Lifting the Veil: The Contributions of the Atlanta Sociological Laboratory to Early Medical Sociology

• In Event: 452 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 05. Race, Science, and Medicine

Abstract

The marginalization of the empirical and theoretical contributions of early Black sociologists to the discipline of sociology has been documented by numerous scholars over the last several decades. While arguments have been made about addressing this historical injustice within the discipline of sociology by centering the contributions of W. E. B. Du Bois and other Black sociologists in the sub-disciplines of race/ethnicity, urban studies, economics, education, religion, family studies, and crime/deviance, relatively little attention has been paid to the marginalization of early Black sociologists work in the field of medical sociology. This study engages with two important tasks: (1) it provides evidence to support the claim that early Black sociology in America was focused on resolving race-based disparities in health through sociological research and (2) it suggests the importance of studies of health and illness to the development of W. E. B. Du Bois’ theorization of race. By understanding the historical legacy of work on race and health of early Black sociologists in America and the systematic marginalization of their work, contemporary medical sociologists might learn something about the racial structure within the sub-discipline and the barriers to mainstream acceptance of a structural perspective on racial disparities in health.

Author

• Aalap Bommaraju, University of Cincinnati