Seminal Sociological Writings, Volume 2: From Harriet Martineau to W.E.B. Du Bois continues our mission to provide professors, students, and laypersons with invaluable primary resources on the birth and growth sociology-the "science of society."
Like its predecessor-Seminal Sociological Writings: From Auguste Comte to Max Weber-this anthology is composed of primary source documents that originally appeared in articles and books published between the mid-nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. They therefore allow modern readers to see how the pioneering sociological thinkers introduced their paradigm-changing concepts that shattered earlier perceptions of society-concepts such as "culture lag," "collective bargaining," "human ecology," "iron law of oligarchy," "cake of custom," and "class conflict"-which still largely influence the way twenty-first century social scientists think about and study human relationships, institutions, societies, and cultures.
Along with the writings of Harriet Martineau and W.E.B. Du Bois-the first woman and black founders of sociology, which bookend this collection-the groundbreaking writings of fourteen other sociological founders are featured: Frederick Engels, Henry Sumner Maine, Beatrice Potter Webb, Walter Bagehot, Ludwig Gumplowicz, Jane Addams, Gustav Ratzenhofer, Vilfredo Pareto, Albion Small, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Robert E. Park, Franz Oppenheimer, Robert Michels, and William F. Ogburn.
This carefully assembled collection of sixteen seminal sociological writings can serve as either a primary or ancillary text in courses on the history of sociology and sociological theory, and it will enlighten and enrich all individuals interested in the birth and development of the social sciences.
RICHARD ALTSCHULER, Ph.D., is the editor of Seminal Sociological Writings: From Auguste Comte to Max Weber and The Living Legacy of Marx, Durkheim, & Weber, Volumes 1 and 2, among other sociology books. He has taught sociological theory, statistics, and research methods at Temple University, New York University, and Queens College, and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.
