Readings in Descriptive and Historical Sociology

The chief purpose held in view in preparing this volume has been to offer to the beginner in sociological studies significant examples of the great facts of social evolution, and of their interpretation; and to present them so that collectively, and in connection with a mere outline of theory, they should constitute a fairly complete scheme of elementary readings in descriptive and historical sociology. They should not be accepted by the teacher as a substitute for inductive research on the part of the student. My own method of using such materials in teaching has been to require students to find, analyze, and classify similar materials obtained from historical sources, statistical and other official reports, newspapers, and current literature. The selections here given thus become samples and points of comparison, and the mind of the student is kept alert to discover essential similarities between facts drawn from widely different sources.

FRANKLIN H. GIDDINGS, Ph.D., LL.D.
PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY AND THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION
IN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY