Past, Present and Future: Learning from ‘Old’ Sociological Research

While there is still much to learn from legacy empirical research, many of 'old' texts are largely forgotten or ignored due to their age. The fact past studies are so readily overlooked is problematic for two main reasons. First, this process of ‘disregarding’ is part of a broader tendency that assumes that all legacy studies are ‘old’. Old not only in a chronological sense but also in terms of their utility (i.e., these studies have nothing ‘new’ to offer). Second, it is also reflective of the ‘fetishisation of the present’ and a prioritisation of ‘contemporary’ issues at the expense of all else. Such an approach implies that the ‘here and now’, or contemporary social problems, are somehow hermetically sealed off from what went before. As Elias (1985:226) suggests, we should not ‘ignore the fact that every present society as grown out of earlier societies and points beyond itself to a diversity of possible futures’. This equally applies to sociology past, present and future. As such, this session aims to enable a refocusing on ‘forgotten’ sociology to explore what lessons past studies still retain for current sociology and possible sociological futures. Papers are invited to reflect on past studies, and address questions such as ’ why is the research now ignored?’; ‘why revisit that study?’; and ‘what implications does the study have for current sociology?’. This could be a mixed session of papers and posters depending on interest and to encourage creativity.