The origins of American sociology
American sociology originates during Reconstruction, following the Civil War. As in Europe, the mid- to late-19th century was a period of intense urbanization, but in the American case, also of immigration, mostly from
Very rapid flow of ideas from
Americans were trained in European universities
1858- course in “Social Problems” at
1873- William Graham Sumner (Herbert Spencer’s American protégé) begins teaching “social science” at Yale
1880s- “sociology” courses begin to appear
1889- first American sociology department, at the
1892- Sociology department founded at the
Early American sociologists were not nostalgic (compare with Ferdinand Toennies)
They were political liberals, generally unfamiliar with Marx’s writing
They were social progressives; they believed in progress, w/or w/out government action
There was a strong influence of Protestantism: desire to save the world, in this case using science rather than scripture: to “solve social problems” without radically changing society
Compared with
American sociology was mostly positivist, “scientistic” and pragmatic
Turned away from Weberian interpretive historical approaches, Verstehen
Less theoretical interpretation of long-term changes
More quantitative analysis of short-term changes
Until WWI, Social Darwinism was highly influential
Herbert Spencer (
The
The
Encouraged a scientific approach to sociology
Robert Park (former journalist, trained in
Initiates tradition of “urban ethnography”
Charles Horton Cooley
George Herbert Mead
Study social psychology, “Symbolic Interactionism” (micro-sociology of identity, subjective experience)
We’ll discuss these more later.
The
Critical of “dust bowl empiricism” of the
1937, Parsons publishes “The Structure of Social Action”
(more on him later)
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore were Parsons’s most famous students (functionalist theory of stratification)
Structural functionalism is dominant in American universities from the 1930s-early 1960s, then falls apart
Rejection of Structural-Functionalism
“Europeanization” of American sociology, renewed interest in Marx, Weber and Durkheim, minus Parsons’s idiosyncratic interpretation of them
1) return of conflict theories
a. neo-Marxisms, e.g. Critical Theory; Feminist theory
2) emergence of cultural theory
a. Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, Michele Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu
b. Social Constructionism (Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann)
c. Post-positivism, Postmodernism, rejection of “scientism”
Taught sociology at
Like Bourdieu and others, DuBois did not distinguish theory from practice
Not a professional academic theorist; someone who wanted to explain and improve the situation of African-Americans (not long after abolition, 50 years before the Civil Rights movement, affirmative action)
DuBois’s mother was a maid, father a barber, preacher, drifter—left the family.
His mother died while he was a boy.
By age 16 he was self-conscious of his race, the “color line,” and class
Four white men paid for his education at
Thought that African-Americans should organize together, accept the color line—they should not organize and strive in terms of values of individualism, egalitarianism, or economic participation (e.g. Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Institute, a technical institute in
DuBois teaches poor black children in the east
7th ever African-American student at Harvard; first to complete a PhD there
While studying at Harvard, DuBois traveled to
DuBois returns to the
—against racism, colonialism, imperialism
—for communism, socialism
Major ideas
the “race idea”—which he took seriously, accepted without much questioning
the “color line”—relation of the “darker” and “lighter races” across the world (the American Civil War is just one example, not unique)
“double-consciousness” or “two-ness”—the experience of being of African origin and American—a divided identity (prefigures identity politics, sociological interest in identity construction)
“the veil”—metaphor, in which African-Americans and their problems are hidden from white
“colortocracy” of light-skinned blacks in the African-American community—excessive pride in their noses, skin color, hair
The “talented tenth” of African-Americans would lead their communities
Writes The Philadelphia Negro (1899), which was commissioned by the
The Souls of Black Folk (1903) was his major book on race and class. He was the first to write about these issues sociologically and systematically
Political career
Debates with Jamaican Marcus Garvey, who wanted to bring African-Americans back to
Loses all popularity
Seen as snobbish (which he was), elitist
Proponent of socialism, communism—neither are popular in
Regains popularity since the 1970s-ish
Post-colonial studies, studies of globalization
Ethnic and racial studies, departments, multiculturalism
e.g. at UNT we have Women’s Studies and Jewish Studies departments, an African-American Studies institute, Mexican-American Studies, and the Study of Sexualities
Establishment of departments of African-American studies, e.g. Harvard has the W.E.B. Dubois Institute for African and African American Research—a famous institute, often in the news, a site of major academic controversies
Henry Louis Gates Jr., Cornel West (left for
1937, “The Structure of Social Action”
Discusses Weber, Durkheim, Pareto
