MAHARASHTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, MUMBAI

SOCIOLOGY II

FINAL DRAFT

SEMESTER II

TOPIC: THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AS AN

ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE

SUBMITTED TO: Prof. Nilamber Chettri

SUBMITTED BY: Sakshi Salunke

FY BA.LL. B(Hons.)

ENROLMENT NO.: 2017043

 INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION

2. AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT AND POSITIVISM

3. DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY IN THE WESTERN WORLD

4. EARLY SOCIOLOGISTS

5. FOUNDATION OF ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE IN SOCIOLOGY

6. DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY IN INDIA

7. SOCIOLOGY IN PRE-INDEPENDENCE INDIA

8. SOCIOLOGY IN POST-INDEPENDENCE INDIA

9. MODERN SOCIOLOGISTS

10.PERSPECTIVES IN THE EIGHTIES

11.MODERN SOCIOLOGISTS

12.CONCLUSION

13.BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION

Origin

The history of today’s human society is very ancient. Moreover, its historical emergence of
human beings and other living begins on the planet earth is older. The old human society has
developed through Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic age in the modern society. Family,
marriage, economic, political and social organization, kinship system social organization
played an important role in this medium. Despite the development of sociology in 1838 for the
belligerent study of society, it has various other mechanisms in the field of systematic study
and research in current context, therefore, several scientists in different period have provided
different logic entirely.

1
Sociology is a hybrid term which was composed of a Latin word, ‘socius’ meaning a
companion or associate and a Greek word, ‘logos’ meaning science. It was coined by Auguste
Comte (1798-1857), the French thinker, who is reckoned to be the founder of modern
sociology. Sociology, etymologically, means the science which is concerned with the
associations of human beings. After, Comte it was Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), a British
political philosopher, who contributed substantially to the development of sociology as a
discipline. Although, it originated in the countries of Western Europe, particularly France,
Germany and Britain, from early 20th century, sociology as a field of study rapidly developed
in USA. Around that time sociology also spread to most parts of the world, specially to those
countries which came directly in contact with the West through colonialism.

2
Prof. Ginsberg accordingly defines it “as the study of society, which is of the web or tissue
of human inter-actions and inter-relations.” In other words, Sociology is the study of man’s

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http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0038022919730104?journalCode=soba
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https://studymoose.com/factors-that-contributed-to-the-rise-and-development-of-sociology-essay
http://www.preservearticles.com/2014041233445/sociology-scope-subject-matter-origin-and-modern-
trends.html
http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100150740
https://economicsociology.org/2015/01/21/what-is-historical-sociology-understanding-the-origins-of-the-
contemporary-world-and-the-consequences-of-current-transformations/
behaviour in groups or of the inter-action among human beings, of social relationships and
the processes by which human group activity takes place.

AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT AND POSITIVISM

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Society was making some significant transformation at the time since it was growing out of a
declining feudalism. The basis for solving all the old problems could be provided by the new
path that society had previously encountered. Moreover, he was concerned with the
participation of man in the workforce man choose.

Especially in the later development of sociology it is viewed that many observers constitute
enlightenment as critical. This period was marked as an intellectual development and transform
in philosophical thought. Several ideas and beliefs, some of which were related to social life
were overthrown by replacing the Enlightenment. The most prominent thinkers associated with
Enlightenment were the French philosophers Charles Montesquieu (1689-1755) and Jean
Jacques Rosseau (1712-1778).

Enlightenment which was influenced by the thinkers who were associated with it by two
intellectual currents- 17th century philosophy and science. Seventeenth century philosophy was
associated with the work of Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. They
emphasized on producing grand and very abstract systems of ideas that made rational sense.
We see the emergence of the application of the scientific method to social issues. Moreover,
the Enlightenment thinkers wanted their ideas of least in part, to be derived from the real world.
They also wanted them to be useful to the social world, especially in the critical.

The theorists like Karl Marx and the French classical sociological theorists were directly and
positively influenced by the Enlightenment. The conservatives tended to accentuate social
order, an emphasis that became one of the central themes of the work of several sociological
theorists.

DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY IN THE WESTERN WORLD

Sociology has been recognized as the youngest social sciences. In France, Auguste Comte
coined the term ‘sociology’ in positivism which was published in the year in 1838. He believed

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that a science of sociology should be based on such observation that should be in a systematic
manner and the classification should avoid authority and speculation. This new idea was
relatively very distinct at that time. Herbert Spencer in England published his principles of
Sociology in 1876. The theory of organic evolution to human society was applied by him and
the development of a grand theory of social evolution.

