The Sociologists in Pakistan
Rabbia Aslam and Fran Collyer
In Pakistan, sociology has been a recognized academic discipline since 1950, when it was first offered as an elective (Rubab, 2021). Currently, Pakistani degree holders and internationally qualified individuals, primarily from North America and Europe, make up the pool of sociologists at universities. However, there has been little significant sociological writing about Pakistan or from Pakistan since Alavi (Bushra, 2015). Our study of sociologists in Pakistan is based primarily on secondary sources such as websites, articles and archives. It reveals that most academics are working in two or more fields, such as urban environment, youth, culture, health, and family sociology. There are some areas of sociology that do not have a noticeable presence, including the sociology of science and the sociology of ideas. Of particular note, the sociology of gender is largely absent, with few universities, either in the public or private sectors offering degree programs in it. Sociologists in Pakistan have generally not actively engaged with feminist scholarship, local or even Western, and remain reluctant to deconstruct the androcentrism of many academic disciplines (Aslam, 2024). Few are recognized as experts in the field of gender sociology, although the term is still used in Pakistani sociology. There is also considerable variation in both terminology and practice within country. The feminist sociological point of view is marginal. However, specializations and subfields within our universities' disciplines are not listed on their websites.
Key words: Pakistan, Sociology, Specialization, Sociologists, History and Field