Chicago school (sociology)

In sociology, the Chicago School refers to the first major attempt to study the urban environment by combined efforts of theory and ethnographic fieldwork in Chicago.

The major researchers in this school include Robert Park, Lous Wirth, Ernest Burgess, and Robert MCKenzie. From the 1920s to the 1930s, urban sociology was almost synonymous with the work of the Chicago school. Sociologists since the mid-20th century have mounted a series of criticisms of the approach, including New Urban Sociology, which emphasizes the political dimension. The controversial Los Angeles school's views on postmodern urbanism and scholarship is a conscious effort to depart from Chicago school. It is perhaps an indication of the lasting power of the Chicago school.