4
All these founders of sociology were basically social philosophers. These sociologists should
collect, organize and classify factual data and derive sound social theories from these facts
which were proclaimed by them.

Emile Durkheim provided the most notable demonstration of scientific methodology in

sociology. He also outlined the methodology which he pursued in his study ‘Suicide’ which
got published in the year 1897. He first planned his research design and then gathered a huge
mass of data on the characteristics of people who commit suicide and then derived this theory
instead of speculating upon the cause of suicide.

Urbanization and industrialization were creating grave social problems and these early
sociologists were looking for scientific solutions. Sociology was a scientific guide to social
progress. The several sociological journals were well filled with research articles and scientific
descriptions.

Sociology emerged as an academic discipline in the Western nations between the 1920s and
1970s. This attitude has spread all over the world. It has been seen how several factors influence
the rise and development of sociology as a discipline in the global environment.

Sociology can be defined as the study of societies and their development in terms of their
political decisions, ethics, economic development, religion and laws. It consists of the
organisation of collections of human bodies into forms of social life. The end of the 18th century
was marked by the French revolution, the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution started
in England. These social forces in terms of their contribution is the purpose towards emergence
of sociology.

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http://www.radford.edu/~junnever/theory/comte.htm
http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/o28f99.htm
Durkheim, Emile, Suicide: A Study in Sociology, New York, The Free Press, 1951. Referred to in notes as
Suicide. HV 6545 D812
The emergence of sociology as a sphere of study which was influenced by the three major
factors began in the late 18th century with the French Revolution, the period known as “the
Enlightenment” and the Industrial Revolution.

Sociology is a recent discipline. It emerged in the middle of the 19th century when European
social observers began to use scientific methods to test their ideas. Three (3) factors combined
to lead to the development of sociology.

1. The social upheaval in Europe-In the middle of the 19th century Europe was in the
middle of the Industrial Revolution. This shift from agricultural, to factory production brought
violent changes to people’s lives. Masses of people were forced off the land. In search of work,
they moved to the cities, where they were met with anonymity, crowding, filth, and poverty.
Their ties to the land, and to the generations that had lived on it before them, and to their way
of life, were abruptly broken. In the city they were faced with terrible working conditions: low
pay; exhausting hours; dangerous work; bad ventilation and noise. To survive families had to
allow their children to work in these same conditions.

5
As the result of the American and French Revolutions, the idea took hold that individuals own
inalienable rights, and the political systems in the Western world began to democratize
themselves. As the traditional order was challenged, religion lost much of its influence as the
unimpeachable source of answers to life’s perplexing questions. Each fundamental social
change further undermined traditional explanations of human existence. Sweeping social
change upsets the existing social order and thus it encourages questioning and demand answers.

2. The rise of Imperialism-The Europeans had been successful in conquering, many parts
of the world. Their new colonial empires, stretching from Asia through Africa to North and
South America, exposed them to radically different cultures. Europeans began to ask why
cultures differed.

History began to transform In 1789, history began to trans when the French Revolution
followed by the Enlightenment broke out - the creation of a new framework of ideas about

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man, society and nature. In addition, further economic and social transformations were brought
into action with the industrial revolution firstly in England and then the whole Europe.

6
Sociology may be viewed as a composite social science. It not only employs modern tools and
technique of research but also draws a cognate discipline for a comprehensive theory of human
society. Apart from the description and analysis of the social phenomena in relation to time
and space, it also seeks to study the dynamics of human society, the ways in which the
individuals and groups interact, mobilize for collective action and attain the social goals.
Further, sociology analyses the social processes such as co-operation, conflict, adaption and
integration for a precise understanding of human behaviour. Finally, it analyses the dimensions
of social change, which include changes in and of the society. These are the steps through
which sociology seeks to build up a comprehensive view of society wherein facts, values and
ideologies are analysed with the help of concepts and theories.

