1. 'Building the New Jerusalem in Canada's Green and Pleasant Land': The Social Gospel and the Roots of English-Language Academic Sociology in Canada, 1889-1921
- Author
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Helmes-Hayes, Rick
- Subjects
Social gospel -- Research -- Study and teaching -- Religious aspects ,Sociological research -- Study and teaching -- Religious aspects -- Research ,Universities and colleges -- Canada -- Curricula -- Research -- Religious aspects ,Sociology -- Study and teaching -- Research -- Religious aspects - Abstract
According to the conventional account of the history of English-Canadian sociology, the discipline was established in the 1920s at McGill, followed by developments at Dalhousie, Toronto and elsewhere. I dispute this account by documenting the substantial institutional footprint of so-called "social gospel" sociology in Canada's Protestant universities and religious colleges, 1889-1921: courses taught; faculty appointments made; programs established. Between 1889 and 1921, 28 men, many of them clerics, taught sociology for two years or more in one of Canada's English-language universities or Protestant denominational colleges. By 1921, 11 institutions offered sociology courses, 7 institutions had made a dedicated faculty appointment in sociology, and 8 institutions offered a program in sociology. In most cases, their teaching reflected the political--but not theological--principles of the social gospel. I argue that these men are the true pioneers of Canadian sociology and that we should rewrite the first chapter of Canadian sociology to give them their due. Keywords: social gospel, religion, history of sociology, Canada, intellectuals La presentation conventionnelle de l'histoire de la sociologie canadienne-anglaise soutient que la discipline a ete etablie dans les annees 1920 a l'Universite McGill, apres quoi elle se developpa a l'universite Dalhousie, a l'universite de Toronto et ensuite en d'autres sites universitaires. J'entends ici remettre en question cette version conventionnelle en mettant en evidence les traces institutionnelles significatives laissees par la sociologie relevant du courant du Social Gospel (christianisme social), et ce a travers les cours donnes, les postes academiques assures mais aussi les programmes mis en place dans les universites protestantes du Canada et les colleges religieux du meme courant, de 1889 a 1921. Sur cette periode, vingt-huit hommes, dont beaucoup etaient des ecclesiastiques, ont enseigne la sociologie pour deux ans au minimum, sinon plus, dans les universites canadiennes de langue anglaise ou les colleges confessionnels protestants. A l'issue de cette periode, onze institutions offraient des cours de sociologie, sept institutions avaient opere un recrutement academique specifique en sociologie, et huit institutions proposaient un programme d'enseignement en sociologie. Dans la plupart des cas, leur enseignement refletait les principes politiques--mais non theologiques--inherents au Social Gospel. Je soutiens que ces hommes doivent etre consideres comme les authentiques pionniers de la sociologie canadienne et que nous devrions reecrire le premier chapitre de l'histoire de la sociologie canadienne en rendant justice a leur contribution a celle-ci. Mots cles: evangile social, la religion, l'histoire de la sociologie, du Canada, des intellectuels, Introduction In 'A Full-Orbed Christianity' Nancy Christie and Michael Gauvreau claim that sociology was "almost totally absent" from the curricula of Canadian universities prior to 1920 (1996: 75). And for [...]
- Published
- 2016