Life and achievements
Early life
Harriet Martineau was born on June 12, 1802, in Norwich, England, to a large family who belonged to the Unitarian religion; education was essential to her family. Martineau's father was a textile manufacturer, and he made sure that his children received good education. Martineau proved to be a bright student from her early childhood. However, she was not so lucky in her early life as she faced several challenges. She had a problem of hearing impairment, which started at a tender age and gradually progressed to complete deafness. Nevertheless, she was bent on achieving a learning and knowledge-seeking life.
Economic problems arose in the Martineau family after the death of her father in 1826, and this led to the independence of Harriet. She had to write to support herself and her family, and she did so by writing. Her first pieces of literature included religious essays and children's stories, forming the basis of her later writing works. The two essential aspects in Martineau's life that helped her become more aware of social injustice were poverty and disability. She was primarily concerned with class, gender, and the political economy, shaping her social theorist career.
Martineau never allowed the restrictions imposed on women of her time to hinder her from achieving her goals, and she persevered. She was born into a Unitarian family and was exposed to their liberal ideas of equality and social justice; hence, she used her writings to provoke change. She was soon acknowledged for her sharp social commentaries on British society, especially in her Illustrations of Political Economy series. These works paved the way for her rise as one of the most prominent public intellectuals and set the foundation for her contribution to sociology and feminism.
Legacy
It is a great honor for Harriet Martineau to be a pioneer sociologist and a feminist of her time. She pioneered women in academia when they were not even allowed to practice what they learned. Martineau's works on political economy, education, and women's rights contributed to making sociology a discipline; she is also recognized for bringing empirical methods to studying social institutions.
She contributed significantly to the development of feminist ideas. At a time when women were expected to stay at home, Martineau said that they should be educated and engage in politics. Her criticism of marriage as a system that subjugated women and her demands for changes in education and the economy paved the way for the succeeding feminist movements. She was a passionate defender of women's rights to choose their lives and careers, and her work remains influential in contemporary feminist theory and practice.
Besides sociology and feminism, Martineau was an active abolitionist, writer, and journalist. Her travels in the United States made her come across the institution of slavery, which she strongly condemned. Her work was to support the cause of the enslaved people and to support the abolitionists in both the U.S. and Britain. In other areas, Martineau was also a liberal, as she supported, for example, the rights of workers, changes in the educational system, and humane treatment of prisoners.
After she died in 1876, Harriet Martineau's work inspired many more generations of philosophers. Her focus on observation, social change, and women's rights has shaped sociology, political science, and feminism. She is celebrated today not only as a founder of sociology but also as a woman who applied her mind and bravery to fight against society's injustices.
Milestone moments
Jun 12, 1802
Birth of a Trailblazer
Harriet Martineau was born to a large, intellectually inclined Unitarian family in Norwich, England.
Brought up with the belief that education and social responsibility are essential, she grew up with a good moral character.
Although the women of her generation were constrained in their abilities, Martineau's family supported her education and development as a writer and social thinker.
Martineau's childhood was influenced by her parents, who were engaged in education and religious controversies, which helped her to get acquainted with liberal opinions.
Her textile manufacturer father ensured that all children were well-educated.
But, as said before, her youth was not free from problems. She became partially deaf in childhood, and by the time she was an adult, she was almost entirely deaf.
It would also define her later in life and help her develop her mission to fight social justice issues in her writing.
Jun 6, 1834
Release of Illustrations of Political Economy
Martineau's significant discovery was her series of short stories, Illustrations of Political Economy, which aimed to introduce the general public to economic concepts.
These stories provided an easy-to-understand presentation of financial concepts and theories and were widely read throughout Britain.
The success of this series made her one of the most respected intellectuals and writers of her time and earned her the financial freedom that she had always desired.
The publication of these stories was a significant step in her career since it affirmed her as a specialist in political economy.
Martineau used the opportunity to discuss class differences, the impact of industrialization, and the necessity of changing the economic system.
She was praised for the simplicity of her work and for raising awareness of many social problems.
May 16, 1837
Society in America
In 1837, she wrote Society in America, a critique of American society, having observed American society during her visit to the United States.
The book addressed issues sensitive to society, including slavery, women, and the right to democracy.
Her observations regarding the contradictions in American culture, especially democracy in America, as evidenced by the treatment of women and black people, made the book both influential and controversial.
This publication made Martineau a prominent figure in the discussion of social justice on the international level.
It attracted Britain's and the U.S. reformers and underscored how she could merge empirical observation with social theory.
Society in America is still considered one of her significant contributions to sociology and the early development of feminism.
May 17, 1838
How to Observe Morals and Manners
Following the success of Society in America, Martineau released How to Observe Morals and Manners in 1838; it is a handbook for social investigation.
In this work, she laid down the principles of empirical observation, the first of which was objectivity and the second, systematic observation of social institutions.
This text is considered one of the first works in the methodology of sociology that shaped the further development of sociology research by the subsequent generations of sociologists.
The book was revolutionary in its approach, claiming that social events are amenable and should be investigated scientifically.
Martineau's focus on observation and gathering facts put her in a leadership position in a new trend in social research that called for more scientific methods in analysis.
Her work in research methodology is the foundation for establishing sociology as a science.