Rethinking Sociology: Empire, Knowledge and Connection

What happens when we tell the story of modern Britain as part of a much bigger, global history? Professor Kate Pickett OBE has recently been appointed as the UK's first-ever Professor for the Public Understanding of Social Science at the University of York. She tells Laurie about the importance of her new role at a time when social inequalities are starker than ever. Les Back (Professor of Sociology at the University of Glasgow) and Gurminder Bhambra (Professor of Historical Sociology at the University of Sussex) continue the discussion on the crucial nature of sociology in contemporary society and consider the ways in which it can help us rethink the past.

As the current President of the British Sociological Association, Les Back reflects on its seventy-five years of existence and reflects on a discipline that has often felt under pressure. From early post-war concerns with the welfare state to ideas inspired by feminism and anti-racism, he traces sociology’s shifting priorities - and argues for a more open, inclusive “sociological imagination”, alive to the importance of community in an increasingly individualised world.

Gurminder Bhambra argues that rather than simply “decolonising” knowledge, we need to put colonial histories back at the centre of how we understand society. From the global networks that made the Industrial Revolution possible to the overlooked contributions of colonial subjects to British prosperity, she explores how these hidden connections continue to shape debates about migration, belonging and inequality. She has co-edited and contributed to a new book - The Modern World After Colonialism, Remaking the Social Sciences.

Producer: Natalia Fernandez Editor: Robyn Read