2.4 Applying the Discipline: American Theorists and Practitioners
2.4 Applying the Discipline: American Theorists and Practitioners
In the early 1900s, sociology reached universities in the United States. William Sumner held the first professorship in sociology (Yale University), Franklin Giddings was the first full professor of Sociology (Columbia University), and Albion Small wrote the first sociology textbook. Early American sociologists tested and applied the theories of the Europeans and became leaders in social research. Lester Ward (1841–1913) developed social research methods and argued for the use of the scientific method and quantitative data to show the effectiveness of policies. For sociology to gain respectability in American academia, social researchers understood that they must adopt empirical approaches.
Race in America: W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963)
William Edward Burghardt (W. E. B.) Du Bois, a Harvard-trained historian, pioneered the use of rigorous empirical methodology in sociology (figure 2.12). His groundbreaking 1896–1897 study of the African-American community in Philadelphia incorporated hundreds of interviews Du Bois conducted to document familial and employment structures and assess the chief challenges of the community. Published as The Philadelphia Negro (1899), it was the first American urban ethnography. These new, comprehensive research methods stood in stark contrast to the less scientific practices of the time, which Du Bois critiqued as being similar to researching through the window of a moving car. His scientific approach became highly influential to entire schools of sociological study and is considered a forerunner to contemporary practices.
In addition, he was the first sociologist of race. Race was at the center of his theorizing and work. He argued that race is a social construct and could not be reduced to biology or a scientific category. This challenged pseudoscientific ideas of biological racism (Morris 2017; Green and Wortham 2018), which had been used as justification to oppress people of different races. His book analyzing the Reconstruction after the American Civil War still provides insights into contemporary American society (Bouie 2022).
Du Bois also played a prominent role in the effort to increase rights for Black people. Concerned by the slow pace of progress and some Black leaders’ recommendation that Black people be more accommodating of racism, Du Bois became a leader in what would later be known as the Niagara Movement. In 1905, he and others drafted a declaration that called for immediate political, economic, and social equality for African Americans. A few years later, he helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as its director of publications.
Even with his important sociological insights and activism, Du Bois has been largely ignored and erased by sociologists. Only recently has there been an interest in creating a Du Boisian sociology (Morris 2022).
A Closer Look: Du Bois and Double Consciousne