7
Today sociology is taught, and sociological research is undertaken in most countries of the
world, irrespective of their levels of development and ideological orientations. Despite the near
universal spread of sociology as a discipline, there is no uniform view about its scope. The
burden of the pioneers of sociology was to justify the very need for a new discipline and to
provide a rationale for its specificity. It may be noted here that sociology was a late entrant into
the family of social sciences and the other disciplines had already appropriated to themselves
what appeared to be the significant aspects of society; economy, polity, culture, etc. For
sociology, there was no choice but to confine its attention to the residual aspects of society, left
out by other disciplines. In fact, none of the existing social sciences laid a claim to society as
their subject matter and there did exist the need for a general science of society. Consequently,
it is not at all surprising that Comte and Spencer conceived sociology as a synthesizing
discipline, dealing with human race. As a reaction to the indistinct and unwieldy character of
encyclopaedic sociology of the initial stage which emerged particularly in Britain, there arose
an analytical sociology by early 20th century in Germany, which posited sociology as a study
of certain clearly defined aspects of society like the forms of human social behaviour, or social
relationships as such. The most passionate initial advocate of this in sociology was George
Simmel (1858-1918). In contrast, there were others who focussed attention on collective life in

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https://www.cisabroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/University-of-Cape-Coast-Sociology-Courses.pdf
le.du.ac.in/mod/book/print? id=11737&chapterid=23021
specific human societies, the studies of communities and associations in primitive, peasant or
industrial societies.

8
Thus, we find that encyclopaedic orientation of pioneers came under attack for its all-
embracing scope, but subsequently sociology came to be defined as specialized discipline by
the advocates of analytical sociology. But it was soon realized that to confine the study only to
human social relations and to community life societies, was constricting the scope of sociology.
Understandably, a new perspective combining the orientations in the two perspectives
emerged. The leading advocates of this view are the French sociologists Émile Durkheim, the
German sociologist Max Weber, the British sociologists L.T. Hobhouse and Morris Ginsberg.
Sociology, as it is practised today, by and large, conforms to this perspective. Thus, sociology
appeared when it was felt that other fields of human knowledge wholly don’t explain man’s
social conduct. On the one hand, sociology is a synthetic discipline, attempting to unify from
a central point of view the results of separate discipline and the analytic and specialised science
with its own field of research. Sociology fundamentally deals with that network of social
relationships we call society. No other science takes that subject for its central concern. As
sociologists, we are interested in social relationships not because of economic, political or
religious, but they are social, and their focus is on socialness.

EARLY SOCIOLOGISTS
Sociologist Harriet Martineau is also of great importance about Comte because she condensed
and translated his work, making it more available for research, insight, and secondary analysis.
Although Comte didn’t conduct any notable research, his theories of societal structure are so
relevant he is the founding father of sociology. Comte theorizes that “societies contain social
statics (forces for social order and stability) and social dynamics (forces for conflict and
change)”. An example of Comte’s social conflict dynamic could be linked to Herbert Spencer’s
theory of social Darwinism. Social forces that because conflict lead the strongest of the race to
overcome said conflict and excel. “Spencer believed that societies developed through a process
of “struggle” (for existence) and “fitness” (for survival), which he referred to as survival of the
fittest.”

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http://people.ku.edu/~chkim/etc/IntroSoc_04_Slide.pdf
https://www.saylor.org/site/textbooks/OpenStax%20Sociology.pdf
 1. AUGUSTE COMTE (1798-1857)

The word "sociology" originated in 1838 by Auguste Comte, a Frenchman, in his work positive
Philosophy. Comte is generally referred to as the father of sociology. He believed that the
science of sociology should be based on systematic observation and clarification, the same
principles that governed the study of the natural sciences. Though it was a new discipline, but
the origin of sociology was laid by Alma Ibn-e-Khaldun (1332-1406), a Muslim historian of
Tunis. He named this new science “Ilmul-Imran” i.e. a study of people and said that no historian
could write the history of nation until he studied the social life of that population. Comte’s
work can be seen at least in part, as a reaction against the French Revolution and the
Enlightenment. He was greatly disturbed by the anarchy that pervaded society and was critical
of those French thinkers who had spawned both the Enlightenment and the Revolution. Comte
developed his scientific view, “positivism” or “positive philosophy”, to fight what he
considered to be the negative and destructive philosophy of the Enlightenment. Comte was in
live with, and influenced by, the French counter revolutionary Catholics.

Comte, not unlike other enlightenment thinkers, believed society developed in stages.

The first was the theological stage where people took a religious view of society.

