William Thomas and the Growth of American Sociology Between the 19th and 20th Century

Abstract

Some of the most significant growth of the field of sociology and the use of social analysis were realized outside the university setting, and before the institutionalization of sociology within these institutions, thanks to a myriad of women researchers, settlement representatives, religious and industrial philanthropists. At that time, within academia, Thomas and Zaniecki’s The Polish Peasant became the first great theoretical and empirical work, whose leading author was expelled from the university by way of a too conservative institution and contradictory ethical evaluations.