Sociology Global: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

By R Sooryamoorthy

This book is about sociologies around the world. Viewed from a global perspective, this research-based study examines the world of sociology and its global features and trends. Sociology as a discipline has a history of two centuries which has varied between countries. Its presence across the world is felt more than ever. Over the years, sociology has been established as a discipline and contributed to the advancement of knowledge about society through scientific research. This facilitated the development of knowledge in other areas and disciplines as well. What sociology is doing globally, the contributions it has made to the knowledge of society and social phenomena, and the direction in which it is moving are of interest to both academics and the public. Specifically, the book deals with the trends in sociology; the broad and general areas of fields, subfields and research areas; the prominent, flourishing, emerging and/or declining areas of sociology; the origin of sociological knowledge; geographical regions and countries; the characteristics of global sociology in terms of language, research methodology, disciplinary backgrounds, interdisciplinarity and authorship; the relationships between the country of affiliation of authors and research areas; the effects of gender of the author and its interrelationships with the discipline, department, research areas and collaboration. The book will be an important resource for students, teachers, practitioners, researchers and the public.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anthem Press
• Release date: Feb 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9781839986826

Book preview

Sociology Global

Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

R. Sooryamoorthy

Anthem Press

An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company

www.anthempress.com

This edition first published in UK and USA 2023

by ANTHEM PRESS

75–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK

or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK

and

244 Madison Ave #116, New York, NY 10016, USA

© 2023 R. Sooryamoorthy

The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, 
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into 
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means 
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), 
without the prior written permission of both the copyright 
owner and the above publisher of this book.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book has been requested.

2022919029

ISBN-13: 978-1-83998-681-9 (Pbk)

ISBN-10: 1-83998-681-6 (Pbk)

This title is also available as an e-book.

