RAJIV GANDHI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LAW,

PUNJAB

HI
S TO
R Y

MINOR PROJECT

TOPIC: INTERDICSIPLINARY APPROACH

SUB TOPIC/ TITLE: HISTORY AND SOCIOLOGY

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

DEEPALI DR RACHNA SHARMA
ROLL NO. -21011 ASSISTANT
PROFESSOR
GROUP NO. – 2 OF HISTORY,
SEMESTER-1 RGNUL, PUNJAB

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 AKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and
assistance from many people and I am extremely privileged to have got this all
along the completion of my project. All that I have done is only due to such
supervision and assistance and I would not forget to thank them.
I shall always remain obliged to the Vice Chancellor of RGNUL, Dr. G.S.
Bajpai for providing me an opportunity to showcase my project and skills in an
esteemed university like RGNUL.
I respect and thank Dr. Rachna Sharma, for providing me an opportunity to do
the project work in RGNUL and giving us all support and guidance, which
made me complete the project duly. I am extremely thankful to her for
providing such a nice support and guidance, although she had busy schedule
managing the corporate affairs.
I am thankful to and fortunate enough to get constant encouragement, support
and guidance from all Teaching staff who helped us in successfully completing
our project work. I extend my thanks to all the staff members of the IT lab and
library who supported my research process.
Deepali

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 BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

This certificate is to declare that this project based upon ‘Interdisciplinary

Approach: History and Sociology’ is an original work of Deepali who is a
Bona-fide student of the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab.
Deepali

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 Table of Contents

AKNOWLEDGEMENT............................................................................................................2
BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE.....................................................................................................3
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................5
1.1 Introduction of the topic...................................................................................................5
1.2 Object and Purpose of the study.......................................................................................5
1.3 Review of Literature.........................................................................................................5
1.4 Research Methodology.....................................................................................................5
1.5 Limitation of the Study.....................................................................................................5
1.6 Research Questions..........................................................................................................6
1.7 Hypothesis Formed...........................................................................................................6
2. Interdisciplinary Approach and the Annales School of Thought...........................................7
2.1 Interdisciplinary Approach...............................................................................................7
2.1.1 Benefits of Interdisciplinary Approach...............................................................
2.2 Annales School of Thought..............................................................................................8
3. History and Sociology............................................................................................................9
3.1 Interrelationship Between History and Sociology............................................................9
3.1.1 Social History......................................................................................................
3.1.2 Historical Sociology..........................................................................................
3.2 Differences between History and Sociology..................................................................11
4. Critical Analysis...................................................................................................................12
5. Conclusion............................................................................................................................13
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................14

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1. Introduction

1.1 Introduction of the topic

Interdisciplinary approach means that one discipline can borrow the
specialized skills from another discipline. It is an interaction between various
disciplines. The concept of interdisciplinarity was indirectly put forwarded by
the Annales School of Thought. This project will provide information about
the Annales School of Thought. Also, in this project the interdisciplinarity
between History and Sociology will be discussed.

1.2 Object and Purpose of the study

The object and purpose of the study is to understand and provide information
regarding the emergence of interdisciplinary approach and the contribution of
annales school of thought. This project will also delve into the study of the
relationship between history and sociology and the interdisciplinarity between
these two disciplines.

1.3 Review of Literature

The researcher has reviewed mainly the journal articles and website sources
available on the topic, in this research study. There are several other sources
also which have been duly cited by the researcher in this project.

1.4 Research Methodology

The research methodology used in this project is mainly comprises of
secondary sources such as articles, journals, research papers, websites etc.
which have been duly cited in the project. The emphasis is specially laid upon
the qualitative research rather than quantitative research.

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1.5 Limitation of the Study
The main limitation of the study is no use of primary sources such as data
collection, sample surveys and interviews because of the naiveness in the field
of primary research. The researcher has only focused on the relationship of
history and sociology leaving the other disciplines.

