IV ISA Forum of Sociology (February 23-28, 2021)

681

Revisiting Sociological Research and Monograph in the Past

Abstract Submissions Closed

RC56 Historical Sociology (host committee)

Language: English

Session Type: Oral

This session examines how we use historical sociological research to understand social change in the past and the authors' perspectives on understanding realities of their own. We also analyze the sociological methodology of the past.
Sociology has more than 100 years of history all over the world, but we still find it inspiring because we felt that those past sociologists shared similar interests to us. It is because sociology has consistently researched social change, such as family, industry and work, cities and communities. In contemporary society, we also live amid social change, so old research teaches us a lot.
Analyzing our past through the sociologist’s eye, we also compare methodology. Earlier sociologists had different attitudes towards change, and used different methods to collect and analyze their realities. In addition, there are many unpublished archives among historical sociological research. Those documents could help us to understand assumptions of the researchers as well as social realities of the era. Some of the earliest departments of sociology have great amounts of documents related to research. We investigate the methodology and the way they described their realities, as well as sharing information on how to make efficient use of those archives sociologically and historically.