Sociology in England

Abstract

I NDOCTRINATED as a student with the teachings of Walter Bagehot, Herbert Spencer, and the late Graham Wallas, and stimulated as a teacher by the works of Hobhouse and Westermarck, the writer had long been accustomed to regard England as a land flowing with the milk and honey of sociology. Observations made recently, however, served to modify if not to shatter this faith. Modern scientific and academic sociology was discovered to be in a rather undeveloped and even moribund condition. It was a distinct shock to learn that only a single chair of sociology existed in the universities of Great Britain. The professional association seemed below par and its journal certainly not up to the standard of the earlier Sociological Papers. Some work was being done along the line of local studies, but on the side of theory, research, and teaching, sociology in England appeared definitely weak. Perhaps it would be fairer and more exact to say that it appeared to be rare. After several months spent in visiting classes, reading publications, and consulting teachers, officials of the Institute, and others, the following conclusions were reached. First, that official sociology in England at the present moment is largely non-academic. Further, that most of the writing labelled sociological during recent years has been of a general philosophical and individualized type rather than scientific, and that professional interest has centered largely in practical applications, non-technical local community investigations, and training institutes. Secondly, in so far as it is academic, with the single exception of the London School of Economics where there has been a steady development, sociology is not to be found as such but only in the institutional disguise of social (social work), or in such related departments as anthropology, ethics, political science and philosophy. A brief review of the backgrounds of sociology in England, of the beginnings of academic development, its present university status, and of the history of professional organization will perhaps make these contentions clearer.