Sociology at 50

The origins of Sociology at Salford can be traced back as far as 1954, when Ivor Williams joined what was then the Royal Technical College, Salford, as "senior lecturer with responsibility to develop social studies" (Gordon, The Foundations of the University of Salford, 1975: 144). Although the College - a precursor of the current University - was then primarily concerned with technical subjects, there was a growing realisation that those learning about technology must also be aware of its social implications. Thus, classes in 'industrial administration' and 'introduction to the social sciences' comprised components for the diploma in technology (Gordon, 1975: 162). In 1963, a separate Department of Liberal Studies was established with H. N. Sheldon as Chair, and students for the first time could pursue an Honours Associateship in Social Studies. It is in 1963 that the history of Sociology at Salford begins in earnest.

The Social Studies course was essentially a mix of economics, geography, politics, sociology, anthropology and social psychology. All this for annual tuition fees of £60. In the wake of the Robbins Report, students enrolling in 1964 were eligible for full degrees, and already the Department's staff were developing a strong publications record, with Scarlett Epstein publishing an article on 'Social Structure and Entrepreneurship' in the International Journal of Comparative Sociology in that year. 1965 saw two notable developments: the formation of a distinct Department of Sociology, Government and Administration under the leadership of W. H. Scott, and the admission of the first research students in Sociology. By 1967, MSc courses in the Sociology of Science and Technology and Urban Studies had been introduced. In the same year, the Royal College of Advanced Technology became the University of Salford.

During the 1960s, with the Department still establishing itself, sociologists authored around ten key publications. As well as pieces with an anthropological flavour from Scarlett Epstein and Lorraine Baric, W. H. Scott, John Hebden and Michael Rose produced various articles and books which reflected some of the preoccupations of the time - the status of industrial workers, and their future in the dawning age of the computer. It could be said that in the 1960s Industrial Sociology was the predominant thematic area at Salford.

The 1970s opened with the appointment at Salford of the first female Chair in Sociology in Britain, Lorraine Baric. The appointment of Michael Smith in 1969 had brought the sociology of leisure to the fore and this theme dominated publications during the 1970s, numerically speaking. Students in the Department of Sociology, Government and Administration taking the Social Studies BSc could still choose from modules across a range of disciplines, including geography and economics, and even after the introduction of the BSc in Sociology in 1974, and as late as 1981, 'social history' and 'general psychology' still featured. The 1970s saw Sociology at Salford achieve its first PhD successes. Available records show that H. Arthur was the first student to achieve a PhD in sociology (1970), and the decade is also notable for PhD graduates who have gone on to distinguished sociological careers, including Mike Ball (1975), Liz Stanley (1976) and Steve Edgell (1975). Steve, in fact, stayed at Salford to pursue his career, and is still involved in Sociology at Salford today.

The early 1970s were notable for the completion of Michael Goodger's 'Changing Face of Salford' project (1971). This unique series of documentary films combines aesthetic and sociological dimensions to powerful effect. Mr. Goodger's work was celebrated at the 2007 Salford Film Festival, and you can see part of an interview with him on the History of Sociology at Salford website (link to Goodger interview here).

As the 1970s gave way to the 1980s, programmes and staff fell victim to a changing economic and political climate, with cuts in funding a painful reality. The Lancashire Evening Post in August 1979 featured aspiring Salford PhD sociology student Roger Smith, already 120,000 words into his thesis. The headline: "Maggie's axe falls on Sad Roger... "

The 1980s started with a name change, but the Department of Sociological and Political Sciences only lasted from 1981 to 1986, with a change to Sociology and Anthropology, and then finally, in 1990, to Sociology. The dominant research themes of the 1980s were political sociology, and the sociology of health and social care. In the midst of trying financial and organisational circumstances across much of the higher education sector in the UK, political sociology was pursued by researchers such as Vic Duke and Steve Edgell, with their studies into the social and political effects of the spending cuts that characterised the period. Rob Flynn and Graham Hart carried out and published research into health and social care issues, and Rob, with colleagues such as Paul Bellaby and Gareth Williams, developed this line of research into a series of books during the 1990s.

A number of international scholars visited during the 1980s to take part in the life of Sociology at Salford (something that continues to this day). These included W. Mommsen, Peter Saunders and Stephen Mennel. Also amongst Salford's guests were Hans Becker, Soren Villadsen, Jan Simonis, Edmund Mokrzycki and Edmund Preteceille. 1988-1989 was a particularly busy period for international intellectual exchange. Not only did Salford receive visitors such as Van Houten (Utrecht), Starzec (CNRS Paris), Tillman (Nevada), Knip (Utrecht), Hegedus (Polish Academy of Sciences), Stehr (Alberta, Canada) and McKie (Statistics Canada), Daniel Bell, renowned author of The Coming of Postindustrial Society came to Salford in March 1988 to present a lecture on 'The Third Technological Revolution.' Salford academics had the chance to make visits in return, with Rob Flynn visiting Utrecht in 1984, for example.

Students as well as academics were able to take advantage of Salford's international links. In 1989, Sociology played host to our first ERASMUS students, from the University of Utrecht. Also during the late 1980s, the degree of BSc in Social Sciences with Studies in North America was offered, giving students a chance to live and study at Wayne State University, Detroit.

