A New Sociology for a New Century: Transforming the Relations between Sociology and Neuroscience, through a Study of Mental Life and The City.

This project is about finding a new role for biological knowledge in the social sciences - and vice versa. When sociology first emerged as a discipline at the beginning of the twentieth century, its founding figures saw no significant distinction between this new science of social, cultural and political life, and cutting-edge biological knowledge about the development of human beings as particular kinds of animals. For example, early urban sociologists wrote about the problems and the politics of city life - but they were also keen to pool their knowledge with psychiatrists and neurologists who were interested in the psychoathological effects of urban living.

As sociology developed, however, this connection became somewhat lost, for a host of reasons (some good, such as a post-war fear of the consequences of reducing human beings to only their biology; and some bad, such as a worry about the biological sciences colonizing all kinds of inquiry about human life). But in an era of exciting new developments in the brain and genomic sciences, this project is keen to re-establish that connection. If it is true that neuroscientific and genetic advances have not always lived up to their hype, and also that there is strong danger of uncritically embracing these new sciences - nonetheless, we know a lot more than we used to about the neurological constraints within which human beings make and live their social lives. it is time to risk pooling these insights with sociological knowledge on human cultural and social life.

At the same time, the more that neuroscientists find out about the functional biology of our brains and genomes, the more they realize that their development is heavily influenced by the environment - that is, by social relations, by culture, and by the kinds of society that we live in. This realization provides an even greater impetus for sociologists to re-connect with these disciplines: what can sociological research contribute to this growing awareness, and how can it help neuroscientific understandings of 'society' and 'the environment' to become much more rigorous and much more useful?

This project explores this question through one case study: the relationship between city living and psychiatric disorder. Urban sociology is an area in which there is a strong history of links to the psychiatric and neurological sciences - even if this connection has dissipated recently. At the same time, several groups of neruoscientists are currently working to establish the effects of 'urbanicity' (i.e. city living, or the effect of being born in a city) on the development of psychiatric disorder. We suggest that this is an ideal case to re-connect sociological and neurobiological knowledge - and to show in particular how 'the sociology of the city' and 'the neuroscience of the urban' can join together in the pursuit of a single research project.

We will use two methods to achieve this: first, through historical and literary analysis, we will remind sociologists of their biological roots, and in particular of their foundational connections to psychiatry and neurology; second, we will stage a series of workshops with a select group of urban sociologists and neuroscientists, toco-design a piece of research that will truly mix sociological and neurobiological insights. If we can do this, finally, we think we will have shown just why sociologists - and other social scientists - can, without fear, re-connect with the 'vital' or biological aspects of human existence, thus laying the ground for what we have called 'a new sociology for a new century.'

'A New Sociology for a New Century' represents social science engagements with ongoing transformations in the life sciences; the project focuses on the development of interdisciplinary research questions around mental life and urban citizenship. As such, our project has potential economic and societal impacts in three areas: It will create and inspire social science research and networks that take positive contributions to health and economic outcomes to be a key motivating factor in interdisciplinary work; it will contribute to research and knowledge about positive mental health outcomes for citizens inhabiting urban environments; it will add to our understanding of the mental health risks and resiliences involved in 21st century demographic dynamics of urban citizenship, including patterns of immigration and migration; ethnic inclusion and exclusion; and economic support and work opportunities. Poor mental health impacts significantly on family life, work, and individual wellbeing; therefore the work of this project has clear potential impacts for society and the economy.

There are three clear beneficiaries of our research: 1. Academics whose research in distinct disciplines, be these social science disciplines or life science disciplines, will benefit from interdisciplinary collaborations in order to generate more holistic more innovative and more impactful research studies as a result of collaboration; 2. Policy-makers whose remit involves ensuring that the growing global 'burden' of mental illness does not continue to negatively impact capacities across a wide economic spectrum; e.g. urban social service organisations and multinational corporations; 3. Mental health services (including psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, care-workers and others) who require better understanding of the risks and resiliences of diverse groups of urban citizens, in order to ensure appropriate mechanisms and tools for identification, support and interventions aimed at supporting mental health and wellbeing for urban citizens across the lifespan.