Draft:Establishment of Sociology (Discipline) in France

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  • Comment: still needs merge DGG ( talk ) 07:08, 15 June 2022 (UTC)
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Sociology is a social science discipline in which the primary objective is to unveil the basic laws governing societal interactions and relationships..[1][2]. Although the term was first coined by Emmanuel-Joseph Sievès in 1780, “Sociology” in the modern sense only emerged in 1838 as a system of thought when independently defined by August Comte (1798-1857) describing the new science of humanity he conceptualised[3]. As an academic discipline, Sociology was not institutionalised in France until late 19th century and has now found acceptance in several academic institutions across the country[4]. French sociologists such as Bourdieu, Foucault and Durkheim are among a few of the discipline’s famous pioneers due to their influence on past and current research, and efforts to develop it as an academic discipline[5][6]. To this day, French Sociology is still considered to be one of the most interdisciplinary endeavours within social sciences[7]

Establishment of Organised Social Science[edit]

IThe institutionalisation of social sciences during the revolutionary years signified the first time they were recognised to form a distinct branch of scientific knowledge in counterpart to the other sciences [7] [8]. Henceforth, the social sciences became an organised scientific domain, resulting in the royal academies being removed and replaced by a newly founded national institute. This institute consisted of three classes, in which the second class represented the “moral and political sciences” (social sciences)[7]. In the second half of the 1790s, members of this class such as philosophers, historians and political economists were devoted to stabilising the changes brought by the revolution. However, their pioneering role was short-lived as the class was dissolved in 1803 after conflict with the government. It was only at the end of the Restoration (1815-30) that the second class was reinvigorated and the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences (1832) inaugurated as the official centre for social sciences[9]. Essentially, the Academy was a pioneering effort to institutionalise the social sciences. Although its role in the history of the discipline has been largely overlooked, it was the dominating social science institution in France until the end of the 19th century, and played a pivotal role in the early stage development of social sciences[7]. After 1870 however, the centre of the social sciences transferred from the Academy to the faculties of a new and re-formed research university due to the transformed intellectual field[10]. As a result, the once unified field of social sciences was split into more diverse and autonomous disciplines, each with their own journals and chairs. Social science production had now moved from a centralised regime based on national social science organisations, to a more differentiated field of university disciplines[11]. The social sciences of Sociology, Ethnology and Psychology were now instituted in the “Faculty of Letters”[9]

Auguste Comte (1798–1857)

Public Opinions on Sociology as a Social Science[edit]

As the newest and least specialised out of all the social sciences, the general opinion on Sociology was that an encompassing science of human society seemed illogical at best[12][13]. This opinion was exacerbated by the fact that the discipline didn’t appear to have any defined subject matter either. However, Comte’s conceptualisation of sociology was not aligned with the general notion during the revolutionary years of what social science was, nor was it a type of 'moral science' intended to govern modern communities[7]. Rather, Sociology fundamentally represented a profound renewal of previous conceptions to Comte[14][15]. It was his reflection on the state of the social sciences ensuing the Napoleonic reforms and Revolutions that led to his reconceptualization of the relationship between the different sciences and thus proposition of sociology as a new science[11]. Sociology soon disappeared after Comte's publication of Cours de Philosophie Positive (1830-42), a theory regarding the second scientific revolution which was mainly defined by the institutionalisation of a set of disciplines[16]. This series of texts was described as “an ambitious program for reorienting the social sciences”[7], and due to Comte’s theory being too scientific for the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences and too broad in scope for the Academy of Sciences, attempts to acquire a chair in the Academy of Sciences were unsuccessful[17]. Sociology disappeared no sooner after it came into existence as no significant contributions were made in favour of the discipline after its publication[18]

The Development of Sociology and Other Disciplines[edit]

The resurgence of Sociology in France occurred during the first few decades of the Third Republic (1870-1940) in response to the more favourable reception of British sociology, and in particular, the work of Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), an English philosopher and sociologist.[9]. The discipline was taken up by a small number of philosophers within the Faculty of Letters during the late 1870s and early 1880s, and they succeeded in transforming sociology from the stigmatised academic enterprise it was before into a legitimate academic endeavour[7][19]. These university pioneers were part of the younger generation of academic elite, and were able to introduce not only sociology, but new disciplines such as pedagogy and experimental psychology to the academia[20]. This was possible due to the surrounding context of expanding universities, all of which offered an increasing variety of career prospects as well as higher level of autonomy from government institutions[21]. Furthermore, building on top of the work of these young pioneers, the number of sociological studies increased drastically between the period of the 1880s and outbreak of World War I. It was not long before Sociology became its own subfield, establishing several of its own influential associations, periodicals and books such as Emile Durkheim’s famous Les regies de la methode sociologique (1895)[22]. These all played a significant role in shaping the intellectual atmosphere of France during the time[23]. The emerging subfield of Sociology was also shaped by the fierce competition between  René Worms and Émile Durkheim, who belonged to different generations and pursued opposing strategies to developing the discipline. René organised the first sociological periodical Revue internationale de sociologie (1893), scholarly societies such as L’Institut international de sociologie, the book series Bibliothèque des sciences sociales (1894), as well as many congresses and publishing enterprises.[citation needed] However, despite this, it was ultimately Durkheimian sociology that triumphed over the French university system[20]

