Sociology faces many obstacles in coming to terms with its so-called imperial entanglements. In this
article, I address one of the dimensions of this problem. Much like archival sources present their own
histories of making and organization that researchers should be aware of, so too do disciplinary research
frameworks carry their own histories and historical metaprinciples of organization. I juxtapose two dif-
ferent ways of organizing and framing sociology's disciplinary focus historically. I call these the empire
and nation framework and the intra- and inter-imperial framework. Through this juxtaposition, I argue
for the importance of methodologically explicitly recognizing and justifying our choice of different his-
torical research frameworks with which sociology can operate.