Sociology and the other social sciences have much in common. Recently there has been a gradual coming together of various social sciences. Pioneers of Indian sociology like DP Mukerji have stressed on an inter-disciplinary approach within the field of Sociology.
While there are many similarities between other social sciences. They are different in focus, orientation and emphasis.
Differences between Sociology and History:
History is concerned with the description of the past of the society while Sociology is primarily concerned with the present of society and to some extent its future too. Historians try to narrate historical events in their chronological order. Primary interest of sociology is to discover the general laws of society and to establish causal relationships between social phenomenon.
Conventional history has been more about the history of kings and war. The history of less glamorous events such as gender relations within the family have traditionally been less studied by historians but formed a core area of the sociologist's interest.
Convergence of History and Sociology:
However, recently history and sociology are beginning to converge. This is because the present of society cannot be understood without looking at its past. Sociologists therefore, very often use historical records and refer to the works of historians for their own research.
Even history is often studied now from a sociological point of view. To quote G.E Howard, “History is past sociology and sociology is present history". Historians today are using sociological methods and concepts in their analysis.
The coming of history and sociology together has led to the emergence of the specialization of historical sociology. It deals with social patterns, gender relations, customs other than the acts of rulers and wars.