A century of sociology at Tufts

James G. Ennis

Anniversaries invite gazing backward in order to look forward. One hundred years ago, courses in sociology first made their appearance at Tufts. Offered by Professor Henry C. Metcalf in the department of Political Science, under a program of study entitled 'Economics and Sociology' was

15. Practical Sociology. A general course upon the nature and methods of social science... laws of population, the institution of the family, rural and urban communities, pauperism, charities, social treatment of crime, and so on. Lectures, readings, and visits to charitable and correctional institutions in Boston and vicinity. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 8:45

These topics, typical of early US sociology, reflect the applied, 'social gospel' orientation of Tufts' Universalist founders. University of Chicago sociologist Andrew Abbott quipped that given its outlook, the discipline's first periodical (American Journal of Sociology, 1895) might instead have been called the Journal of Applied Religion. These issues nevertheless remain, in slightly more modern dress, prominent in our curriculum. Lectures, readings and site visits endure at Tufts, even if Saturday morning classes do not.

We have come a long way. Sociology is now autonomous from political science and economics. Our courses share a department with those in anthropology. Many more topics are offered, and their theoretical integration is tighter. The quantity of information is vastly greater, and its quality better. But in looking at courses across the decades, I am struck by the continuity of their core concerns. The description above opens with 'methods of social science', which are still required for our majors. Elsewhere the catalog states that upper level courses "furnish a knowledge of economic and social facts, with their causal relations...". These words capture the analytic and scientific foundations we still convey.

If roots in science and social reform show themselves early, what development do we see? By 1915 there were three sociology courses (introductory, social problems and a seminar). In 1921 a fourth course in Community Organization appeared ("theory of democracy in community terms followed by a detailed study of community agencies, such as: community surveys, community centers, health centers, the social unit system, community councils, recreation and Americanization"). Four years later a fifth course in Race Problems was introduced ("The meaning of race and racial characteristics. Inter-racial relations. Racial migrations. Immigration into the United States").

By 1924, Elements of Sociology presented:

A general course in the foundations of sociology, including a survey of social origins, social evolution, and some account of the prevailing types of social activities and the methods of social control of present day society.

It required introductory economics as a prerequisite, rooting sociological questions in the broad tradition of political economy. Themes of systematic social differences and social control were made explicit, as they remain.

Nationally and at Tufts, the Second World War and its aftermath stimulated rapid growth. In 1945, Sociology first appeared as a separate course of study:

...the study of man as a social animal. The foundation is biological. A preliminary review of the attributes of the individual will be given, followed by a study of behavior as modified by group activity... a description of the various institutions which have developed through the ages. Since the more positive features of man's social life are included in such disciplines as religion, law, government, economics, history, etc., special emphasis will be laid upon those problems which interfere with the successful operation of society.

This formulation was new, and characteristic of its era: grounding human nature in biology, with individuality only subsequently modified by social groups. While institutions fostered social integration, the particular mission of sociology was to investigate disturbances to this healthy functioning, and presumably, remedy them. This year marked the first course in cultural anthropology, and another on field work.

In 1948 Professor Wulsin introduced the first course in social theory, with a historical and critical focus. He also offered the first 'area courses' on the Near East ("The cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia and the neighboring lands in ancient times. The Islamic civilization") and on India and China. Two years later appeared the first course in research methods ("the nature and use of tools commonly employed by sociological research: surveys, case histories, questionnaires. Contact with actual research problems will demonstrate the use of these tools in practice.") Thus in the first five decades were set the foundations of what we recognize as sociology: questions of individuality, institutions, culture, community and social problems, critically examined via distinctive theory and applied methodologies.

The widening focus

New courses reflect their historical and cultural moment. If the nineteen fifties were claimed by some to be a 'golden age' in social science, at Tufts we see vibrant new topics: Culture and Personality, Alcoholism, Apprenticeship in Sociological Research (1953), Mass Communication (1955), Cultures of North America, and of Oceania (1956), and Comparative Social Structure (1959). In 1959 Assistant Professor Mary J. Cramer became the first woman professor in the department, subsequently introducing a course on Work in Industrial Society (1960). In that year a Research Methods course made first mention of IBM data-processing equipment (i.e. punch cards and sorters, not yet computers!)

By 1961 Physical Anthropology and Archaeology were taught as a separate course for the first time by Professor Bert Carter, who would remain the only full-time anthropologist until 1976. There were new courses in Culture and Social Systems, Juvenile Delinquency, Social Stratification, Contemporary Social Change, and Contemporary Social Theory. In 1963 Assistant Professor Sylvia Sherwood became the second woman professor (of five). Study abroad was initiated in Italy, and later widely extended. Next followed new sociology courses on Law (1964), Medicine, and Population (1966).

The late 1960's were a period of rapid expansion. In 1967 the faculty grew from five to thirteen (with the addition of two instructors and six lecturers). New courses in Complex Organizations, Occupations and Professions, and Urban Sociology appeared, along with Social Organization and Deviance and Social Control. There were wider options for independent study. Seven courses in anthropology were listed separately as a course of study for the first time.

The range of topics examined continued to grow. Racial and Ethnic Minorities, absent since 1933, returned to the curriculum in 1968. Deviant Behavior and Social Control, Crime and Delinquency, Bureaucracy and Modern Society, Class, Status and Social Mobility, and Sociology of Education and Statistical Methods followed. 1972 saw the department's first course focused on US women, taught by Instructor Ann Richardson, and others on "The Radical Orientation In Sociology", Sociology of Conflict, and Collective Behavior.

By 1976 anthropology was a separate major with two full-time faculty. An applied focus continued in new courses on Contemporary Social Issues, Participant Observation and Field Research, Critical Sociology, Sociology of Sport, Social Policy, and The Sociology of Mental Health. An internship and colloquium in Urban Social and Environmental Policy later grew into a separate graduate program.

Building on these strengths, in the last two decades our courses have become vital to Tufts' interdisciplinary offerings. Community Health, Communications and Media Studies, Peace and Justice Studies, American Studies, Asian Studies, Women's Studies, Urban and Environmental Policy, and International Relations have all utilized our offerings. Sociological methods and perspectives remain essential to all of these endeavors, as they are to making sense of life in the contemporary world.

I won't pass up the opportunity to offer some guesses about future directions. Emphasis on culture in all its forms will broaden in our teaching and in popular consciousness. Our data will become more systematic and our analytical tools more powerful. The field's core concerns (social structure, power, identity, communication, networks, community) will prevail despite the proliferation of substantive topics. Centrifugal forces will be countered by new integrative theoretical frameworks. The new sociology will be richer, more diverse, and more nuanced.

Last Updated on April 20, 2005
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