100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Summary Introduction to Sociology $7.99   Add to cart

Summary

Summary Introduction to Sociology

 4 views  0 purchase
  • Course
  • SOCIOLOGY
  • Institution
  • University Of The People

Sociology is the systematic study of society and social interaction. In order to carry out their studies, sociologists identify cultural patterns and social forces and determine how they affect individuals and groups. They also develop ways to apply their findings to the real world.

Preview 1 out of 1  pages

  • November 1, 2024
  • 1
  • 2024/2025
  • Summary
  • University Of The People
  • SOCIOLOGY
avatar-seller
susanwanjiku
lOMoAR cPSD| 39651208




Harriet Martineau (1802–1876) was one of the first women sociologists in the 19th
century. There are a number of other women who might compete with her for the
title of the first woman sociologist, such as Catherine Macauley, Mary
Wollstonecraft, Flora Tristan, and Beatrice Webb, but Martineau’s specifically
sociological credentials are strong. She was for a long time known principally for
her English translation of Comte’s Course in Positive Philosophy. Through this
popular translation she introduced the concept of sociology as a methodologically
rigorous discipline to an English-speaking audience. But she also created a body of
her own work in the tradition of the great social reform movements of the 19th
century and introduced a sorely missing woman’s perspective into the discourse on
society.

It was a testament to her abilities that after she became impoverished at the age of
24 with the death of her father, brother, and fiancé, she was able to earn her own
income as the first woman journalist in Britain to write under her own name. From
the age of 12, she suffered from severe hearing loss and was obliged to use a large
ear trumpet to converse. She impressed a wide audience with a series of articles on
political economy in 1832. In 1834 she left England to engage in two years of study
of the new republic of the United States and its emerging institutions: prisons, insane
asylums, factories, farms, Southern plantations, universities, hospitals, and
churches. On the basis of extensive research, interviews and observations, she
published Society in America and worked with abolitionists on the social reform of
slavery (Zeitlin 1997). She also worked for social reform in the situation of women:
the right to vote, have an education, pursue an occupation, and enjoy the same legal
rights as men. Together with Florence Nightingale, she worked on the development
of public health care, which led to early formulations of the welfare system in Britain
(McDonald 1998).

Particularly innovative was her early work on sociological methodology, How to
Observe Manners and Morals (1838). In this volume she developed the ground work
for a systematic social-scientific approach to studying human behavior. She
recognized that the issues of the researcher/subject relationship would have to be
addressed differently in a social, as opposed to a natural, science. The observer, or
“traveler,” as she put it, needed to respect three criteria to obtain valid research:
impartiality, critique, and sympathy. The impartial observer could not allow herself
to be “perplexed or disgusted” by foreign practices that she could not personally
reconcile herself with. Yet at the same time she saw the goal of sociology to be the
fair but critical assessment of the moral status of a culture. In particular, the goal of
sociology was to challenge forms of racial, sexual, or class domination in the name
of autonomy: the right of every person to be a “self-directing moral being.” Finally,
what distinguished the science of social observation from the natural sciences was
that the researcher had to have unqualified sympathy for the subjects being studied

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller susanwanjiku. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for $7.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

67096 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now

Start selling
$7.99
  • (0)
  Add to cart