The second was the metaphysical stage where people understood society as natural.

Comte's final stage was the scientific or positivist stage, which he believed to be the pinnacle
of social development. In the scientific stage, society would be governed by reliable knowledge
and would be understood considering the knowledge produced by science.

1. EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917)

Emile Durkheim played an important role in the development of sociology.

His primary goal was to get sociology recognised as a separate academic discipline.

1. His interest was in understanding the social factors that influence individual conduct. Also,
he studied suicide rates among different groups and concluded that social integration, the
degree to which people are linked to their social group, was a key social factor in suicide.
2. Durkheim’s third concern was that social research in sociology is practical. Sociologists
should not only diagnose the causes of social problems but should also develop solutions
for them.
3. MAX WEBER (1864-1920)

Max Weber was born in Germany, he took his early academic training in legal and economic
history, but gradually developed an interest in Sociology. He was the He emphasized Verstehen
(German word for ‘understanding’ or ‘insight’) among his students in their intellectual work.
He believed that in their work, sociologists should be value free, never allowing personal biases
to influence either their research or their conclusions.

Max Weber traced the origin of ‘discipline’ in War. Earliest civilisations both the oriental and
occidental according to him, “have allowed personal charisma to over-ride disciplined warfare
of one line”. According to him, positive change towards discipline came after Hellenic and
Roman Hoplites.

4. KARL MARX (1818-1883)

Karl Marx was also an important figure in the development of sociology, He proposed that all
societies are made up of two basic classes that are in constant opposition those who own or
control the means of production use this power to exploit and oppress those who do not. The
social behaviour of individuals is determined by their position in the class society. Karl Marx,
famous for the term Marxism, further theorizes the social class conflict, stating that it is
necessary for the advancement of the society. He theorized the small population of wealthy
peoples, the capitalist class, exploit the poor, working class leading them to feel insecure and
estranged, eventually leading to an overturn of the classes.

FOUNDATION OF ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE IN SOCIOLOGY

Sociology as an academic discipline initiated when Emile Durkheim ascertained the first
French Department of Sociology at the University of Bordeaux in 1895 and in 1896, the
inception of L’Annee Socologique took place.

A course entitled “sociology” was taught for the first time in the USA in 1875 by William
Graham Sumner, drawing upon the thought of Comte and Herbert Spencer rather than the work
of Durkheim. The University of Frankfurt’s advances along with the proximity to the research
institute for sociology made Germany a powerful force in leading sociology at that time. In
1918, Frankfurt received the funding to create sociology’s first department chair. The
Germany’s ground-breaking work influenced its government to add the position of Minister of
Culture to advance the country. 9The remarkable collection of men who were contributing to
the sociology department at Frankfurt were soon getting worldwide attention and began being
referred to as the “Frankfurt school.” Here they studied new perspectives of Marx theories, and
went into depth of the works of Weber and Freud. Most of this man would soon be forced out
of Germany by the Nazis and arrive in America, influencing social research there. This forced
relocation of sociologists enabled sociology in America to bring up to the standards of
European studies of sociology by planting some of Europe’s greatest sociologists in America.

Felix Weil was one of the students who received their doctorate on the concept of socialization
from the University of Frankfurt. He, along with Max Horkheimer and Kurt Albert Gerlach,
developed the Institute of Social Research and it was established in 1923. Kurt Albert Gerlach
would serve as the institute’s first director. Their goal in creating the institute was to produce
a place that people could discover and be informed of social life. Weil, Horkheimer, and
Gerlach wanted to focus on interactions between economics, politics, legal matters, as well as
scholarly interactions in the community and society. The main research that got the institute
known was its revival of scientific Marxism. 10Many benefactors contributed money, supplies,
and buildings to keep this area of research going. When Gerlach, became ill and had to step
down as director, Max Horkheimer took his place. He encouraged the students of the institute
to question everything they studied. If the students studied a theory, he not only wanted them
to discover its truth themselves, but also to discover how, and why it is true and the theories
relation to society.

DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY IN INDIA

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In India, the development of sociology can be traced to the days when the British officials
realized the need to understand the native society and its cultural interest for the smooth

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http://sociology.soc.uoc.gr/socmedia/papageo/social%20research
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https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12108-001-1020-
administration. However, during the end of the 20th century which stemmed to introduce
sociology as an academic discipline in Indian universities.

