In her interview with dalton conley julia adams talks about the differences between sociology and history. as a self-identified historical comparative sociologist, adams makes the point that sociologists are less concerned with uniqueness than they are with commonalities. consider henry the viii of england during the mid-1500s. henry's succession of marriages - six wives in all - is often seen as a unique case. six wives is a lot, and by many european standards, it is a unique case. a sociologist, however, might well look at it by considering the ways in which henry's marriages.