Émile Durkheim (1858-1917)

Durkheimian Scholarship[edit]

Durkheim’s conception of the boundaries and content of the discipline Sociology was commonly perceived as a crucial continuation of Comte’s conception of the social sciences[24]. Durkheim believed that “sociology seeks to explain a current reality…one capable of affecting our ideas and actions”[25][26]. He used his position to propose a sociological research program, organising a network of motivated scholars around his journal, L’Année sociologique, which he founded in 1896[27][22]. The significance of this journal is highlighted by Terry N. Clark in his statement:

“In the Annee Sociologique and associated publications, Durkheim and his collaborators achieved results of a comprehensiveness, consistency, precision and empirical support that differed dramatically from all previous efforts in France. The moulded a paradigm that set the direction for work in much of sociology in…France for half a century” [28].

However, despite the Durkheimian group’s theoretical successes which allowed it to overshadow its competitors and gain significant scholarly prestige, Sociology did not progress much institutionally[23]. Not only was the discipline considered too general as a science for academic specialists, but too scientific for philosophers[7]. By 1920, only four chairs existed in the Faculty of Letters that were of sociological nature; two at La Sorbonne, one at Strasbourg and one at Bordeaux, and the discipline was practically absent throughout other academic institutions[23][8]. These issues were exacerbated by the outbreak and activities of World War I, which triggered a dramatic breakdown in production so that all scholarly work was disrupted. Furthermore, many members of the Durkheimian group, including Durkheim himself, died during this period[29]. For this reason, the discipline experienced a double transformation during the ensuing interwar years. The first transformation was linked to the increasing division between research scholars and university teachers within the Durkheimian group. Whilst the research scholars’ work in their specialised research schools enabled sociology to penetrate a wide array of scholarly domains, the university professors represented the more official brand of sociology and pursued republican educational establishment[7]. The second transformation related mainly to issues with recruiting new students. In addition to the losses of the war, few of the university successors to the Durkheimians were attracted to sociology during the interwar years. Moreover, all four university successors to the Durkheimians rejected certain aspects of Durkheimian sociology as well as its overarching style[30]. The only reason Durkheimian sociology survived this period was due to the efforts of the school’s research wing, but even then, the wing functioned primarily in other disciplines rather than Sociology. For these reasons, Durkheimian sociology declined and was generally abandoned in French sociology in the years after 1945[31], and more specifically in the words of Edward Shils:

“When Durkheim passed from the scene…French sociology as the study of modern society practically disappeared for more than a quarter century"[32].

Post-World War I Expansion[edit]

The discipline of Sociology regained expansion soon after World War II, and its reorientation into a “empirical” and “modern” discipline is commonly credited to the evolving organised sociology research institutes that were independent of the academies.[10]. This included the newly formed and first sociological research institute in France, the Centre d’études sociologiques (1946)[7]. However, conducting empirical and sociological research during the 1950s at this institute was difficult not only due to lack of training for individuals, but limited access to other resources. This was exacerbated by the fact that the field was structured by the opposition between the left-wing intellectual philosophers, and the professional researchers at state institutes[30]. This meant that the sociologists were in a double bind contrary to their apparent “autonomy”; they could neither neglect the concerns of the leading intellectual groups nor could they ignore the growing sector of policy-related research (since the sociologists were fundamentally involved in empirical research)[7]. Hence, by responding to the policy demand for applied research, the sociology researchers were able to gain some funds and progressively improve their professional experience[20]. They further hoped to gain intellectual recognition by presenting the results of their work as in favour of the needs of the working classes amidst the working-class movement. Therefore, the persistent efforts of these sociologists to influence politics and public opinion in France, resulting in new types of sociological production during this period[11]

Cycles of Expansion and Transformation of Sociology Post 1950[edit]

The first institutional breakthrough of the discipline Sociology had occurred at the end of the 19th century when its first chairs were established, journals appeared as the main channel for research, and sociological societies founded.[27]. The second breakthrough however, occurred during 1960-2000, a period that represented unprecedented growth for all of the social sciences. This expansion not only implied more autonomy for each discipline, but resulted in the creation of professional universities with their own degrees and forms of professional association[7][33]. Sociology thus transformed from a minor and disjointed subfield whose institutions were based on a small amount of university chairs and research positions, into an organised discipline[20]. Moreover, the number of sociologists that belonged to the CNRS multiplied from around 50 in 1960 to 340 during mid 1980s[11]. More so, it was after an autonomous bachelor degree was established in 1958 that sociology became a full-fledged university discipline. By the start of the 19th century however, expansion came to a halt as research positions in the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and university teacher-researcher hires both were in decline[34]. Therefore, it can be said that there were two distinct cycles of expansion that reflected the structural dynamics of the discipline for the period. The first phase was from 1960 to mid 1970s, where opportunities for social scientific theoretical programs grew drastically, and the human sciences gained a new unprecedented intellectual and public acclaim[7]

References[edit]

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