This Palgrave Pivot will present a comprehensive history of sociology in
Britain, tracking the discipline's intellectual developments within the
institutional and political context.
After tracing the early development of the subject as an intellectual
field in empirical and idealist philosophy, evolutionism, socialism, and
statistical investigations, Scott lays out the trajectory of sociology
as an institutionalised discipline. British Sociology maps the spread
of the subject from the first Sociology Department at LSE to cover the
whole country. It considers the establishment of significant
professional organisations and journals, and the impact of feminism and
political change. Scott also reviews theoretical engagement with
Marxism, interactionism, feminism, and post-structuralism and the
development of the discipline through research studies of crime, race
and ethnicity, community, stratification, health, sexuality, and work.
Set against the backdrop of a changing political context that has seen
the growth of neoliberalism and globalisation, and looking forward with
the ongoing search for 'new directions, ' this useful and original
contribution will appeal to both academics and students across
sociology, criminology, and the political sciences.