Harriet Martineau
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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
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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 !!!
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Martineaus lifeBorn June 12,1802Daughter of textile workerMiddle class 6th of 8 children Before age 16, lost her sense of smell, taste, and hearing
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Ear Trumpet
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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 *
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Writer: Fictional and Sociological works
Pioneer in field of sociology
Harriets Work
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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
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*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
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Strong believer in feminism
First to speak on women being viewed as secondary partner in a relationship (marriage)Beliefs
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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
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*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
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Believed society had to be changed through social reforms
Belief in social reform: Component of Necessarianism
Also reflects Unitarian backgroundSociety
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Theory that every eventIncluding action of human will
Is necessary result of a sequence of causes
Determinism
Necessarianism
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Denies Trinity, God is one
Rejects doctrine of original sin
Unlimited nature of the Redemption by ChristAll souls will be savedNo hellUnitarianism
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Kate Middleton
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Autonomous
Moral Practical
AgentThe Individual
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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
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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
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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
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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.*
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Slavery confined to 13 Southern states that grew tobacco, rice, cotton, and sugar
Slave population 2.5 million
Harriet Martineau: Sociology of Slavery
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Through autonomy, Individuals:Explore boundaries of their intellectual capacityContribute to social progress Selfhood
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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