5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

The social sciences have always been presentist. Focus on current problems, their cause and solutions has been the raison d'être for social science both legitimizing its existence in public discussions and in internal struggles over epistemological justification and evaluation criteria. So, why bother with writing the history of the social sciences? This panel discusses the two intertwined issues, why we write the history of the social sciences and how we do it. The panel includes papers that deal with these questions through empirical investigation of them as well as theoretical reflections and methodological discussions. It addresses central question such as: What are the central questions and purposes for the history of sociology? What role should the history of sociology play in the discipline? How should we then write the history of sociology? Format, key questions and publications formats? How can and should historical studies of sociology play a role in sociological education and research more generally?