These subjects enjoy so much of popularity that their professionalization is, however, a post-
independence phenomenon. Scholars have made several attempts from time to time to outline
the historical developments, to highlight the salient trends and to identify the crucial problems
of these subjects.

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Sociology are interconnected and are in fact indissoluble. However, the two disciplines have
existed and functioned in a compartmentalized manner in the European continent as well as in
the USA. This ineradicable impress of Western colonialism and Euro-centrism is sustained.

However, Indian sociologists have tried to integrate sociology in research, teaching and
recruitment. Prominent contribution to the development of indigenous studies of Indian society
and have set an attractive example before the Asian and African scholars.

Contribution of Indian sociology is another significant aspect lies in their endeavour to

synthesize the text and the context has provided valuable insights into the dialectic of continuity
and change to contemporary Indian society.

It is difficult to comprehend the origin and development of sociology in India without reference
to its colonial history. By the second half of the 19th century, the colonial state in India was
about to undergo several major transformations.

The important event that took place was the revolt of 1857, which showed that the British did
not have any idea about folkways and customs of the large masses of people. If they had
knowledge about Indian society, the rebellion of 1857 would not have taken place. This meant
that a new science had to come to understand the roots of Indian society. The aftermath of 1857
gave rise to ethnographic studies. It was with the rise of sociology which began to provide
empirical data of the colonial rule.

Sociology developed in India in the colonial interests and on one hand intellectual curiosity of
the western scholars whereas it was the reactions of the Indian scholars on the other. British
administrators had to acquire the knowledge of customs, manners and institutions of their
subjects.

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Christian missionaries were interested in understanding local languages, folklore and culture
to carry out their activities. These overlapping interests led to a series of tribal, caste, village
and religious community studies and ethnological and linguistic surveys. Another source of
interest in Indian studies was more intellectual.

While some western scholars were attracted by the Sanskrit language, Vedic and Aryan
civilization, others were attracted by the nature of its ancient political economy, law and
religion. Beginning from William Jones, Max Muller and others, there was a growth of Indo
logical studies. Karl Marx and Frederic Engels were attracted by the nature of oriental
disposition in India to build their theory of evolution of capitalism.

Similarly, Henry Maine was interested in the Hindu legal system and village communities to
formulate the theory of status to contract. Again, Max Weber got interested in Hinduism and
other oriental religions in the context of developing the theory, namely, the spirit of capitalism
and the principle of rationality developed only in the West. Thus, Indian society and culture
became the testing ground of various theories, and a field to study such problems as growth of
town, poverty, religion, land tenure, village social organization and other native social
institutions. All these diverse interests – academic, missionary, administrative and political –
are reflected in teaching of sociology.

According to Srinivas and Panini (1973), the growth of the two disciplines in India falls into
three phases: -

The first, covering the period between 1773-1900 AD, when their foundations were laid;

The second, 1901-150 AD, when they become professionalized; and ultimately, in the post-
independence years, when a complex of forces, including the undertaking of planned
development by the government and the Indian scholars who with a very high exposure to the
work of their foreign colleagues were availed of funds which resulted in considerable research
activity.

Here, introspectively there are three major phases in sociology which Rege (1997) in her
thematic paper on ‘Sociology in Post-Independence India’, may also be mentioned. The
interrogations of the colonial impact on the discipline and nationalist responses to the same,
second phase is marked by explorations into the initiative nature of the theoretical paradigms
of the discipline and debates on strategies of indigenization. Critical reflections on the
deductive positivistic base of sociology was seen by this phase too and the need for Marxist
models and the more recent phase of post-structuralism, feminist and post-modern explorations
of the discipline and the field. Lakshmana also (1974), tries to trace the development of
sociology in three distinctive phases. The first phase corresponds to the period 1917-1946,
while the second and the third to 1947-1966 and 1967 onwards respectively.

SOCIOLOGY IN PRE-INDEPENDENCE INDIA

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It is clear by now that sociology had its formal beginning in 1947 at Calcutta University
owing to the active interest or participation and efforts of B.N. Seal. Later, the subject was
handled by Radha Kamal Mukherjee and B.N. Sarkar. However, sociology could not make any
progress in its birthplace at Kolkata. Sociology drew a blank in the eastern parts of the country.
But, the story of sociology emergence has been different in Bombay in 1914.

