Institutional Perspectives on Sociology

Abstract

Persistent fiscal constraints in higher education pose special risks for sociology. The organization of academia gives all departments problems in self-governance. But these problems are intensified for sociology by features that can be sources of both strength and weakness (e.g., an affinity for students with agendas of reform and radical criticism) and that tend to attract critical attention from administrators and make it hard for sociologists to agree how to respond to external threats. The expansion of the American Sociological Association's activities beyond its original focus exacerbates the difficulties of dealing with disciplinary issues and reaching consensual strategies to confront them.