Phases And Reasons: The Building Of Sociology As A First-class Discipline At The University Of Chicago(From The End Of 19^th Century To The Mid-1930s)

In the mid-1930 s,there emerged a first sociological school in the United States,namely the Chicago School of Sociology,which in a large part stands for the rise of sociology at the University of Chicago.In the meantime,the academic center aiming at urban issues was established,the high-level academic echelon constructed,numerous academic results produced,and more importantly,the distinguished academic community finally formed.Looking back to its discipline-building history,three developmental phases can be recognized.At the end of 19 th century,with the establishment of research-oriented universities and sociological thoughts from Europe and the United States,the University of Chicago took the lead in the completion of grass-root organization of sociology,such as initiating department and issuing journal,which started the developmental stage of this fledging discipline.By the early 20 th century,changes in the external social contexts,coupled with the follow-up development of sociology in other colleges and universities,gave Chicago sociology a new task.Basing on former developmental attainments,Chicago sociology subsequently reached a new stage by complementing the staffs in this fields and strengthening the students training.And from the mid-20 century,with external large-scale funding,the staff in the Department of Sociology chose the orientation of various problems in Chicago,updated the internal mechanism,and stretched it out in all directions,thusly forming the Chicago School of Sociology.It entails common elements in the discipline-building by the case of sociology in the University of Chicago,and its rise involves four facets: the construction of the academic team,the creation of the development mechanism,the exploration of the subject theory,the training of the students.By analyzing these aspects can we get valuable reference to the building of first-class discipline.