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Sociology and History are closely and intimately related to each other.

Sociology cannot be separated from History and History cannot be isolated


from sociology. That is why Professor G.E. Howard remarked "History is the
past Sociology and Sociology is the present History", John Seely says that"
History without Sociology has no fruit, Sociology without History has no root".
History is mainly concerned with past events. It is systematic record of the
story of mankind. History presents a chronological account of past events of
the human society. It is the social science, which deals with past events and
studies the past social, political and economic aspects of the country,
According to Gettle "History is the record of the past events and movements,
their causes and inter-relations''. It includes a survey of conditions, or
developments in economic, religious and social affairs as well as the study of
states, their growth and organization and their relation with one another.
Both Sociology and History depend upon each other and can influence one
another. Sociology depends upon History in order to study past events and
situations. History of cultures and institutions is helpful in the understanding
of sociology and on the collections of materials. In order to understand the
past society and activities, we have to take the help of History. Sociology
concerned with the study of the historical development of human society. It
studies ancient customs, modes of living, various stages of life and past
social institutions through the historical analysis. This information about the
past is of great importance to sociologists. For instance, if a sociologist has to
study family and marriage as social institutions he has to study their
historical developments also. Owing to this reason, Arnold Toynbee's book "A
Study of History" and Spengler's book "Decline of the West" are very valuable
of the study of sociology.
In the same way, Sociology provides social background of the study of
History. History is now being studied from the sociological viewpoint. History
supplies facts, which are interpreted and coordinated by the sociologists. The
historians need social background for writing and analyzing history and this is
provided by the sociologists. The study of History would be meaningless
without the appreciation of sociological significance. History becomes
meaningful in the social content.
Sociology, the science of society, on the other hand, is interested in the
present. It tries to analyse human interactions and interrelations with all their
complexity and diversity. The historian needs social background for writing
and analysing History. The study of History can never be meaningful without
the appreciation of sociological significance.

Both Sociology and, History depend upon each other and can influence one
another. Sociology depends upon History in order to study past events and
situations. That is why T. B. Bottomore has pointed out that "It is of the
greatest importance for the development of the social sciences that the two
subjects should be closely related and each should borrow extensively from
the other."
Difference between Sociology and History:
The two social sciences History and Sociology are different. The points of
difference between the two may be noted.
1. Sociology is interested in the study of the present social phenomena with
all their complexities. But History deals with the past events of man. It is
silent regarding the present.
2. Sociology is relatively a young social science. It has very short history of
its own. It is not even two centuries old. But history is an age-old social
science. It has a long story of 2000 years or even more.
3. Sociology is an analytical science. But history is a descriptive science.
4. Sociology is abstract in nature. It studies mostly regular, the recurrent and
the universal. For example, the sociologist does not study all the wars or
battles Waged by the mankind. But History is concrete. The historian is
interested in the unique, the particular and the individual. For example, the
historian studies all the wars waged by mankind in the past-the wars, the
world wars, the Indo-Pak war, etc. For him each war is unique and significant.
5. Sociology is a generalizing science. Sociology seeks to establish
generalizations after a careful study of the social phenomena. But History is
an individualizing science. History rarely makes generalizations. It seeks to
establish the sequence in which events occurred.
6. Sociology follows the sociological approach. It studies human events from
the sociological .point of view, i.e., from the viewpoint of social relationship
involved. But History studies human events in accordance with the time and
order. Its approach is historical.

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