1.6 Research Questions

Through this research work, the researcher tries to answer various questions
like what is interdisciplinary approach, how annales school have contributed to
this, how is history and sociology related to each other and what are the
similarities and differences between these two disciplines.

1.7 Hypothesis Formed

The hypothesis formed before the undertaking of this project is that
interdisciplinary approach of history helps it in the holistic development.
Though history and sociology are two different disciplines, yet they share
some common background.

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 2. Interdisciplinary Approach and the Annales School
of Thought

2.1 Interdisciplinary Approach

When we take help of more than one discipline for the study of given problem,
our approach is called interdisciplinary.1 Interdisciplinary approach means
interaction between various disciplines.2 It can also be defined as making the
use of methods and techniques of other disciplines. It involves the combination
of two or more disciplines into one activity. 3 The word ‘discipline’ here means
a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education.
Interdisciplinary approach draws knowledge from other disciplines such as
sociology, anthropology, economics etc. Interdisciplinary approach helps us in
understanding a particular discipline in holistic way. It is now a common term
used in academics. It has become a buzzword due to growing concern that
specialised disciplines have severely limited the intellectual horizons of those
engaged in teaching and research in their own field of knowledge. The term
embodies a call to remedy this situation, to counteract the negative
consequences of overspecialization. It should not be interpreted as a
replacement for specialty, which builds on and integrates the specialty of the
discrete disciplines.4

2.1.1 Benefits of Interdisciplinary Approach

There are many benefits of interdisciplinary approach. Some of them are given
below:
 It helps us in exploring a topic in various ways and makes us to delve
deeper into the topic.

1
Gauba, O.P. An Introduction to Political Theory. New Delhi. National Paperbacks, 2019.
2
“An Inter-disciplinary approach of Total History”, the australia today, theaustraliatoday.com. Available at
https://www.theaustraliatoday.com.au/an-inter-disciplinary-approach-of-total-history/
3
Nissani, Moti. “Fruits, Salads, and Smoothies: A Working Definition of Interdisciplinarity.” The Journal of
Educational Thought (JET) / Revue de La Pensée Éducative, vol. 29, no. 2, Faculty of Education, University of
Calgary, 1995, pp. 121–28, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23767672
4
Horn, T. C. R., and Harry Ritter. “Interdisciplinary History: A Historiographical Review.” The History
Teacher, vol. 19, no. 3, Society for History Education, 1986, pp. 427–48, https://www.jstor.org/stable/493382

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  Looking across disciplinary boundaries develop critical thinking skills
and helps us to compare and contrast concepts across subject areas.
 It helps in synthesising knowledge which provides an alternative way
of acquiring knowledge.
 Greater creativity can be achieved through interdisciplinary knowledge
and the application of different disciplines.
 Exploring topics across subject boundaries inspires us to seek new
knowledge in a variety of subject areas.5

2.2 Annales School of Thought

Annales school of thought is one of the four schools of history. It was founded
by Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre in the year 1929 in Paris, France. Earlier
historians focused more on politics, war and diplomacy in history. But the
Annales’ came up with a combined approach which include geography,
sociology, psychology and economics. This school focused upon the
interdisciplinary approach and studying history in totality.
There are four generations of Annales historians. The founders Marc Bloch
and Lucien Febvre were in the first generation. They emphasised more on
considering all levels of society and focusing on the collective nature of
mentalities. The next generation was led by Fernand Braudel which focused
on global history as well as social and economic history. The third generation
was led by Emmanuel Le Roy. He proposed the idea of history of mentality
and question of narrative. The last generation, led by Roger Chartier,
emphasised the cultural and linguistic approach, emphasising the social history
of cultural practises rather than mentalities.6 The main objective of this school
was to lead French historians away from narrowly political and diplomatic
perspective and toward new possibilities in social and economic history.

