Terms Of Professional Training Research Articles

The Reestablishment of Sociology in the PRC: Toward the Sinification of Marxian Sociology

The article analyzes the process of restoring sociology as an academic discipline in the PRC after its official abolishment in 1952. It focuses on the interaction between the Marxian and the bourgeois traditions of Chinese sociology and the efforts toward Sinification. The article reviews briefly the state of sociology before 1949, relating its development to Western penetration and internal political struggles. Post-1949 developments are discussed, including the abolishment of sociology in 1952. Comparisons are made between the 1957 campaign to restore sociology (which failed) and the more recent 1979 drive (which succeeded). Two issues are analyzed that were central to both campaigns: (a) the relationship between Marxism and sociology, and (b) the usefulness of sociology to socialist China. The authors attribute the failure of the 1957 campaign and the success of the 1979 one to the changing sociopolitical context rather than to the difference in substance of the issues. The current state of sociology, in terms of professional training, curriculum, and research development, is also discussed. Discussion of the pre-1949 history of sociology is based on secondary sources; that of the post-1949 period is based largely on interviews with