housework as being like any other kind of work—as a public, social activity no differ-
ent from shoemaking or shipbuilding. In her fiction she imagines a range of institutions
that overcome the isolation of women and children, such as communal kitchens, day
care centers, and city plans that foster camaraderie rather than withdrawal. For women,
as well as for men, she wrote in her autobiography, “[t]he one predominant duty is to
find one’s work and do it.”
One of the important commonalities among these founders of sociological
thought was that because they were minorities or women, they were constantly defiled
and denounced because of their views. Margaret Fuller and Mary Wollstonecraft were
denounced as “feminists,” their reputations sullied by their personal relationships.
Du Bois and Gilman were denounced because each gave such weight to economic inde-
pendence for Blacks and for women; they were accused of reducing social issues to
simple economic autonomy. And Frederick Douglass was consistently denounced
because he extended his cry for Black freedom to women as well. It was Douglass
who provided the oratorical support for the suffrage plank at the first convention for
women’s rights in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848—for which he was denounced
the next day as an “Aunt Nancy man,” the nineteenth-century equivalent of a wimp.
Doing sociology is not always comfortable, nor is sociology done only by those
whose material lives are already comfortable. Sometimes sociology challenges com-
mon sense and the status quo.
Contemporary Sociology
Contemporary sociologists return constantly to the ideas of its founders for inspira-
tion and guidance as they develop their own questions about how society works—
and doesn’t work. Classical theories provide orientation for the development of
sociological thinking.
In the United States, sociology developed as an academic field in the period between
1930 and 1960. It promised to be a social science that could explain the historical ori-
gins and dynamics of modern society. Two questions dominated the field: What could
sociology contribute to the study of the self? And what processes ensure social order?
Stated differently, the first question was about the distinction of sociology from
psychology: What is the self, and how is it different from what psychologists call
CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY 23OBJECTIVE: Explore one of the historical figures in soci-
ology and examine his or her significance to sociology.STEP 1: Plan
Your instructor may assign each student a historical figure
to examine in more detail.STEP 2: Research
Search the Internet and other library resources to find
detailed information on your historical figure. Include
information like:
3 Name, date, and location of birth and death
3 Picture (if you can locate one)3 Educational background and a list of significant writings
3 Brief discussion of most important sociological
contribution
3 Critiques of this historical figure and obstacles faced by
this historical figure
3 List all resources used in this projectSTEP 3: Discuss
3 Be prepared to either turn in your findings or share them
in class.Historical Figures in Sociology Examined
Log on to
http://www.MySocLab.com for more
resources that will help you
complete this Try It activity.