A few notes on the uses of historiography in sociology: The case of world society and the necessity of historical reconstruction

Abstract

This article raises a few questions about the relation between sociology and history. This relationship could be observed by many perspectives, but here we will focus on the advantages of testing the sociological categories through historical examination with primary sources. By taking the development of the concept of world society as an example, the problems that arise when the sociological concepts undergo historical scrutiny becomes clear enough (such as mismanages of secondary literature, and generalizations or distortion of historical sources as well). To solve part of these problems, we claim it could be helpful for the sociologist to borrow methods from the historian, that is, go directly to the historical sources and work with them in a serious manner. This relation may also work as a two way street: not only does the sociological theory can help shed light in matters that are mainly unexplored by the historian community, but the empirical results from the research with historical sources can open new theoretical discussions and work as a testing platform for the applicability of theories.