Urban Sociology
It has been argued that the ‘Chicago School of Sociology’ has had a major role in advancing Sociology in its formative years and has made lasting contributions to urban sociology and to our understanding of cities and urban life.
This essay is intended to investigate the origin and establishment of the University of Chicago’s Department of Sociology. This overview will introduce the major individuals behind the department, their concepts and how these concepts have shaped our understanding of urban sociology today.
The University of Chicago was founded in 1892. From its birth the University set up the first department of sociology in the world, which dominated the domain for the first fifty-five years of the twentieth century and continued
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Whilst Wirth travelled, Park became acting chairperson of the Department of Sociology of Chicago. His young colleague, Burgess quickly became a right hand assistant to Park. They formed a creative bond and co-authored a book in 1921 titled Introduction to the science of society better known as the Green Bible. Park was the natural leader and the ‘idea’ man whereas Burgess was the ‘detail’ man who always cared for others. The pair simultaneously identified concerns that they recognised as core to sociology. And committed themselves to linking observational research to their …show more content…
Urbanism is said to be the distinctive form of interactions between citizens in towns and cities, in simpler form the character of urban life. Wirth points out throughout his thesis most people in large cities live in close proximity without knowing one another personally. This is a great contrast the relationships that form in tight-knit traditional small towns and villages. Most of the contact between inhabitants in cities are brief and partial. Interactions with sales assistants, waiters, cashiers and passengers on public transport are not entered into ‘for a chat’ but for alternative aims. The detached lifestyle between inhabitants in urban areas is widespread. There are numerous examples of this impersonality with Katherine Genoveses case standing out. A brutal murder occurring in 1964 in New York. Thirty three neighbours are said to of witnessed the attacks on Katherine but not one of her fellow neighbours came to Genoveses
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