We are the home for sociological curiosity. We champion sociology as a powerful tool for understanding and changing the world around us. We’re not gatekeepers; our charity is committed to building an inclusive global community of thinkers who challenge everyday ideas about how society works and want to shape them for the better. We believe that sociology is for everyone and that you don’t need to be a sociologist to think like one.
As a charity built on the values of inclusivity, we promote dialogue and work to break down barriers to knowledge. We support early career researchers and under-represented voices, and celebrate the sharing and development of emergent ideas. Through public events, new writing, art and audio, we promote and share sociology with the world.
Sociology has so much to offer. We encourage you to take the time to explore our free-to-access resources – our magazine, podcasts, event listings and more. And if you find our material useful, please consider donating.
What we do
Through our free lectures and public events, we showcase emerging, world-changing thought that inspires action. By podcasting, and by publishing our quarterly magazine, we celebrate new thinking in jargon-free language that encourages broader understanding. We support early career researchers, whose work will shape the future of sociology, by offering opportunities to develop their research and networks. Our educational resources, for students at A level and beyond, are accessible to all. Our residencies and calls for collaboration invite artists and authors to engage with sociology playfully and creatively, connecting theory to lived experience. We are continually finding ways to grow the global sociological community and celebrate its potential to address the pressing challenges of our time.
“The writing retreat helped my finish my last PhD chapter, it gave me the tools to write more efficiently and the confidence to continue writing… It also provided me with a lovely community.”
Our history and our future
The Sociological Review Foundation was established as a way to use royalties from The Sociological Review journal, which was founded in 1908, to support the sociological community. The Foundation was registered as a charity in 2015. Today, as more articles from the Journal are made free to access, royalty income is declining and we must rely increasingly on donations and proceeds from fundraising. We depend on this generous support to continue our work.
Our strategic plan for 2024–2029 sets out an ambitious programme. We aim to grow our educational resources for students and teachers at all levels, from school through to further and higher education. We want to deepen our public sociology offer through our open-access magazine, the Uncommon Sense podcast and public events, initiatives that bring sociological thinking to bear on the issues that matter most to people’s lives. In addition, we are committed to increasing opportunities for scholars from the Global Majority, ensuring that the voices shaping our discipline truly reflect the world it seeks to understand.
Learn more about our beliefs and the change we work to create
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2024
Our publications and events
- Our quarterly open-access publication The Sociological Review magazine is a showcase for creative sociological thought;
- Our podcast Uncommon Sense celebrates the sociological imagination in a jargon-free, accessible style;
- Our Conversations events series unites thinkers in reflection on salient themes and concerns;
- Our Annual Lecture and Public Lecture celebrate sociological thinking and help to build our community;
- The Sociological Review Seminar Series funds scholars to share new findings;
- Our Undisciplining Conferences bring together academics and educators, artists and activists, and thinkers and doers across many fields to ask: “Who is sociology for?”;
- Our Image Maker in Residence series puts visual sociology in the spotlight;
- Our Sociological Fiction series uses creative writing to explore sociological themes;
- Our resources for A-level teachers and students are free to access for all. We offer lesson plans that work with the Uncommon Sense podcast; the Connected Sociologies Curriculum Project, which provides resources for students and teachers interested in decolonising curricula; and Sociology at Work, a series of Q&A-style articles that demonstrate how today’s researchers use particular methods in their work.
“It will be hard to go to other conferences because others will feel stuffy and hierarchical. This conference felt really open.”
Support for early career researchers
- Free annual writing retreats for early career researchers (ECRs) and postdoctoral researchers;
- Bursaries for unfunded PhD and postdoctoral researchers to attend our events;
- Our Magazine as a platform to showcase emerging ECRs worldwide;
- ECRs appointed to The Sociological Review journal’s editorial board receive training on refereeing and other skills from experienced editors.
Get involved!
Our small and dedicated team welcomes your engagement, suggestions and support. We rely on donations to continue our work. Here are some of the ways that you can get involved:
- Donate to the Foundation
- Support our Uncommon Sense podcast
- Subscribe to our newsletter
- Attend our events
Join the conversation on social media
- Bluesky @thesociologicalreview.org
- Instagram @thesociologicalreview
- LinkedIn The Sociological Review Foundation
- Threads @thesociologicalreview
- Facebook @TheSociologicalReview