Section 2 Development of Sociology Chapter 1 Section 2 Development of Sociology

Auguste Comte (1798-1857) Founder of sociology 1st to apply the methods of science to study of social life Interest began in the causes and consequences of the French Revolution Focused on two areas: social order and social change Certain processes, called social statics, held society together Social dynamics: society changes through certain processes

Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) Wrote Society in America-a review of how well America lived up to its promise of democracy Focused on marriage, family life, race relations, education, and religion; creating the topics of sociological study Set the standard for objectivity in research Believed scholars should advocate change to solve the problems that they studied

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) In a living organism the biological systems work together to maintain the overall health of the organism Attributed a similar process to society Strongly influenced by Charles Darwin (theory of evolution) Social change and unrest are natural occurrences during a society’s evolution toward perfection and stability Social Darwinism “survival of the fittest”

Karl Marx (1818-1883) Structure of society is influenced by how its economy is organized Society is divided into two classes: Bourgeoisie: the capitalists who own the means of production(materials and methods to produce goods) Proletariat: the workers who own only the labor needed for production Imbalance of power between classes would lead to inevitable conflict

Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) Like Comte, Durkheim focused on social order Like Spencer, Durkheim saw society as a set of interdependent parts that maintain the system over time Durkheim saw the interdependent parts in terms of their functions Function: the consequence that an element of society produces for the maintenance of its social system Focused on the function of religion in maintaining the social order Believed that shared beliefs and values were the glue that held society together

Max Weber (1864-1920) Focused on separate groups within society rather than society as a whole Focused on the effect of society on the individual Moved passed studying what can be directly observed to discover people’s feelings and thoughts Verstehen: an attempt to understand the meanings individuals attach to their actions Used the idea of ideal type in his work Ideal type: a description comprised of essential characteristics of a feature of society Ex: ideal type for a school might not be a perfect rep. of your school but is a general description of schools

Jane Addams (1860-1935) Undertook a series of surveys of poor people and the conditions in which they lived Study covered wage levels, sweatshops, child labor, the immigrant experience, and living conditions in poverty-stricken neighborhoods First to focus on the effects of industrialization and urbanization on society (especially workers)

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) Mixed social analysis with social reform Examined life in an African American community in Philadelphia Race needed to be addressed Focused on improving the lives of African- Americans (founded the NAACP in 1909)

Homework Pg. 14 #1-5