Auguste Comte (1798-1857) Harriet Martineau (1802 1876)Karl Marx (1818-1883)Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)Max Weber (1864-1920)Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)W. E. B. DuBois (1868-1963) Classical Sociologists Timeline

Before Durkheim, Engels, Marx, or WeberMartineau examined social class, religion, suicide, national character, domestic relations, womens status, criminology, and interrelations between institutions and individuals.

IMPORTANT !!!

Martineaus lifeBorn June 12,1802Daughter of textile workerMiddle class 6th of 8 children Before age 16, lost her sense of smell, taste, and hearing

Ear Trumpet

Harriet MartineauSingle female in a very male-dominated economic world

Father: Died during 1820s

Fianc: Mental & physical collapse

Remained single & independent

By 1829, committed to writing profession *

Writer: Fictional and Sociological works

Pioneer in field of sociology

Harriets Work

Work includes over 1,500 columns and about 61 books

An advocate for freedom and emancipation of women and slaves.

Is it to be understood that the principles of the Declaration of Independence bear no relation to half of the human race?

Society in America (1837)Harriets Work

*Harriet Martineau

First methodological essay ever published, How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838)

Translated and abbreviated Comtes Positive Philosophy Spread Comtes word far and wide

Comte had it retranslated into French

Strong believer in feminism

First to speak on women being viewed as secondary partner in a relationship (marriage)Beliefs

Women could contribute more to society than just as a house wife

Talks of abuse that women endure

Revolutionary in helping women learn to fight back

Few followers: Unlike women to disobey husbands

Beliefs

*Activism

In 1869, supported the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. In 1886, the Acts were repealed

Call for repeal of laws that gave authority to police to detain and examine women on suspicion of prostitution as means to control the spread of syphilis and gonorrhea

Believed society had to be changed through social reforms

Belief in social reform: Component of Necessarianism

Also reflects Unitarian backgroundSociety

Theory that every eventIncluding action of human will

Is necessary result of a sequence of causes

Determinism

Necessarianism

Denies Trinity, God is one

Rejects doctrine of original sin

Unlimited nature of the Redemption by ChristAll souls will be savedNo hellUnitarianism

Kate Middleton

Autonomous

Moral Practical

AgentThe Individual

Unitarian background encouraged her to see the quest for knowledge and the betterment of society as being

For the growth of the individual member of society

The Individual

Social interaction and human association existed for the happiness of the individual Purpose of society: Serve social needs of individualsTo empower individuals to make their lives better

Concept of society

Autonomy essential to individual happiness andProgress of society

The subjugation of women and the enslavement of other humans->Denied society assets that would be much more valuable if they (women and the enslaved) were allowed autonomySociety

Harriet Martineau: Sociology of SlaveryBetween 1834 and 1836, Martineau traveled through the United StatesIndentured servitude of white immigrants had been abolished

Introducing any form of servitude was prohibited in Northern and Western regions of U.S.*

Slavery confined to 13 Southern states that grew tobacco, rice, cotton, and sugar

Slave population 2.5 million

Harriet Martineau: Sociology of Slavery

Through autonomy, Individuals:Explore boundaries of their intellectual capacityContribute to social progress Selfhood

Took trip to the Middle-East Wrote Eastern Life Past and PresentAfter trip, she became an atheistLeft with very few supporters, including her familyIn 1876, she died from an illnessNow remembered as the first woman sociologist Towards the End of Her Life