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The Social Theories of Harriet Martineau

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The Social Theories of Harriet Martineau
The 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, suppression of non-whites, and the abolition of slavery. Harriet Martineau ventured bravely into a world of theories that was dominated by white men. Women were far from being heard and even farther from being thought of as equals regarding education. Women were trained to stay at home to bear children and maintain the home while the husband was away. Even though a lot of women were educated, they still did not have a voice in the real world. Despite these challenges, Harriet Martineau became a pioneer in writing and paved the road for many other women to follow. Martineau grew up in a Utilitarian household and became a major advocate for economic reform (Clearly & Hughs, 2013). Martineau took her own experiences and education to write about the things she was passionate about. This passion took her around the world and as she traveled, she advanced her observations and came up with new conclusions. Harriet Martineau adopted Auguste Comte’s concepts of Positive Science and used his methodology to study the natural and social world (Vissing, 2011). Martineau exercised Comte’s means of observation, experimentation, and comparison to develop her own reasoning’s. Retrieved from (http://www.radford.edu/~junnever/theory/comte.htm) “Martineau argued that apparent differences in intellect between men and women were the product of educational discrimination” (Clearly & Hughs, 2013). Martineau considered the treatment of women to only be slightly better than the treatment


References: Cleary, M., & Hughes, P. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/harrietmartineau.html (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.radford.edu/~junnever/theory/comte.htm Vissing, Y. (2011). Introduction to Sociology. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
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