The department of sociology was jointly established in 1919 with Patrick Geddes, G.S. Ghurye
and N.A. Toothi at the helm of affair which stemmed the growth of sociology in India. Another
university that started teaching sociology before 1947 was Poona in the late 1930s with Irwati
Karve as the head. Between 1917 and 1946, the discipline’s development was uneven and, in
any case, not very encouraging. During this period, Bombay was prominently the centre of
sociology. Later, he was skilfully assisted by D.P. Mukherjee and D.N. Majumdar. In South
India, sociology appeared at Mysore University and simultaneously in Osmania University.

Certain trends of development of sociology may be identified in the pre-independence period.

Sociology was taught along with economics, both in Bombay and Lucknow. However, in
Calcutta, it was taught as a part of philosophy.

Teachers were given the freedom or independence to design the course according to their
interests. No rigid distinction was made between sociology on the one hand and social
psychology, social philosophy, social work and other social sciences such as economics and
history, on the other. The courses included topics such as social biology, social problems viz.,
(crime, prostitution and beggary), social psychology, civilization and pre-history. They covered
tribal and urban situations.

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https://nptel.ac.in/courses/109103023/download/Lecture%201.pdf
John J. Macionis, Sociology (10th Edition), Prentice Hall, 2004.
C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination, Oxford University Press, 1961
14
Generally, with emphasis on diffusionism and functionalism, one could discern the British
tradition of sociology. On the one hand, in the case of teaching of social institutions, the
orientation showed more Indo-logical emphasis whereas a concern for the social pathological
problems and ethnological description on the other hand. Strong scientific empirical traditions
failed to emerge before independence. Sociology was considered as bag of amalgamation
without any appropriate identity of its own.

Sociology in the Post-Independence Period:

As mentioned by Lakshmana (1974-45), the next phase talks about the growth of the subject
which corelates with the period between the attainment of independence and the acceptance of
the regional language as the medium of instruction in most states of the country. Towards the
end of this period, we also witnessed the interest on the part of the Central Government to
promote social science research through a formal organization established for the purpose.

As two parallel organizations initiated the functioning for the promotion of the profession, a
tremendous amount of interaction within the profession is experienced lonely by this phase.
Indian Sociological Society was established, and Sociological Bulletin was issued as the
official organ of the society. This helped to enlarge it to create a forum for publication of
sociological literature.

First, there was large-scale doctoral research in the university and secondly, the growing needs
of the planners and administrators on the one hand and the realization of increasing importance
of sociological thinking and research in the planning process on the other, opened opportunities
for research projects. Third, during this period, the growing importance of social science
research also resulted in the establishment of research institutes. The development of research
activity also meant the enlargement of the employment opportunities at all levels.

Correspondingly, there was also a surge in the number of universities and college departments.
This period also noticed considerable vertical and horizontal mobility in the profession.
Teaching of sociology got well established in the fifties, during this period reflected three
things as marked by Rao (1982). Primarily, sociology achieved greater heights in academics.
Not only many universities began to teach at the postgraduate and graduate levels but the

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discipline itself became more focused in theoretical orientation and highly diversified in its
specialization. Also, sociology established its identity as a discipline by separating itself from
psychology, anthropology, social philosophy and social work.

A highly diversified curriculum structure has been formulated in sociology where exists the
specialization as rural and urban sociology, sociology of religion, sociology of stratification,
sociology of kinship, sociology of education, political sociology, medical sociology, social
demography and sociology of economic development. Thirdly, diversification followed the
lines of extension of sociological approach to different areas of social life. It was related to the
growing needs of development in independent India. Colonial legacy was considered as a past
event and democratic processes were introduced at all levels.

Sociologists soon become sensitive to problems of development in the contexts of tribal, rural
and urban situations. Problems of rural development, industrialization, and expansion of
education, population control, new political processes and institutions, social and political
movements attracted their areas of social life. Empirical research was conducted by them with
a view to understand the structure, dynamics and problems of development. At various levels,
feedback on teaching of sociology was given by all these concerns. German and Marxian
intellectual influences also had an impact. Amid such diverse intellectual stimuli, Indian
sociologists began to denounce, modify and develop diverse sociological approaches in the
study of Indian society and culture, and these are reflected during the study of different
universities.