5
“What Are the Benefits of Interdisciplinary Study?” OpenLearn, The Open University, 14 Oct. 2021,
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education/what-are-the-benefits-interdisciplinary-study

6
Note 2, atp.7.

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 3. History and Sociology

History: History, in general, is regarded as the study of past. It is the record of

human experiences. History is a Greek word which means enquiry, research,
exploration or information.7 History studies the significant events of past.
History is related to time and space. It tells us about what happened, how it
happened and why it happened. History studies the cause and effect of past
events. It is considered as the philosophy in motion. A historian is only
interested in past. He is not interested in present and future still history
provides some connecting link for the present and future. It is said that the
history is the microscope of the past, the horoscope of the present and the
telescope of the future.8
Sociology: Sociology is generally regarded as the study of society. The study
of human social relationships and institutions is known as sociology.
Sociology covers a wide range of topics, from crime to religion, the family to
the state, racial and social class divisions to shared cultural beliefs, and social
stability to radical change in entire societies. Sociology's aim of understanding
how human action and consciousness both shape and are shaped by
surrounding cultural and social structures unifies the study of these diverse
subjects of study.9

3.1 Interrelationship Between History and Sociology

3.1.1 Social History

Social history is the sub-discipline of historical sciences. The word ‘social’ in social
history is concerned with institutions and problems concerning man and society,
such as customs, manners, habits, food, dress, amusements, family life, group life,
folklore, festivals, ceremonies, and other activities that are an essential part of

7
Ali, B. Sheikh. History its Theory and Method. Second. Laxmi Publications, 2014.
8
Rao, C. N. Shankar. Sociology Principles of Sociology with an Introduction to Sociological Thought.
New Delhi, S. Chand and Company Limited, 2019.
9
“RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIOLOGY AND HISTORY.” Achievers IAS Classes, 21 May
2021, Available at https://www.achieveriasclasses.com/sociology/relationship-between-sociology-and-
history/

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 human life.10 Social history brings a vivid picture to our mind about how society
used to function in the past. It is said by Toynbee that societies are the atoms of
which the history is composed and it is not individuals or nations but societies that
form the components of history.11 The study of social history is concerned with the
origin and development of institutions. It focuses on the cultural aspects of man's
evolution from savagery to civilization. Sociology helps history in understanding
social dynamics in much easier way.
History and sociology are developing very intimate relations with each other.
History is now studied from sociological perspective. Sociology provides the social
background for the study of history. History would be meaningless without the
significant social events. It is said that historical facts without any social reference
are like a body without life.12

3.1.2 Historical Sociology

Historical sociology is a branch of sociology. It emerged during the nineteenth

century because of the intersection between history and sociology. It is very
much depended on historical data. It helps in drawing a major social issue
which requires a critical historical analysis and had been sub-lined in
sociological analysis. It helps sociology in understanding social realities with
regard to time. It aids sociologists in providing rationale for expressing a
society's current status and developmental trajectory.13
History contains the records of various social matters. It provides subject
matter to sociology. It contains information about the evolution of human life,
modes of living, customs and civilization, culture, social institutions etc. This
information acts as subject matter for sociology. 14 If a sociologist wants to
study about caste or religion or impact of one culture to another then he has to
refer to some historical document because these topics can be understood
better with the help of history. The present-day society can be better
understood through gaining knowledge about its past, because who people are
today is a product of who they were in the past. Sociologists have to refer to
comparative methods sometimes for which they have to depend on history for
10
Note 7.
11
Note 7, atp. 9.
12
Note 8, atp. 9.
13
Note 9, atp. 9.
14
Note 8, atp. 9.

