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FAMOUS SOCIOLOGISTS • Auguste Comte • Emile Durkheim • Harriet Martineau • Max Weber • Herbert Spencer • WEB DuBois • Karl Marx • Jane Addams Auguste Comte (French) 1798-1857 • “father” or “founder” of sociology (coined the term) • believed society could be studied like any other science – positivism (the application of the scientific approach to the social world) • used the scientific method (hypothesis, collect data, analyze data, evaluate hypothesis) • was seeking natural laws to explain the social world (response to the disorder caused by the French Revolution) Comte continued • believed that sociologists should worry about two problems: order and change • social statics = overall structure of a society remains unchanged • social dynamics = elements within the society change to allow for social development Auguste Comte Harriet Martineau (English) 1802-1876 • translated Comte’s work into English • concerned with social change and the plight of women and children in English factories during the early phases of industrialization • first acknowledged female sociologist Harriet Martineau Herbert Spencer (English) 1820-1903 • society = an organism, therefore, an “evolutionary entity” - social evolution • coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” • Social Darwinism • advocated against social reform efforts because it would disrupt the natural selection process of evolution Spencer continued • no need to correct society’s ills - the best aspects would survive over time • considered social change and unrest to be natural occurrences in a society’s evolution toward stability and perfection • a structural functionalist Herbert Spencer Karl Marx (German) 1818-1883 • economic determinism = “the structure of society is heavily influenced by how the economy is organized” • means of production = land, factories, raw materials, etc… • society divided into two groups: *those who own the means of production (bourgeoisie) • *those who own their own labor (proletariat) Marx continued • the ones who own the means of production control society • most interested in capitalist society • “social scientists should not be passive observers” - should be “transformers” of society • considered the founder of the conflict perspective Karl Marx Emile Durkheim (French) 1858-1917 • studied society using the scientific method • concerned with the problem of social order • viewed society as a set of parts and the role of these parts in terms of their function Durkheim continued • function = “positive consequence that an element of society has for the maintenance of the social system” • believed that “shared beliefs and values are the glue that holds society together” • a structural functionalist Durkheim continued • should study only the directly observable • thoughts and feelings not proper subject matters • used statistical analysis to test his theories • important concept was “anomie” or lack of norms - he saw “anomie” as a major source of society’s ills Emile Durkheim Max Weber (German) 1864-1920 • interested more in “groups within society than in the social whole” • analyzed the effects of society on the individual • thought you should take into consideration more than just the directly observable • sociologists must try to uncover thoughts and feelings Weber continued • Verstehen = “empathetic understanding of the meanings others attach to their actions” put yourself in another’s place and see the society (world) through their eyes • believed sociologists could never capture the reality of society but should focus on ideal types • ideal type = the essential characteristics of some aspect of society Max Weber W.E.B. DuBois (American) 1868-1963 • first African-American PhD graduate of Harvard University • racism affected his acceptance as a sociologist • each year between 1896 and 1914 he wrote a book on race relationships Du Bois continued • NAACP • believed sociologists should also be social reformers • used statistics to examine racial discrimination against blacks • influence of strong African-Americans important for black communities • a symbolic interactionist W.E.B. Du Bois Jane Addams (American) 1860-1935 • believed sociologists should also be social reformers • pioneered the study of social problems • won the first Noble Peace Prize given to an American sociologist (1931) • founded Hull House for the poor in Chicago • member of the NAACP Jane Addams