Harriet Martineau Essay - 1056 Words

Harriet Martineau Although we think of sexism as a situation that has been dealt with, we still have much to learn. A key turning point in discrimination against women was the courageous actions of Harriet Martineau. Harriet was born in 1802, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Martineau. She grew up in a home without any encouragement for her education. Instead she was trained, as all other women in her life, to be a homemaker. However this did not stop her efforts to pursue her dream. Even though she risked exile from her family, friends, and society at whole, Harriet continued her studies of women’s lesser role in the social aspects of life. Harriet described her childhood as a â€Å"burdensome experience† (Household†¦show more content†¦Soon after she joined a circle of writers and theologians in London. Working with such famous people as: Charles Babbage, Thomas Carlyle, George Eliot, Florence Nightingale, Charles Dickens, Thomas Malthaus, William Wodsworth, Charlotte Bronte, and Charles Darwin. As she kept writing she became more respected and her popularity grew quickly. Harriet first got a large reading public when she popularized classical economics with a series of anecdotes and short stories. She especially focused on the ideas of Thomas Robert Malthus and David Ricardo: Illustrations of Political Economy, 25 vol. (1832-34), Poor Laws and Paupers Illustraed, 10 vol. (1833-34), and Illustrations of Taxation, 5 vol. (1834). After she visited the United States she wrote Society in America (1837), which is her most popular writing used amongst sociologists today, and Retrospect of Western Travel (1838). She also wrote How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838), which was another admired writing of hers. â€Å"Her writings in How to Observe Morals and Manners offered a positivist solution to the correspondence problem between intersubjectivity, verifiable observables, and unobservable theoretical issues (Hill, http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/martineau.html).† After this she felt she needed to approach the subject of the Abolition Movement and repudiated laissez-faire economics favoring a moreShow MoreRelatedThe Social Theories of Harriet Martineau831 Words   |  4 PagesThe Social Theories of Harriet Martineau For the most part, men are usually credited when it comes to Sociological Theories and explanations. Women were given little attention if any, when it came to matters outside of the household. One woman in particular managed to stand out in the 1800’s despite the plague of gender inequalities during her time. She not only stood up against sexism but also used her Sociological perspectives to fight for women’s rights, the well being of children, suppressionRead MoreHarriet Martineau, The Founding Mother Of Sociology924 Words   |  4 Pagesthe 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 dominatedRead MoreHarriet 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 lifetimeRead MoreEssay about The Sociological Framework of Harriet Martineau1007 Words   |  5 PagesThe Sociological Framework of Harriet Martineau Over the past twenty years, sociology has gone through a process of self-evaluation, as field researchers and observers express a wariness about the empty universalism of speculative systems and look for ways in which to secure empirical foundations that give way to meaningful application in a pluralistic, postmodern world. The survival of sociology as a critical theoretical discipline is a concern expressed by many, such as contemporary social analystRead MoreShifting Women s Views By Harriet Martineau And Dorothy Wordsworth990 Words   |  4 PagesVictorian periods of British history, we also witness the emergence of an inner consciousness of women, which denounced those accepted by society at the time. This is illustrated through observing the parallels and contrasts within the writings of Harriet Martineau and Dorothy Wordsworth. The inner reflections of these women writers not only rejects the â€Å"Angel in the House† ideal placed upon women, which is found in â€Å"Th e Paragon† by , but also contradicts those illustrated in â€Å"My Last Duchess† and â€Å"Porphyria’sRead MoreThe Publisher Of Our Sociology Textbook861 Words   |  4 PagesThe quiz can further test my retention of the knowledge in the chapter. The results are given right away, so I will know what to improve on. Three renowned sociologists whose lives I have explored are Charles Horton Cooley, Jane Addams, and Harriet Martineau. I chose to look up Charles Horton Cooley because I liked that he preferred to look at smaller units first when using the sociological perspective. I was surprised to learn that he was quite introverted and insecure, but glad to know that heRead MoreThe Rise Of The Industrial Revolution937 Words   |  4 Pagesgovernment intervention, called the laissez-faire political economy, so that they could act on self-interest in order to create greater goods for the greatest profit. A notable philosopher who strongly defended the new economic system was Harriet Martineau. Harriet Martineau was a classic liberal who firmly believed that workers should leave their wages to the supply and demands of the free market. She defended the laissez-faire system because she believed that the competition in the market would leadRead More Cousin Marshall and the Role of Responsibility, C harity, and Suffering783 Words   |  4 PagesSuffering Harriet Martineau, in her story â€Å"Cousin Marshall,† addressed the separate spheres of work and responsibility between a husband and wife in the figures of the Mrs. Bell and Mrs. Marshall. Martineau intended the story to act as a lesson to her readers and this is reflected in the dualistic portrayal of the two women. Cousin Marshall is portrayed as the height of womanly responsibility and suffering while Mrs. Bell is portrayed as a blight on society. Martineau assigned the financialRead MoreThe Unique Character Of America And The American People1721 Words   |  7 Pagesis also resonant in some of the works of the 19th century. For instance, Henry Thoreau and Harriet Martineau also described the uniqueness of America’s landscape and appear to romanticize it as well. In Thoreau’s Walking he used the physical action of walking to discuss the wilderness of America and the influence the wilderness has on creating the idea of a distinct American people. Similar to Thoreau, Harriet Martinue Society in America discusses the unique character of the American people. ComparativelyRead MorePolitical, Religious, And Social Institutions861 Words   |  4 PagesGroup B Question 4 Harriett Martineau can be considered the first sociologist, she not only influenced Marx’s work on the political economy, but brought positivism to the English speaking world. Martineau was the first to collect data through observation, and speak for and to the people. Martineau s reflections on Society in America, are prime examples of her sociological methods. Her ideas in this field were set out in her book How to Observe Morals and Manners. She believed that some very general