Making Sociology More Inclusive

Abstract

Reviewing all the addresses of the presidents of the American Sociological Society over approximately a 100-year span, we find that the presidents disagree about whether or not sociology is `in crisis', whether it needs to be further professionalized, and whether a liberatory or conservative orientation is the most appropriate one. There has been a strong tendency to be inward looking, a generally sexist orientation, agreement on sociology's core task and an overwhelming lack of concern with the unsustainability of our current way of organizing ourselves. Nature is seen as irrelevant, in spite of the fact that humans are totally dependent on it. The article argues that sociology in the 21st century would profit from becoming more non-sexist and from integrating a sustainability perspective into all its subdisciplines. Some components are identified on which we can build by combining a sociological, feminist and environmental perspective.