The History of Historical-Comparative Methods in Sociology

Abstract

This chapter offers an overview of the historical trajectory of comparative-historical sociology while focusing on the issue of development of specific methodological approaches. The legacy of sociology’s founding fathers is discussed first, followed by an overview of the post-World War II US-based academic research program that led to the institutional organization and academic acceptance of the specialty. The chapter then offers an assessment of effect of the cultural turn to historical sociology by addressing the themes of temporality and narrative. It argues that today the field displays a variety of different methodological strategies or perspectives and that this tolerance toward varied methodologies is likely to be a permanent feature. It concludes with an assessment of those new or emerging areas that seem to offer room for further research.