Scandinavian sociology emerged in its modern form as an academic discipline just after World War II, although its roots go back considerably further. In Helsinki, the sociologist, ethnologist, and philosopher Edvard A Westermarck (1862– 1939) lectured on sociology in 1890; in Göteborg, Gustaf Fredrik Steffen (1864–1929) became a professor of economics and sociology in 1903.

In 1850, the Norwegian clergyman Eilert Sundt (1817–1875) published a study of Norwegian tramps and the lowest stratum of the rural population. Between 1850 and 1869, when he became a vicar, Sundt received state support for his demographic and sociological studies of Norwegian manners and customs, poverty, and living conditions. In demography he is remembered for "Sundt's law," which states that irregularities in the age distribution at a given time generate similar irregularities in the next generation (Ramsøy 1998).

Westermarck held chairs in applied philosophy until 1930, and between 1907 and 1930 he also had a chair in sociology in London. He...