse and comparative sites of knowledge production and its transmission.

First ever collection of histories of American sociology of religion, including accounts of early dissertations changes in theory, and studies of denominations, globalization, feminism, new religions and Latino/a American religion.