The development of sociology and anthropology in Ghana and future trends

Abstract

This chapter documents the development of the fields of Sociology and Anthropology in Ghana from the early writings of travellers as well as colonial officials in the then Gold Coast to the formal development of the subjects as fields of study in the country beginning in 1950. It traces the development of the first two Departments of Sociology in the country, specifically the Department of Sociology at the University of Ghana and the Department of Sociology at the University of Cape Coast as well as the Departments/Programmes of Sociology in other universities in the country. The chapter also outlines the nature of intellectual disagreements among scholars in the existing departments as well as the collaborative efforts of sociologists/anthropologists in the country evident in both the establishment of the Ghana Sociological Association as well as the Ghana Journal of Sociology and later the Legon Journal of Sociology. It concludes with an assessment of the future of Sociology/Anthropology in the country. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. All rights reserved.