About
Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) was a prolific English intellectual, often regarded as the first woman sociologist and the first woman journalist in England. Deaf from adolescence, she popularized classical economics through fictional tales in Illustrations of Political Economy (1832-34). Her work Society in America (1837), based on a trip to the United States, is a foundational text of sociology, criticizing slavery and the political exclusion of women. She also translated and abridged Auguste Comte's Cours de philosophie positive, introducing positivism to English-speaking readers. An abolitionist and advocate for women's education, she wrote over 1,600 articles for the Daily News.
* 1802-06-12 — † 1876-06-27
Major works
- Illustrations of Political Economy (1832-1834)series of tales
- Society in America (1837)sociological study
- How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838)methodological treatise
- Deerbrook (1839)novel
- History of the Thirty Years' Peace, A.D. 1816-1846 (1849)history
Key milestones
- 1832-1834Publication of Illustrations of Political Economy, which was highly successful and popularized classical economics.
- 1834-1836Travel to the United States, resulting in Society in America (1837), a critique of slavery and the political exclusion of women.
- 1853Publication of her abridged translation of Auguste Comte's Cours de philosophie positive, introducing positivism to English-speaking readers.
Themes
political economysociologyabolitionismwomen's rightsfreethought
Sources: rep.routledge.com · britannica.com · oxfordbibliographies.com