To my great friend ever

Late Mduduzi Nkosinathi Gladwin Mtshali

AND

His surviving family

CONTENTS

List of Figures and Tables

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

Preface

1. Sociology Global

2. Mapping Sociology

3. A Global Spectrum of Sociology

4. Issues in Sociology

5. Research Interests

6. Sociological Research: Analysis of Publications

7. Sociological Interests Today

8. Confronting Challenges and Transcending the Borders

Chapter Summary and Keywords

References

Index

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Figures

6.1 Trends in publications, 2000–2018

6.2 Number of authors in publications, 2000–2018

6.3 Major research areas in sociology, 2000–2018

6.4 Major affiliating country of authors by publications, 2000–2018

6.5 Departments of authors, 2000–2018

6.6 Authors by discipline, 2000–2018

6.7 Authors by gender, 2000–2018

7.1 Departmental collaboration and research areas

7.2 Disciplinary collaboration and research areas

7.3 Gender collaboration and research areas

Tables

6.1 Dataset of sampled publications, 2000–2018

6.2 Authors by publications, 2000–2018

6.3 Journals in which articles appeared, Web of Science, 2000–2018

6.4 Research areas of publications, 2000–2018

6.5 Trends in research areas, 2000–2018

6.6 Country of affiliation of authors, 2000–2018

6.7 Major countries of authors by publications, 2000–2018

6.8 Departmental affiliation of authors, 2000–2018

6.9 Departments of authors by publications, 2000–2018

6.10 Disciplines of authors, 2000–2018

6.11 Disciplines of authors by publications, 2000–2018

6.12 Gender of authors, 2000–2018

6.13 Gender of authors by publications, 2000–2018

6.14 Correlation matrix of discipline and relevant indicators

6.15 Regression of disciplines on selected factors of publication

7.1 Major research areas and methodology, 2000–2018

7.2 Departmental collaboration of authors in major research areas, 
2000–2018

7.3 Disciplinary collaboration of authors in major research areas, 
2000–2018

7.4 Gender collaboration of authors in major research 
areas, 2000–2018

7.5 Correlation matrix of major research areas and other variables

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

PREFACE

While engaged in writing, revising and finalising the draft of this book, the world has been passing through some unexpectedly difficult times, first with Covid-19 and now with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Different parts of the world have also experienced many other difficulties which reinforce the global character and the need to understand them from a global perspective. These affect sociologists and many others who are keen on watching the happenings around us. This is a book that deals with sociological themes that have a wide and expansive global relevance. It shows how sociological topics, from health to war, have importance in societies beyond their borders. Drawing from a substantial amount of empirical data, my attempt was to understand sociologies that exist in different corners of the world and how they transcend their borders from society to society. Like any works of serious research, this study had its own challenges in terms of collecting data and capturing it for processing and analysing. In this time-consuming process, it was important for me to sustain my interest and passion to know the world of global sociology. The findings that were derived from the data were enough to encourage me. The use of the scientometrics approach in the study made the exercise a rewarding one. I am glad that peer reviewers found it valuable. I am also grateful to them for their recommendations. I appreciate that Anthem Press found value in this book. I am grateful for the support I received from my family and friends to complete this work. I dedicate this book to my great colleague-turned friend ever, Mduduzi Nkosinathi Gladwin Mtshali who passed away on 27 October 2020, and to his surviving extended family. Mdu, as affectionately called, was more than a friend to me for the last 15 years. His untimely death affected me in several ways, but I cherish the time I spent with him.

Chapter 1

SOCIOLOGY GLOBAL

Introduction

Over the years, sociology has made its contribution to the knowledge about society. Sociology is conceived to be an integration of scientific attempts to understand social facts and problems with the object of social progress (Connell 2000). Sociologists undertake the task of studying societal issues with the intention of improving the prevailing social conditions of society and setting new standards. Sociological theories and research add value to the improvement of human conditions (Soler-Gallart 2015). In seeking answers to innumerable social problems that societies across the world encounter, both theoretical and empirical knowledge are vital. Sociological knowledge, which played a meaningful historical role in changing societies, is therefore beneficial. Working towards a better society, with the strength of the knowledge about society, is a meaningful exercise for sociologists to undertake.

Considering the history of sociology in the past two centuries, Smelser (2003a) appeals to sociologists to acknowledge its history with pride. For him, the vast accretion of substantive knowledge about social life, social relations, social organisation and society in general is to be recognised. Impressive advances in research methods and techniques have been achieved in sociology and in partnership with other disciplines. In methodological advancements, the adoption of formal statistics to the analysis of individual and institutional data, developments in survey research, sophistication of experiments and quasi-experiments, new trends in evaluation research, mathematical modelling, and computer applications and simulations are key milestones for sociology (Smelser 2003a). Sociologists are now competent to deal with big data as well.

Convinced of its intellectual differentiation, Smelser (2003a) concurs that sociology can stand solidly among the core disciplines of anthropology, economics, political science and psychology. The solid institutional establishment embedded in university and college departments is capable of entering the public mind. This is evident from the coverage sociology and sociological topics receive from the media and public from time to time.

Sociologists strive to produce new knowledge for a better understanding of the social world. The new knowledge reveals the complexities of societies, new realities and undercurrents of social phenomena and processes. Sociological research, as Dew (2014a) summarises, aims to transform the understanding of mundane and everyday features of social order and social processes, and creates a shift towards a new understanding. Knowledge thus produced is no longer limited to its place of origin. It is borderless and is disseminated from contexts to contexts and from society to society, thus assuming a global character.

In the globalised world, geographical distance is no longer a hurdle for sharing ideas and conducting research. Collaboration of sociologists leading to innovative theoretical and methodological developments and solutions to world problems is facilitated by the knowledge that is produced globally. The central questions for sociologists in general and the research concerns are transnational (Reis 2003). Transnational concerns have applications and relevance beyond the borders where such concerns originate. The character of sociology is therefore grounded in commonly shared theoretical and methodological approaches that make it universal. Knowledge about sociological research across the world resonates well with individual countries which may find it relevant for them. Without such knowledge, sociologists do not know what their peers are doing in other parts of the world. This knowledge serves their research endeavours better.

Nevertheless, it is hard to have a fair idea of the extent of the sociological knowledge that is being generated in the world due to its huge volume. It may not be difficult to gather material on a subfield, specialisation or a research area in any given country. It is not difficult to search for information on a particular field, specialisation or research area of sociology in a given database. By keying in the right search words and selecting appropriate publication outlets, data on any desired field can be gathered. But this does not give rise to a summated account of the information on the field, specialisation or research area.

