Sociology as a field of study focuses on the interactions of individuals, groups and organizations within a social structure. The discipline of sociology has always been shaped by the political and social climate of the times and can be traced back to the works of Karl Marx (1818–83), Emile Durkheim (1858–1917), Max Weber (1864–1920) and W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963), whose political and social philosophies on labor, capital, religion, culture, morality and modern life continue to influence the field of sociology as well as other disciplines.

During the early twentieth century the University of Chicago was known to be the hub of American sociology. While at Harvard University around the mid-century, Talcott Parsons (1902–79), considered the founder of American sociological theory worked on general theories of social action, helping make that institution a center of sociological research. Likewise, Robert Merton’s work at Columbia University helped to forge sociology into an intellectual science with its own terminology of concepts and standards of application, making Columbia the other recognized center for sociology.

Up until the mid-twentieth century the field of sociology was dedicated mostly to structural analysis. Social changes occurring in the 1950s inspired the emergence of new sociological concepts. With the Civil Rights movement and other social movements, the political and social climates of the United States were altering quickly and sociologists responded by focusing their research less on structural analysis and more on political and moral concerns prevalent during the late 1950s and 1960s. Younger sociologists began to put into practice those theories they had learned by researching less advantaged groups in society like women, African Americans and Latinos. As sociologists embarked on this new direction, their influence increased with summons coming from the White House, Senate and Congress to advise on the plethora of social problems facing the country In the 1990s, most colleges and universities housed a sociology department, but the prestige of these departments had diminished significantly from the heyday of the 1950s and 1960s. Partly this was a result of the backlash against many of the policies and programs that they had recommended to politicians, many of them associated with President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” Backing away from public policy sociologists have in a way synthesized the earlier impulses, studying individuals and the social structures within which they operate. Areas of research vary from feminism to education to ethnic identity to the HIV/ AIDS epidemic. With a broader, more complex field of study most sociologists still utilize the classic theories to understand the intricacy of contemporary problems.