SOCIOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Sociology in South Africa

Abstract

It was apparent at the 16th World Congress of Sociology held in South Africa in July 2006 that few sociologists from elsewhere in the world know much about South African sociology. This research provides an introduction and brief historical review of sociology in South Africa. Sociology started here in the early 1900s as a practical social science because of its contribution to the `native problem' and the `poor white problem'. Because of its practical value, departments of sociology were established at all South African universities from the 1930s onwards. The research briefly traces the histories of South Africa's professional sociological associations and journals. It identifies leading research concerns and comments on Apartheid and post-Apartheid research and publishing.

Sociology in South Africa

Introduction

The first phase of sociological research of South Africa in the nineteenth century coincided with European colonial expansion and the emergence of the European nation states. Yet, those events did not produce a sociological focus on ethnicity. To understand why it was necessary to rediscover ethnicity (or at least phenomena which we now associate with this relatively recent term) it is important to recognize that nineteenth century social theorizing argued that a major characteristic of the emerging modern industrial societies was their shift from old patterns of social relationships based on a variety of inscriptive social statuses to newer forms of attainment linked to class. To the extent that ethnic phenomena continued to play a major role in social relations, not least those involving conflict, this was associated with the existence of pre-modern forms of society. Hence the type of conflicts evident in the various European colonies could be seen as a social aberration which would disappear with modernization.

Research Methodology

The research was based on secondary data collection. The data was extracted from various journals, articles and books. In secondary research data will be extracted from various journals, books and articles.

This type of research is often less expensive than outlines and is extremely effective by acquiring information. It is often the method of choice in the examples where quantitative measurement is not required

Discussion and Analysis

Ethnic Inequality/Dimensions

In the South Africa where sociology became established early, Collins has identified empirical research on race and ethnic divisions as one of the main activities of American sociologists throughout the 20th century (1997: 1563). This reminder of the work of Park and his colleagues in Chicago and the many studies of African Americans from the work of Du Bois (1899) onwards highlights an important strand of research activity albeit one in which the focus was often on the individual psychology and behavior rather than on the institutional and structural factors involved in inequality. The dominant theoretical paradigm, which also fitted well with the official ideology, was that of assimilation which viewed the very evident ethnic diversity in the society as losing its significance as individuals become assimilated. Although subject to possible delays or hindrances, assimilation was the end point towards which relations between ethnic and racial groups were, and should be, ...