Having become Chair of Sociology in 1982, Chris Bryant led the Department into the 1990s. Chris is one of a number of Salford colleagues who have played a part in developing our strengths in the area of social theory. The History of Sociology at Salford archives contain course documents from 1974 which show how David Jary also played a key role in establishing teaching and research in social theory. This included bringing the British Sociological Association Conference on History and Social Theory to Salford in September 1981. Salford's expertise in this area continued throughout the 1990s, and social theory remains a strength today. Scholars such as Chris Bryant, Greg Smith, Tim May, Steve Edgell, and others, have published widely on (and indeed with) key sociological figures such as Erving Goffman, Thorstein Veblen, Zygmunt Bauman, Anthony Giddens and others.

Sociology at Salford has always included the study of crime and society, and looking at exam papers from 1964, we find questions such as "What is Punishment for?" In the 1990s, research into crime became a major strand in the Department of Sociology. Ian Taylor, who was Head of Department from 1990 to 1994, was an important figure not only in the history of Sociology at Salford, but in the history of criminology itself. During the 1990s Salford's publication profile in sociology expanded greatly, and as well as Ian Taylor, Sandra Walklate was particularly prolific in the field of criminology. There was also a growing recognition of the importance of the cultural sphere, and Salford has been at the forefront in developments at the intersection of culture and society. Ian Taylor published a book on cultural studies in 1993, and in 1999 Salford lecturers Elaine Baldwin, Brian Longhurst and Greg Smith, with Scott McCracken and Miles Ogborn, published Introducing Cultural Studies. Brian is currently Dean of Faculty of Arts, Media and Social Sciences at the University of Salford, and continues to publish on the media and popular culture.

In 1994 Steve Edgell took over as Head of the Sociology Department, a post he held until 1997. In sociology, Consumption Matters, and so it was that a series of seminars in 1994 culminated in a book of that name (published in 1996). These seminars were attended by prominent social thinkers such as Robert Putnam, as well as Michael Harloe, a sociologist from Essex who went on to become Vice Chancellor of the University of Salford. 'Conceptualising Consumption' followed the 'Public Sphere' conference (1993), which attracted high profile speakers including Richard Sennett and Frances Fox Piven, as well as over 100 delegates. (link to Conference entry here)

Teaching in Sociology at Salford during the 1990s also illustrates the evolution of the subject that we see reflected in publications and events. Modules introduced during this period included 'Pop Music and Society', 'Media Awareness' and 'Visual Representations. ' These areas of teaching and research have continued to develop, a process that has benefitted from the interdisciplinary research environment provided by the Institute of Social, Cultural, and Policy Research, which was established (in a slightly different incarnation) in 1993. Another area in which Salford specialises is digital culture. This could be seen to go back as far as Michael Rose's 1969 book on computers, managers and society, but was certainly moved forward in the 1990s with Paul Taylor's publication Hacked Off with Technology. Currently, Salford Lecturer Garry Crawford leads the Centre for Digital Culture, and research at Salford reflects the growing importance of digital gaming in society.

In the 1990s and into the 21st Century, colleagues such as Graeme Gilloch added to the theoretical spectrum of expertise at Salford, bringing topics such as urban culture, and postmodern social theory to life for Salford students, as well as publishing books on key figures such as Walter Benjamin.

During the 1990s issues of health, social care and welfare continued to receive attention from Salford Sociologists, including Rob Flynn, Jennie Popay and Gareth Williams. Rob took over from Steve Edgell as Head of Sociology in 1997, a post which he held until 2001, by which time Sociology had become a subject group within the School of English, Sociology, Politics and Contemporary History. Continuing a tradition of sociological connections with Lancaster University, Jane Kilby joined Salford in 2001, enhancing Salford Sociology's teaching and research profile in feminist theory, and developing innovative cross disciplinary lines of enquiry in victim, violence and Holocaust studies.

Greg Smith, whose sociological career at Salford has taken him from undergraduate, to Goffman expert and Professor in Sociology, led the Sociology Subject Group from 2001 to 2003. As with every new decade, the first years of the Twenty First Century have seen Sociology at Salford engaging with important social changes and issues. Bringing together sociology, geography and the physical sciences, Paul Bellaby and Rob Flynn have worked with colleagues and research students to investigate the pressing issue of the future of energy in the age of climate change.

Graeme Gilloch was Director of the Sociology Subject Group from 2003 to 2005, followed by Neal Hazel in 2006 and Chris Birkbeck from 2007-08. During this period former Salford PhD students Rob Philburn, Gaynor Bagnall and Garry Crawford joined the staff as Lecturers. Karl Dayson, who completed his PhD in 2002, has continued his career at Salford and is now Senior Lecturer in Sociology, as well as Director of the award winning Community Finance Solutions.

Some sociology students have remained at Salford, and indeed have maintained professional sociological interests, but have developed careers in other parts of the university&emdash;for example, David Kreps in the Business School, and Julie Jones in the School of Community, Health Sciences and Social Care. Of course, over the years there have been many sociology students who have gone on to further academic success. These include former postgraduates, such as Annemarie Money, Tracey Warren, Lorna Warren, Eammon Carrabine, Philip Hodgkiss, Sarah Mallinson, Hilary Burrage, Helen Sampson, Kath O'Connor and Sue White. The considerable sociological achievements of some of our former undergraduates can be seen in the 'Former Undergraduates' section of the History of Sociology at Salford Website.

Commenting on Sociology's development in the Twenty First Century, Muzammil Quraishi (Lecturer in Criminology) has observed a steady and productive growth in terms of staff members, as well as a variety of courses that have been introduced. Our current and recently appointed colleagues are part of the present and future of Sociology, as well as its history, and there are many more staff members whose contributions should be acknowledged - you can read more about their achievements, and their sociological interests, on the Sociology and Criminology Subject Group web pages. (link here).

Edward Granter