Landmark Studies in Sociology
- Elise Mowbray
- Jul 1
- 2 min read
The American Sociological Association defines sociology as the scientific study of society and social interactions. Sociological research can gauge how social structures and phenomena shape and shift worldviews, affecting human behavior. That is, research approaches how to better understand how societies function. The following list highlights studies regarded as landmark research and theory (originally referenced here and here, with direct links to published work included below).
Thomas Robert Malthus, “An essay on the principle of population,” 1798. A seminal essay on sociology and economics examining population growth.
Max Weber, “The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism,” 1905. A series of German essays published in English in 19.0, this text explores the relationship between religion and economic behavior.
Emile Durkheim, “The elementary forms of religious life,” 1912. A book based on a sociological study of an Australian group’s religious beliefs and how they inform social cohesion.
Max Weber, “Economy and society,” 1922. A series of German essays then published together as a book in English, this text examines social stratification in terms of class, status, and power.
Robert Merton, “Social structure and anomie,” The American Sociological Review, 1938. Merton posited that deviance arises when a society encourages specific goals but simultaneously restricts the means to achieve them.
Louis Wirth, “Urbanism as a way of life,” American Journal of Sociology, 1938. Wirth articulated key characteristics of urban life affected by population size, density, and diversity.
Solomon Asch, "Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments," Groups, Leadership and Men: Research in Human Relationships, 1951. Asch’s experiments demonstrated how people conform to majority opinion, highlighting the substantial influence of societal norms on individual behaviors.
James Coleman, “Equality of educational opportunity,” U.S. Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1966. Coleman revealed the role of family background and social context in student achievement.
Clifford Geertz, “Deep play: Notes on the Balinese cockfight,” The Interpretation of Cultures, 1973. Using the cockfight as a cultural text to understand Balinese society, Geertz examined culture’s complexity.
Sandra Lipsitz Bem, “Gender schema theory,” Psychological Review, 1981. This paper details how societies create frameworks that affect our understanding of what it is to be male or female, shaping our attitudes and behaviors.
Richard Alba and Victor Nee, “Rethinking assimilation theory for a new era of immigration,” The International Migration Review, 1997. This study examined how ethnic boundaries change by examining the assimilation process of immigrants in the United States, underscoring ethnicity’s dynamic nature.
Robert Sampson, “Collective efficacy theory,” Encyclopedia of Criminological Theory, 1997. This study links crime rates with neighborhood characteristics.

留言