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Sociology and the Post-war Settlement

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British Sociology

Part of the book series: Sociology Transformed ((SOTR))

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Abstract

This chapter examines the development of sociology provision in Britain between 1945 and 1979. It reports on university expansion in the 1950s and 1960s that led to the creation of new departments of sociology, the recruitment of staff, and the conversion of Colleges into Polytechnics. It documents the history of growth in the many departments that shaped the intellectual development of the discipline, and it considers the professionalisation strategies of academic sociologists.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Overviews of the development of sociology in this period include Halsey (2004) and Payne et al. (1981: Chs 1 & 2), Bulmer (1985a), and Savage (2010). Important reflections on migrants into British sociology are Turner (2014) and G. Steinmetz, ‘British Sociology in the Metropolis and the Colonies, 1940s–1960s’, in Holmwood and Scott (2014).

  2. 2.

    This discussion of the formation of the BSA draws on the detailed account in Platt (2003).

  3. 3.

    MacIver’s text was available in revised form as Robert MacIver and Charles Page, Society. London, Macmillan, 1949.

  4. 4.

    Bottomore (1962) produced a textbook that was specifically intended for overseas students.

  5. 5.

    A year later at Leeds John E. Goldthorpe (1968) produced a textbook intended for students in Africa.

  6. 6.

    See the varying accounts of the student movement by Harry Kidd (1969), Tessa Blackstone (1970), and Colin Crouch (1970). More radical views are presented by Alexander Cockburn and Robin Blackburn (1969).

  7. 7.

    All sources are listed here and cited in the text by their date of first publication. Where a second date is shown this refers to the later edition, reprint, or translation consulted. Unless otherwise stated, place of publication is London.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Essex University, Colchester, UK

    John Scott

  2. Exeter University, Exeter, UK

    John Scott

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Scott, J. (2020). Sociology and the Post-war Settlement. In: British Sociology . Sociology Transformed. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38371-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38371-8_2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-38370-1

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