The sociology of knowledge is the study of the relationship between human thought, the social context within which it arises, and the effects that prevailing ideas have on societies. It is not a specialized area of sociology. Instead, it deals with broad fundamental questions about the extent and limits of social influences on individuals' lives and the social-cultural basis of our knowledge about the world. The sociology of knowledge has a subclass and a complement. Its subclass is sociology of scientific knowledge. Its complement is the sociology of ignorance.
Karl Mannheim was an influential Hungarian sociologist during the first half of the 20th century. He is a key figure in classical sociology, as well as one of the founders of the sociology of knowledge. Mannheim is best known for his book Ideology and Utopia (1929/1936), in which he distinguishes between partial and total ideologies, the latter representing comprehensive worldviews distinctive to particular social groups, and also between ideologies that provide support for existing social arrangements, and utopias, which look to the future and propose a transformation of society.
Ferdinand Tönnies was a German sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He was a significant contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for distinguishing between two types of social groups, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. He co-founded the German Society for Sociology together with Max Weber and Georg Simmel and many other founders. He was president of the society from 1909 to 1933, after which he was ousted for having criticized the Nazis. Tönnies was regarded as the first proper German sociologist and published over 900 works, contributing to many areas of sociology and philosophy. Tönnies, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel are considered the founding fathers of classical German sociology. Though there has been a resurgence of interest in Weber and Simmel, Tönnies has not drawn as much attention.
A totem is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
Helmut Schelsky, was a German sociologist, the most influential in post-World War II Germany, well into the 1970s.
The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fifty people, the first president of the association would be Lester Frank Ward. Today, most of its members work in academia, while around 20 percent of them work in government, business, or non-profit organizations.
Hans Freyer was a German conservative revolutionary sociologist and philosopher.
Louis Wirth was an American sociologist and member of the Chicago school of sociology. His interests included city life, minority group behavior, and mass media, and he is recognised as one of the leading urban sociologists.
Edward Albert Shils was a Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought and in Sociology at the University of Chicago and an influential sociologist. He was known for his research on the role of intellectuals and their relations to power and public policy. His work was honored in 1983 when he was awarded the Balzan Prize. In 1979, he was selected by the National Council on the Humanities to give the Jefferson Lecture, the highest award given by the U.S. federal government for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.
The German Sociological Association is a professional organization of social scientists in Germany. Established in Berlin on January 3, 1909, its founding members included Rudolf Goldscheid, Ferdinand Tönnies, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel. Its first president was Tönnies, who was forced out of office by the Nazi regime in 1933; his successor, Hans Freyer, attempted to reform the DGS on Nazi lines but ultimately decided to suspend its activities the following year. The DGS was revived after World War II under the chairmanship of Leopold von Wiese in 1946, and has remained active since then, with about 3,200 members as of 2019.
The following events related to sociology occurred in the 1900s (decade).
The following events related to sociology occurred in the 1910s.
The following events related to sociology occurred in the 1920s.
The following events related to sociology occurred in the 1940s.
The following events related to sociology occurred in the 1950s.
The following events related to sociology occurred in the 1960s.
The International Institute of Sociology (IIS) is a scholarly organization which seeks to stimulate and facilitate the development, exchange, and application of scientific knowledge to questions of sociological relevance. Membership is open to all sociologists as well as to scholars in neighbouring disciplines.
Ernst Simmel was a German-American neurologist and psychoanalyst.
The Sigmund Freud Institute (SFI) is a research institute for psychoanalysis located in Frankfurt, Germany. It was established in 1960 as an institute and training center for psychoanalysis and psychosomatic medicine. Renamed in 1964, it is now called after Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. Since 1995, the institution has been dedicated entirely to research.