In so doing, introduces theory as a legitimate area within American sociology
His translation of Weber, and his interpretation of all 3, are now seen as biased
He suggested that all three were building to his Structural Functionalism
He was concerned with “macro” sociology, with the relations among large-scale social structures and institutions
His emphasis was on order, dynamic equilibrium (as in functionalist approaches generally)
- Social System
- Cultural System
- Personality System
Social change is orderly, evolutionary
C. Wright Mills – Radical Sociology in
Born in
PhD at the
Dies of his fourth heart attack at age 45, 3 marriages with one child from each, many affairs
Outsider in many ways, had trouble with his professional relationships as well
He was at odds with American society
Challenged Talcott Parsons (Structural Functionalist), but also Paul Lazarsfeld (rememberd for his contributions to sociological methodology)
Ideas
Marx was either reviled or ignored in American sociology, although there were exceptions, and C. Wright Mills was one of the most notable
Not a sophisticated Marxist, not very familiar with Marx’s ideas
He was a rare American “radical sociologist” though, meaning he was a
Class theorist, a power theorist
“White Collar” – analyzed the new occupational category of white-collar workers
“The Power Elite” – showed how
This is a “political economy” that Mills refers to as the “triangle of power”
Power in the
Since WWII, business and government have become increasingly unified—think of Eisenhower’s warning about the “military-industrial complex”
The men of the power elite come from similar social and educational backgrounds, similar careers and styles of life
These men move easily between the three points of the triangle
Mills argued that competing interests and competition only occurred among members of the middle class, and middle-sized enterprises (e.g. labor unions and political parties—these change, but the structure of power and privilege does not).
At the “commanding heights” of the economy, military, and government, there is unity and class self-interest.
Social revolts against this system—the agrarian revolt of the 1890s, the small-business revolt since the 1880s, the labor revolt of the 1930s—have all failed to change anything (also the Reagan revolution in the 1980s, the Republican Revolution in the 1990s,
Mills argues that intellectuals need to openly discuss and debate the structures of power in American society.
Separation of the civil service from corporate interests.
Free associations of communities, families, smaller groups should be able to influence the national political economy.
“The Sociological Imagination” (1959) (damning critique of Parsons)
Feminism has a long and rich history in the
A. Gender Inequality
In the 19th century, women were legally analogous to children
Today, worldwide, women are ½ the population but own a small fraction of the world’s land and property, make a fraction of the income of men, they are limited in terms of their educational and career opportunities, denied legal rights (such as voting rights), and suffer from spouse abuse and other forms of abuse
B. Women and Sociological Theory
As sociology developed, women naturally became interested in trying to explain gender inequality (just as Marx wanted to explain class inequality, and DuBois the “color line”)
Women, however, were generally denied opportunities for higher education, and certainly for careers in academia
From a prominent
Deeply depressed after her marriage and the birth of her daughter. Divorced husband, gave her blessing to his remarry her close friend and raise her daughter.
Gilman’s depression lifted when she was able to work, unencumbered by family responsibilities.
Gave lectures around the
Secured her reputation in feminist circles when she published Women and Economics (1898)
Advocated women’s economic independence from men
Public day care
Cooperative kitchens
Wanted peaceful socialism
Argued that the nuclear family was dysfunctional for women. It was more natural for “women’s work” (cooking, cleaning, childrearing) to be done communally, as was the case in most human societies, rather than alone and isolated in the home.
The traditional family structure is inherently exploitative—women work, but are not paid.
Gender inequality is a product of socialization in the family, not inherent biological differences.
Girls and boys learn their gender (not sex) by dressing differently, being praised and scolded for different things.
And yet, she thought that men and women were innately different. Because of evolution, women are antiselfish, they want to love, to nurture. Men are competitive, want to fight, take control.
There were racist sections of her writings, and she seemed to be speaking mainly for white women. She was against slavery and the oppression of African-Americans, and genocide and oppression of Native Americans, though.
D. Contemporary Feminist Theory
Feminist theory today has taken a “postmodern” turn:
Feminism against sociology: some feminist theorists are highly critical of sociology because of its male-centeredness, blindness to women
Feminism against science: view of science as a masculine, dominating enterprise
Feminism against globalization and neo-liberalism (more expressly political): the structure of the world economic system is inherently exploitative of women: e.g. sex slaves, wage inequality, poor health care and day care for immigrant working women