Harriet Martineau, The Founding Mother Of Sociology

From its emergence in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the sociological field was dominated mostly by men. It was not until the late 1800s that a woman, Harriet Martineau, emerged as the founding mother of sociology. Inspired by Auguste Comte’s perspectives on positivism, Martineau advocated the use of scientific method and logic in sociological findings. She brought her sociological thought and studies to the United States and added a feminist voice to the field; calling for suffrage and education, she used applied sociology to advocate for change (Diniejko, 2010). Before Harriet Martineau, sociology was a field dominated by men, but her education and feminist ideals, allowed her to become the first woman sociologist, and not only break barriers, but implement her feminist ideology and influence her societal observations. By making sociology more accessible and relatable, Martineau was able to earn the title of the Mother of Sociology. Martineau was born in 1802 in an upper-middle class English family who belonged to an exclusive literary club in Norwich. Raised by literate, educated parents, Martineau was mostly self-taught, but she did have access to subjects that were traditionally for men only. Martineau’s ailing health, she was unable to taste or smell she was partially deaf by age twelve, caused her parents to send her to a school run by her aunt and uncle. Her uncle introduced her to Unitarianism and the works of great philosophers (Webster University, 2004;Show MoreRelatedHarriet Martineau : An Early Western Sociologist1229 Words   |  5 Pages Harriet Martineau (Sociologist) Harriet Martineau is an early Western sociologist who was born June 12,1802 in Norwich England. Harriet Martineau has come to be known as the founding mother of sociology for both her theoretical and empirical work. Martineau was one of the first women journalists, she also worked as a translator, speech writer, and wrote acclaimed novels that spoke on pressing social issues. Harriet has published over 50 books and over 2,000 articles in her lifetime