Envisioning Sociology

Victor Branford, Patrick Geddes, and the Quest for Social Reconstruction

John Scott, Ray Bromley

• Publisher: SUNY Press
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781438447308, 9781438447315
• eBook ISBN: 9781438447322
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

Envisioning Sociology is a landmark work, the first major study of the founding of sociology in Britain and the enormous contributions made by the intellectual circle led by Victor Branford and Patrick Geddes. Authors John Scott and Ray Bromley chronicle the biographical connections and personal partnerships of the circle's key participants, their international connections, their organization-building work, and the business activities that underpinned their efforts. Branford and Geddes fashioned an ambitious and wide-ranging interdisciplinary vision, drawing on geography, anthropology, economics, and urban planning, in addition to sociology. This vision was an integral part of a project of social reconstruction, a "third way" eschewing both liberalism and communism in favor of cooperation, redistribution, and federalism. Envisioning Sociology uncovers a previously hidden history of the social sciences, giving readers a fascinating glimpse into early twentieth-century social science and political economy, while demonstrating the contemporary relevance of the ideas of these underrated figures. Although Branford and Geddes failed to establish the grand sociology they envisioned, their ideas helped develop the theory and practice of community development, participatory democracy, bioregionalism, historic preservation, and neighborhood upgrading.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• List of Tables
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter One: Victorian and Edwardian Sociology
• Chapter Two: Geddes, Branford, and Gurney: Personal Partnerships
• Chapter Three: Organizing an Intellectual Vision
• Chapter Four: Environment, Region, and Social Reconstruction
• Chapter Five: Planning the Built Environment: Civics and Conservative Surgery
• Chapter Six: Socialization, Citizenship, and the University Militant
• Chapter Seven: Cooperation, Finance, and Capitalism
• Chapter Eight: Financiers, the Credit System, and the Third Alternative
• Chapter Nine: Failure of a Sociological Project
• Appendix A: William Branford
• Appendix B: The Branford, Gurney, and Geddes families
• Notes
• References