Several dimensions of knowledge are imperative to provide a comprehensive view of sociology. Dimensions such as who is producing knowledge in which areas, where is it produced, what methodologies have been used, what are the disciplinary, institutional, collaborative and demographic features of the researchers, who publishes the research and from where are of immense value. The absence of having an exhaustive description of sociologies in the world is responsible for not having the knowledge which is summarised, collated, compiled or analysed for easy reference. This is a loss to sociology, sociologists and sociological research. This book is an attempt to fill this gap and to provide information from a global perspective. Such an inclusive view will contribute to the spread of sociology and sociological knowledge.

This chapter presents the background of a study of sociology through the knowledge it has produced over the years in different parts of the world. Knowledge generated through scientific sociological methods is the substance of understanding the world of sociology today. Both the history and the contemporary presence of sociology can be elucidated through an analysis of such knowledge.

Sociological Knowledge

Sociological knowledge is produced either through new research or making use of the existing knowledge. Research is a part of sociology curricula at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Students need to learn sociological research to pursue their own areas of interest for academic purposes. Even for established researchers, it is useful to be aware of the available knowledge to locate the gaps to avoid ‘reinventing the wheel’. A perpetual need to learn sociology through research on a global scale is inescapable, not just for sociologists but for all who want to be a beneficiary of sociological knowledge.

One way to know a discipline better is to study the knowledge it generates. Knowledge is disseminated via the medium of peer-reviewed publications, namely journal articles, book chapters or books. Publications carry not only knowledge but also meaningful information about knowledge. It is beneficial to know about knowledge: where, how, when and who created it, where do the researchers responsible for the production of knowledge come from, what kind of interaction took place among researchers, what subject or disciplinary area it falls under, and its visibility and impact. These aspects of knowledge, called metadata, lead to a deeper understanding of its facets and shed light on the discipline. This information is as valuable as the knowledge.

Why is sociological knowledge imperative? Burawoy (2010) thinks that sociological knowledge helps others to learn their place in the world and the strategies they can do about it. This applies to sociologists as well who need to understand their sociology better. It is in this context that scholars emphasise why it is important for sociologists to take a serious interest in their own discipline. Towards this objective, Patel (2010) thinks it is necessary to assess the discipline the way it is organised and institutionalised across the globe. Baehr (2008) is aware that it is rare for sociologists to take an active interest in their own discipline. In other words, sociologists should take a serious interest in their discipline. For any curious sociologist, the paths the discipline had journeyed should be of value and a source of information and inspiration. It is not just about the history of sociology which itself is viewed as one of the main fields of sociological research (Maia 2014). It is also about the knowledge the discipline has been generating. The history of sociology, as Bare and Ford (2015) emphasise, is needed by all sociologists to perform their professional activities. It is indispensable to the knowledge of what sociology is today. When social sciences are growing in significance in the economic, social, political and cultural realms of life (Backhouse and Fontaine 2014), sociological knowledge cannot be kept away from society. Even for the future of sociology, as Connell (2000) concurs, sociology should have the self-knowledge of a global society.

There are many reasons for the need to know about sociology. Dayé (2018) presents four concrete and appealing reasons. First, it is to shape and maintain the identity of sociology. A shared understanding of sociology is called for to forge the disciplinary identity which provides scholars with figures, ideas, findings and events to strengthen the collective consciousness of the sociological community and foster solidarity among them. Second, it is to build a rich fund of teaching future sociologists. According to Dayé, this is to learn how the luminaries did sociology and how-to-do good sociology. Third, it is to inform the current research and theorising. The work of today’s sociologists will become more sophisticated if they recognise and are aware of sociology’s past. Contextualising the elements of sociological knowledge such as concepts, theories and methods becomes necessary. Fourth, it is to reflect more broadly on the cultural status of sociology in modern societies. This implies comprehending both the development of sociology and its current state of affairs. It is also to view the broader social and cultural roles sociology is playing in societies. No more compelling reasons than these are required to show why it is necessary to study what sociology is today, what its developments are and what it has produced.

The trajectories of sociology are neither uniform nor similar across countries. Sociology traversed uneven terrains that were characteristically diverse. To give an example, the rise of sociology in colonial countries, in contrast to Europe, followed a course which was a colonial transplant and a child of imperialism (Oommen 1991). Elsewhere, sociology suffered under dictatorial and repressive regimes. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Communist Russia banned sociology and curbed sociological research (Horowitz 1993). In democracies, the freedoms of sociologists were tacitly curtailed by the political leadership. Sociology incurred the wrath of politicians in countries where even strong sociologies existed.¹ Under such strenuous circumstances, sociology had to either turn its course or adapt. These circumstances made a negative effect on practising sociology and conducting research. The varied historical paths that sociology had to pass through call for a global review.