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 data. It is very much right that a sociologist sometimes has to be his own
historian to gather information from all the available sources.15

3.2 Differences between History and Sociology

Though history and sociology have some interdependence and similarities, yet
there are some differences between these two disciplines.
 History majorly deals with past events whereas sociology deals mainly
with present social phenomena.
 Sociology is younger science as compared to history. History is an age-
old science and it is of 2000 years or even more than that. But
sociology is called youngest of all social sciences and it is not even two
centuries old.
 Sociology is analytical in nature. It focuses more on analysing events.
Whereas history is very descriptive in its nature. It provides description
of the events.
 History is concrete in nature. A historian only studies about a particular
war if it has some unique significance. On the other hand, sociology is
abstract in nature. It studies war as a universal social phenomenon.
 Sociology is generalising science whereas history is individualising
science. Sociology tries to establish generalisation after studying a
social phenomenon whereas history establishes the sequence in which
the events occurred.
 Sociology follows the sociological approach whereas history follows
the historical approach. Sociology studies human events from
sociological perspective while history studies human events with the
time order.16
 Testing and re-testing is possible in sociology whereas it is not possible
for the events mentioned in history.
 The scope of sociology is much wider than that of history.17

15
Note 8, atp. 9.
16
Note 8, atp. 9.
17
Note 9, atp. 9.

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4. Critical Analysis

In the above discussion, the researcher has tried to highlight the

interrelationship and differences between the two disciplines History and
Sociology. To discuss the interrelationship between the said disciplines the
researcher has given the account of social history and historical sociology. The
definition and benefits of interdisciplinary approach has also been mentioned
by the researcher in this research work. The researcher has discussed these two
accounts to make us understand how history helps sociology and how
sociology provides a stage to history. The differences between these two
disciplines have been mentioned by the researcher in such a way that it
provides a clear picture of the distinctions between these two disciplines. The
researcher has tried to show with the help of interrelationship between the said
disciplines how the interdisciplinary approach helps us to understand a certain
discipline in a very holistic way. The researcher has also given a brief account
of Annales School of thought to tell us about the emergence of
Interdisciplinarity. The researcher has also proved the hypothesis which was
made in the beginning of this research work.

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5. Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that though history and
sociology are two different disciplines, they share some common background
and interrelated to each other. They supply subject matter to each other. With
the passage of time, they are developing intimate relation with each other.
Now history is studied from the sociological point of view which is helping in
developing the strong relationship between these two disciplines. Sociology
also needs the help of history in understanding the growth and development of
society and social institutions. Thus, we can say that history and sociology
cannot be completely separated from each other. There will be some point
where they have to depend on each other. In the words of Robert Bierstedit,
“if the past is of as a continuous cloth unrolling through the centuries, history
is interested in the individual threads and strands that make it up; sociology in
the patterns it exhibits”.

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 Bibliography

 Books:
o Ali, B. Sheikh. History its Theory and Method. Second. Laxmi
Publications, 2014.
o Rao, C. N. Shankar. Sociology Principles of Sociology with an
Introduction to Sociological Thought. New Delhi, S. Chand and
Company Limited, 2019.
o Gauba, O.P. An Introduction to Political Theory. New Delhi.
National Paperbacks, 2019.

 Articles:
o Nissani, Moti. “Fruits, Salads, and Smoothies: A Working
Definition of Interdisciplinarity.” The Journal of Educational
Thought (JET) / Revue de La Pensée Éducative, vol. 29, no. 2,
Faculty of Education, University of Calgary, 1995, pp. 121–28,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23767672
o Horn, T. C. R., and Harry Ritter. “Interdisciplinary History: A
Historiographical Review.” The History Teacher, vol. 19, no. 3,
Society for History Education, 1986, pp. 427–48,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/493382

 Web sites:

o “An Inter-disciplinary approach of Total History”, the australia

today, theaustraliatoday.com. Available at
https://www.theaustraliatoday.com.au/an-inter-disciplinary-
approach-of-total-history/
o “Relationship Between Sociology and History.” Achievers IAS
Classes, 21 May 2021, Available at
https://www.achieveriasclasses.com/sociology/relationship-between-
sociology-and-history/
o “What Are the Benefits of Interdisciplinary Study?” OpenLearn, The
Open University, 14 Oct. 2021,

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https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education/what-are-the-benefits-
interdisciplinary-study

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