Abstract
This article provides an introduction to the 20th Anniversary Special Issue of the Journal of Classical Sociology. It begins with some brief observations on the key developments that have shaped the disciplinary core of sociology over the past decades. It goes on to reflect on the role of classical sociology in Europe and beyond, drawing attention to its continuing presence in British and Anglo-American intellectual circles. Far from existing in a bubble of academic ivory towers, the paradigms emerging from disputes in the social sciences in general and in sociology in particular are profoundly shaped by wider historical trends – notably those influenced by different forms of collective action, as illustrated in the impact of social movements on the university sector in the late 1960s. In light of recent calls for ‘the decolonization of academia’, we ask to what extent sociology can, and should, strive to go beyond the hegemony of the ‘Western’ canon. Having given a succinct overview of the 20-year history of JCS, we elucidate the different formats of the material published in the journal, stressing the importance of editorial flexibility. On a more substantive note, we point out that the thematic scope of the work published in JCS has been wide-ranging and inclusive – not only because of its editors’ broad conception of ‘classics’ and ‘classicality’, but also because of the interdisciplinary spirit permeating the journal. This commitment, as we explain, manifests itself in the wide range of thinkers and topics discussed – from a multiplicity of perspectives – in the journal. We also grapple with noteworthy challenges posed by the academic publishing industry in the early 21st century, including the difficulties arising from peer-review processes. Finally, we express our gratitude to those who have contributed to this 20th Anniversary Special Issue and emphasize the journal’s commitment to defending the legacy of classical sociology.
Highlights
This article provides an introduction to the 20th Anniversary Special Issue of the Journal of Classical Sociology
The Journal of Classical Sociology was started with SAGE on the assumption that ‘the sociological classics’ would be foundational to any sociology degree programmes in a modern university
It appears that sociology has never had its ‘Kuhnian moment’, when a dominant paradigm had formed the general point of consensus on theory and methods
Summary
The context of sociology, of the humanities and social sciences as a whole, has changed radically over the last 25 years. We worked with the (more or less taken-for-granted) notion that we would publish articles and book reviews that stretched from the work of Auguste Comte and Henri de Saint-Simon in the 1830s to Talcott Parsons’s The Structure of Social Action in 1937. It had its own limitations, not least the ‘missing’ chapter on Simmel The centrality of this century for the evolution of sociology was underpinned not by the names of sociologists, and by the legacy of basic issues in the discipline. In this respect, the following questions have remained crucial: What is the nature of industrial society? Despite the criticisms of Economy and Society as a compilation that was put together after Weber’s death (in 1920), it more or less defined the constituent elements of sociology in the 20th century
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