SOCI1503 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: The Course In Positive Philosophy, Harriet Martineau, Auguste Comte
Document Summary
Harriet martineau was an english social theorist and whig writer, often cited as the first female sociologist. Although today martineau is rarely mentioned, she was critical to the early growth of the sociological discipline. Martineau wrote 35 books and a multitude of essays from a sociological, holistic, religious, domestic, and, perhaps most significantly, feminine perspective. She earned enough to be supported entirely by her writing, a challenging feat for a woman in the victorian era. As a theorist, she believed that a thorough societal analysis was necessary to understand the status of women. Martineau introduced feminist sociological perspectives in her writing and addressed overlooked issues such as marriage, children, domestic life, religious life, and race relations. Harriet martineau introduced comte to the english- speaking world by translating his works. Although auguste comte is credited with launching the science of sociology, he might have been forgotten were it not for martineau, who translated comte"s 1839 text,