Studying sociology is not new or novel. It is not terra incognita but has been explored and mined by historians and sociologists (Williams 2008). In the literature on the historiography of sociology, topics ranging from the origin of sociological thought to the contributions of the masters are dealt with. The voluminous work of Barnes (1948) and his colleagues presents a critical review of sociologists and their endeavours in multiple spheres of sociology. Bottomore and Nisbet (1978) portray the history of social thought from the inputs of major social thinkers. Many like these can be mentioned.

Nevertheless, an overall perspective of sociology viewed through a wide-angle lens is absent in the literature. To fill this gap, one needs to know what is happening in sociology in distant parts of the world. Maia (2014) finds that the history of sociology still lacks a truly global approach that takes into account different sociological traditions. Camic (1981) thinks that sociology should approach the past with a contemporary concern. In seeking an appreciation of sociology’s past, one needs to move beyond the classics (Camic 1981). The contemporary sociological literature that has the potential for a better knowledge of sociology and society is therefore advantageous.

A complete study of the world of sociology that originated from the times of Auguste Comte might be impractical, if not impossible. Sociology has developed and been redeveloped by those who taught and studied it. It would be ideal to know sociology globally and its rainbow features that originated, developed and practised in various parts of the world.

Is it possible to study sociology from historical, empirical and contemporary perspectives? The answer is neither yes nor no but depends on what aspect of sociology is to be put under the microscope. The world of sociology is enormous. It is like a sea, if not an ocean. It extends from north to south, and east to west. Sociology embraces a richness of topics, methodological approaches and perspectives (Lyon 2015), which are too numerous to count, not to mention studying them. Studying sociology nevertheless can add to an insightful comprehension of the complex role it is playing today (Lyon 2015). It is a worthwhile and challenging exercise to pursue.

Looking back in retrospect, the research that sociologists have carried out during the recent times can give rise to insights into the character of the discipline in general and sociological research in particular. This book deals with a historiography of sociology. It is also about the contemporary history of sociology, based on empirical evidence gathered from the writings that reflect sociology and sociological knowledge. This study for its empirical foundation draws on sociology publications in journals and books. The objective is to provide a global outlook of sociology and what sociologists are producing today.

Global and International Sociology

The challenge of sociology today, as Burawoy (2016) observes, is to go global as it can no longer be confined to a national container. He asks this question: can there be a genuinely global sociology (Burawoy 2009)? According to him, there are global issues such as war, climate change, migration and terrorism that should be studied collectively. But he accepts that we have a global sociology which is difficult to achieve (Burawoy 2017). What do we know about this? How much do we know about the sociological research that is being conducted and published somewhere in the world? These are the preconditions for a collective sociological approach.

Sociology from a global perspective has multiple meanings: from the sociology of the world to comparative research (Babones 2017). The word global is also used to describe social facts that transcend the boundaries of countries (Babones 2017). The boundaries get blurred when it comes to the production and transmission of knowledge. Boundaries and borders become meaningless when knowledge is produced, disseminated and accessed without much delay in a well-connected world of the web. Babones (2017) makes it clear that global sociology is the sociology of global facts that span the entire world. It is something that should be global and universal in outlook and should have some shared centre of interests. To be precise, global sociology is not a subdiscipline of sociology but an art of communicating sociological knowledge (Bamyeh 2019). The knowledge that is produced in assorted forms is to be made available for the consumption of all.

In reality, a spectrum of sociologies exists, varying from American sociology to African sociology. All of these have a focus on sociological subjects which might not always be the same. Sociologists may conduct research in similar and related areas which are differentiated by their contextual and structural features and are presented as sociologies of their respective societies. These are not restricted to local use or applications alone; they have a global relevance.

Global sociology, in the view of Sorokin (2016, 2018), implies open, equal and fruitful cooperation between sociologists from different continents, countries and cultures with the intent of enhancing the position of sociology in the social sciences. To him, global sociology can bring in theoretical and methodological innovations based on international and cross-cultural academic cooperation (Sorokin 2018). It can also offer practical advice, consultancy and solutions to the challenges confronted by societies around the world (Sorokin 2018). From his standpoint, sociology should take a broader approach, focusing not only on