The 70s of the last century saw a further continued diversification of interests and specialization
in substantive areas of research and teaching in the 60s. While, earlier, village community
studies dominated researches, but the interests in the areas of agrarian relations, land reforms,
peasant’s agricultural labourers, and SCs and STs were the ones whose attention was grabbed
by the sociologists in this era. The problems of rural society were formulated in the Marxian
framework of analysis emphasizing conflicts and contradictions. The other areas of interests
that were crystallized in the seventies were industrial sociology, urban sociology and social
stratification. Secondly, there were six areas of interest that started getting some attention in
the seventies but have not really got off the mark.

Perspectives in the Eighties:

Many of the areas of specialization mentioned in the foregoing account, no doubt, gained
strength in the eighties of the last century. Some areas of enquiry, such as social demography
and medical sociology, were crystallized. A few other areas of investigation opened and more
research in the established areas was undertaken on new lines. Some of the new areas have
been introduced.

15
Damle anticipated the task of sociology for the eighties in India, which was to analyse:

(1) the transformation of Indian society,

(2) the limits of such transfor-mation, and

(3) the impact of these limits to such transformation, which was reflected either in the
frustrations of the efforts to surmount the obstacles. In this context, new ideologies and protest
movements acquired a special significance.

In many of the newly developing branches of sociology, scholars have made notable but
isolated contributions. There has been thinking that research should be promoted in the nineties
in the areas of sociology of planning and development, sociology of professions, sociology of
organizations, social dimensions of poverty, law and social change, sociology of national
integration etc.

MODERN SOCIOLOGISTS

Moving into the 1900’s, sociology took on more of the functionalist perspective, “functionalist
perspectives are based on the idea that society is a stable, orderly system.” The practice was
beginning to focus on the stability of society and the individual and their role and contribution
to society and its’ affects rather than social structure struggle. Talcott Parsons (1902-1979)
theorized “all societies must provide for meeting social needs to survive.” Functionalism is
examined further by Robert K. Merton (1910-2003), who discovered the difference of latent
and manifest functions in social institutions. “Manifest functions are intended and/or overtly
recognized by the participants in a social unit…latent functions are unintended functions that
are hidden and remain unacknowledged by participants.”

CONCLUSION

15
https://understandingsociety.blogspot.in/2015/04/history-of-sociology.html
http://www.shareyouressays.com/essays/factors-contributing-to-the-emergence-of-sociology-essay/86815
Although sociology emerged in Comte‟s vision of sociology eventually subsuming all other
areas of scientific inquiry, sociology did not replace the other sciences. Instead, sociology has
developed a niche in the study of social life. In the past, sociological research focused on the
organization of complex, industrial societies and their influence on individuals. Today,
sociologists study a broad range of topics. For instance, some sociologists research macro-
structures that organize society, such as race or ethnicity, social class, gender roles, and
institutions such as the family. Other sociologists study social processes that represent the
breakdown of macro-structures, including deviance, crime and divorce. Additionally, some
sociologists study micro-processes such as interpersonal interactions and the socialization of
individuals. It should also be noted that recent sociologists, taking cues from anthropologists,
have realized the Western emphasis of the discipline. In response, many sociology departments
around the world are now encouraging multicultural research.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

1. Ritzer, George (2007) Modern sociological theory 7th ed. New York: McGraw-
Hill; London: McGraw-Hill.
2. Wallace, Walter (ed.) (1969) Sociological Theory; an introduction. Chicago,
Aldine Pub. Co. [Extensive introduction to the range of sociological paradigms]
3. Platt, Jennifer (1996) A History of Sociological Research method in America:
1920-1960 Cambridge:
4. Morrison, K. 2006. Marx Durkheim Weber.
5. Bilton, T. Bonnet, K. Jones, P. Lawson, T. Skinner, D. Stanworth, M. Webster, A.
2002. Introductory sociology, 4th edition. Palgrave Macmillan.

WEBSITES

1. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/the-history-of-sociology
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http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/introduction-to-
sociology/section1/revolution-and-its-impact-on-emergence-of-sociology
4. https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/the-sociological-
perspective/the-founders-of-sociology
5. http://autocww.colorado.edu/~toldy2/E64ContentFiles/SociologyAndReform/Soci
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6. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sociology
7. https://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/health/ephti/library/lecture_notes/h
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8. https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6u
co/wiki/History_of_sociology.html