This paper provides an overview of the history of sociology in Austria from its first appearance in the late nineteenth century until the present time. I argue that the Austrian case disproves the conventional view of professionalization leading to disciplinary improvement; Austrian sociology enjoyed a greater status prior to its institutionalization as a university-based discipline. The Austrian case, if anything, suggests the opposite, that the growth of the discipline in terms of institutional status and resources has arguably been accompanied by decline in terms of prestige, recognition, innovation and excellence.
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