Dialogues between sociology and history

Abstract

Sociology and History, as consolidated scientific and academic projects, have maintained an unusual and paradoxical relationship. The growing disciplinary and sub-disciplinary specialisation of these two sciences poses relevant epistemological and methodological challenges in addressing potential situations of isolation, fragmentation, and in enabling the defence of an interdisciplinary perspective characterised by the historicity of social structures, actions and meanings. Several kinds of reasons shape this diffuse process of approximation/detachment between Sociology and History, namely epistemological and methodological, disciplinary closure, academic and professional reasons, forming what may be called contained dialogues. This paper, starting from the sociological stance of the authors, seeks to add to the reflection on the relevance of a scientific project that aims to affirm an interdisciplinary perspective that may foster the heuristic potentialities of both Sociology and History in the analysis of the complexity of social reality and human action.