The First French Sociology Textbooks (1920—45)

Abstract

The first French sociology textbooks were based on a 1920 official curriculum for Ecoles Normales (teacher training schools). The textbooks for students of philosophy and for students at the Ecole Normale Supérieure are related to the same curriculum. This article compares the textbooks written for the Ecole Normale, students of philosophy and students of the Ecole Normale Supérieure. Célestin Bouglé, director of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, played a key role in the undertaking. Sociology in the Ecole Normale is supposed to give to the trainees a Weltanschauung, practical norms and a certain practical knowledge, while university students are invited to try to understand the world and to see sociology as part of general culture.