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 Weber…Martineau examined social class,

religion, suicide, national character, domestic relations, women’s status, criminology, and interrelations between institutions and individuals.

IMPORTANT !!!

Martineau’s life Born June 12,1802 Daughter of

textile worker Middle class 6th of 8 children Before age 16,

lost her sense of smell, taste, and hearing

Ear Trumpet

Harriet Martineau Single female in a very male-

dominated economic world Father: Died during 1820s Fiancé: Mental & physical

collapse Remained single & independent By 1829, committed to writing

profession 6

Writer: Fictional and

Sociological works

Pioneer in field of sociology

Harriet’s 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)

Harriet’s Work

9

Harriet Martineau First “methodological essay” ever

published, How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838)

Translated and abbreviated Comte’s Positive Philosophy

Spread Comte’s 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

12

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 In 1886, the Acts were repealed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

background

Society

Theory that every event

Including 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 Christ All souls will be saved No hell

Unitarianism

Kate Middleton

Autonomous Moral Practical Agent

The 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 individuals

To empower individuals to make their lives better

Concept of society

Autonomy essential to individual happiness and

Progress 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 autonomy

Society

Harriet Martineau: Sociology of Slavery

Between 1834 and 1836, Martineau traveled through the United States

Indentured servitude of white immigrants had been abolished

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

22

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 capacity

Contribute to social progress

Selfhood

Took trip to the Middle-East Wrote Eastern Life Past and Present

After trip, she became an atheist Left with very few supporters,

including her family In 1876, she died from an illness Now remembered as the first

woman sociologist

Towards the End of Her Life…