As I read and learn about families, youth, communities, social networks and health, the people below are either cited in reference to foundational ideas, seminal texts or transformative thinking. This list is in no way complete. It will evolve and grow as I continue my personal and academic journey. I welcome recommendations for additions to this list!
The information is gathered from Wikipedia unless otherwise cited, and the name links to the relevant Wikipedia page.
(April 15, 1858 – November 15, 1917)
A French sociologist who established the discipline of sociology Karl Marx and Max Weber and is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science. Durkheim developed a rigorous methodology combining sociological theory with empirical social research and published Rules of the Sociological Method, in 1895, a manifesto stating what sociology is and how it ought to be done. He published numerous sociological studies on subjects such as education, crime, religion, suicide, and many other aspects of society. Durkheim wrote about what he called ‘social facts’ which seem related to the current concept of social capital. He was concerned primarily with how societies could maintain their integrity and coherence in the modern era, when things such as shared religious and ethnic background could no longer be assumed.
(Februay 1, 1844 – April 25, 1924)
G. Stanley Hall was an American psychologist and educator who focused on childhood development and child welfare. Hall was the first president of the American Psychological Association and the first president of Clark University. While Hall’s influence can be seen today, such as his phrase “storm and stress” (a reference to adolescence with the three key aspects of conflict with parents, mood disruptions, and risky behavior) much of his work was radical and rejected by his peers.
(July 18, 1922 – June 17, 1996)
An American intellectual an philosopher who wrote extensively on the history of science and developed several important notions in the sociology and philosophy of science. Kuhn proposed that science undergoes periodic “paradigm shifts” instead of progressing in a linear and continuous way which results in new approaches to understanding that scientists would never have considered valid before. This seems to be related to complexity theory and the idea of a ‘tipping point’. Kuhn was also one of the first to assert that scientists can never divorce their subjective perspective from their work; thus science in never fully objective and we must account for subjective perspectives as well.
(May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883)
A German philosopher, political economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, communist, and revolutionary, whose ideas are credited as the foundation of modern communism. Marx argued that capitalism, like previous socioeconomic systems, would inevitably produce internal tensions which would lead to its destruction.
(March 1, 1858 – September 28, 1918)
A German sociologist who asked, ’What is society? Simmel discussed social and cultural phenomena in terms of “forms” and “contents” with a transient relationship; form becoming content, and vice versa, dependent on the context. Simmel was influential in the future development of symbolic interactionism and social network analysis. Simmel was interestd in the psychological workings of social life, the sociological workings of interpersonal relationships, changes in the social and cultural “spirit” of his times and the principle of emergence, which is the idea that higher levels emerge out of the lower levels.
Pragmatists
(October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952)
An American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been very influential to education, democracy and social reform. Dewey is considered one of the three major figures in American pragmatism, along with Charles Sanders Peirce, who invented the term, and William James, who popularized it. Dewey held a profound belief in democracy, be it in politics, education or communication and journalism and stated in 1888, while still at the University of Michigan, “Democracy and the one, ultimate, ethical ideal of humanity are to my mind synonymous.” Dewey was an early and famous proponent of hands-on learning or experiential education and was an advocate for the reform of public schools. Many researchers credit him with the influence of Project Based Learning (PBL) which places students in the active role of researchers.
Not everything that works is de-sirable, not every belief that is “true” is to be acted upon.
