Development of Sociology Blog

Katie Vojvodic  

Mr. Roddy  

IHSS A  

12 October 2020  


Martineau, Functionalism, and Their Effects on Sociology


        Harriet Martineau was born on 12 June 1802 in Norwich, England. She described her childhood to be "burdensome," what with her strict, "domestic tyrant" of a mother. Martineau found her escape in the 1820s after her family hit an economic decline, a result of her father's death. She decided that she would dedicate her life to writing. Her earlier works include Society in America (1837) and Retrospect of Western Travel (1838), reports of things she discovered after spending two years in the United States. Though Martineau studied and wrote about many subjects throughout her lifetime, she is known best for translating Auguste Comte's Cours de Philosophie Positive (Course on Positive Philosophy) into English when she was around 50 years old. This book was a revolutionary introduction to positive philosophy and without Martineau's translation, it may have been a lot longer until English speaking countries understood it. 
    Functionalism, an idea introduced by Emile Durkheim in the mid-1800s, is rooted in the theory that society functions as an organism--each part plays a significant role, and none can function alone. I think that the functionalist perspective is very relevant, especially in this day and age. Many people tend to focus on things just in the circle of their everyday routine, often not looking at the big picture for various reasons. Sometimes it's easier to focus on the things that are affecting you directly and block out the bigger issues. I believe that discussing functionalism openly forces people to look at the bigger picture-- functionalism is, after all, looking at our society on a macro-level. 
    Most importantly, I think that the ideas of functionalism help people to realize that everything is connected; what may seem like an irrelevant government issue could easily snowball into a national economic or social crisis. This example, in my opinion, shows even more reason to go out and vote-- the factors deciding the fate of our country are not as out of reach and unalterable as they might seem!






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