Sociology in South Africa

It was apparent at the 16th World Congress of Sociology held in South Africa in July 2006 that few sociologists from elsewhere in the world know much about South African sociology. This article provides an introduction and brief historical review of sociology in South Africa. Sociology started here in the early 1900s as a practical social science because of its contribution to the `native problem' and the `poor white problem'. Because of its practical value, departments of sociology were established at all South African universities from the 1930s onwards. The article briefly traces the histories of South Africa's professional sociological associations and journals. It identifies leading research concerns and comments on Apartheid and post-Apartheid research and publishing.