What Has Sociology Achieved?

In an age when continued financial and other support for teaching and research in sociology cannot be taken for granted, sociologists have been surprisingly slow to provide a clear statement of the achievements of sociology in the western world since 1950. What Has Sociology Achieved? does this by assembling twelve essays specially commissioned from distinguished authors, to which the editors add an introduction setting out the issues and a concluding chapter which draws together recurrent themes.

Preface and Acknowledgements - Notes on the Contributors - Introduction; C.G.A.Bryant & H.A.Becker - Achievement in the Analytical Tradition in Sociology; H.A.Becker - From Cognotive Style to Substantive Content: Programmatics and Pragmatics in the Development of Sociological Knowledge; R.Williams - The Sociological Study of History: Institutions and Social Development; S.Mennell - Tales of Innocence and Experience: Developments in Sociological Theory since 1950; C.G.A.Bryant - Methodological Achievements in Sociology over the Past Few Decades with Special Reference to the Interplay of Quantitative and Qualitative Methods; P.Abell - Successful Applications of Sociology; M.Bulmer - Sociology in America; N.C.Mullins - Sociology in Britain: a Going Concern; J.Eldridge - What Has Sociology Achieved? The French Paradox; P.Bernoux - Sociology in Germany: Institutional Development and Paradigmatic Structure; A.Weymann - What Dutch Sociology Has Achieved; L.Laeyendecker - Strategies for Future Development in Sociology; W.A.Arts & H.A.Becker - Conclusions; H.A.Becker & C.G.A.Bryant - Index