Social Forces, an international social sciences journal, has published its 90th anniversary issue, featuring reflections and essays from noted sociologists like Douglas Massey, Suzanne Bianchi, Sara McLanahan. In an interview, editor Arne Kalleberg (and author of the RSF book Good Jobs, Bad Jobs) discusses his future plans for the journal and the state of sociology as a discipline:

What is the current state of research in this field?

Research in sociology is more sophisticated than ever. Sociology has always sought to incorporate the latest advances in methodology (both quantitative and qualitative) as well as from related social sciences (such as anthropology, economics, psychology, among others) in its pursuit of answers to the most pressing and interesting questions about social life.

What do you think the future holds for this field?

Sociology is alive and well, and is more vibrant and vital than ever. For example, membership in the American Sociological Association has been high in recent years. The number of baccalaureate degrees awarded in sociology has increased by 70 percent since 1990, the number of master’s degrees has increased by about two-thirds in the last fifteen years, and number of doctorates has increased steadily since 1990.

A major reason why sociology is so healthy is that it is increasingly relevant and essential to explanations of a growing number of issues and problems faced by societies and nations around the world. We need sociology now more than ever before because many of the challenges facing us in the 21st century involve social forces, often in interaction with physical and biological factors.

Read the full review and the 90th anniversary issue.