SOCIOLOGY IN UNDERDEVELOPED COUNTRIES--A CASE STUDY OF IRAQ.

The purpose of this article is to provide a brief and concise account of the state of sociology in Iraq. The article hopes to address itself to two questions: how sociology emerged as a separate discipline worthy of independent status within the family of social sciences; and secondly, the state of sociological research as it is manifested in the writings of persons specialized in sociology. The 1950s were a milestone in the development of sociology in Iraq. In this decade it became recognised as a separate social science discipline warranting a field of specialization. Thus a department of sociology came into being early in the decade at the College of Arts. Subsequently a department of social work was set up in the Girls College. There were many reasons which underlined and brought about this major development. Another significant factor that accounts sociology in Iraq is what might be called intellectual heritage, which contains many on human behaviour. This heritage includes for the development of the Arab cultural and sociological observations the work of Ibn Khaldun, who is regarded by many Western sociologists as the founding father or as one of the important fore-runners in the field of sociology.