Special Collections Spotlight: Foundations of British Sociology
Introducing the Foundations of British Sociology Archive from our Special Collections and Archives!
This extensive archive was gifted to the University by the Institute of Sociology after its dissolution in 1955 and comprises manuscripts, printed materials, photographs, drawings and lantern slides, dating from the 1880s to the 1950s.
The archive includes material relating to key activists and opinion-shapers such as Victor Branford, Francis Galton, Patrick Geddes, H. G. Wells, Lewis Mumford and Alexander Farquharson on themes such as the responsibilities of the state and the citizen, planning urban development, the position of women, local government reform, regionalism, the co-operative movement, rural society and the family. Researchers will find valuable materials on the origins of modern British sociology, and related social sciences such as social psychology, cultural geography and demography.
Of particular interest is the large quantity of survey material, mostly gathered on study tours and field meetings across Britain and Europe during the interwar period.
The Foundations of British Sociology Archive is complemented by the LePlay House Library which was gifted along with the archive and contains over 3500 titles.
You can book an appointment or make enquiries by contacting Special Collections.
