Disciplinary Precursors and Burgeoning Interest

Abstract

Sociology was first institutionalized in Sweden with the creation of a chair at Gothenburg University College, held by evolutionary sociologist and economist Gustaf Steffen between 1903 and 1929. Although the discipline lost its institutional foothold when Steffen died, interest in sociology continued to grow in both academic and political circles. In the 1930s, sociology was viewed as a boon to modern Sweden. Rapid social development — the basis for the notion that Sweden might function as a laboratory for the social sciences — actualized issues that sociology seemed best equipped to answer, and the discipline became closely associated with Social Democratic ideals.