Abstract
This book reviews the process by which the discipline of sociology was created in the United States. The book proposes a deeper and more comprehensive review of the forming of sociology than usual. Williams and MacLean do not only focus on the well-known legendary Chicago School for its theoretical influence on European sociology, but also review the social conditions in the United States, such as industrialization and urbanization, that formed fertile social ground for the development of sociology. Williams and MacLean illuminate the role of a line of figures that have contributed to the creation of sociology. As Williams and MacLean write, when sociology was created in the United States, it was a social movement led by social reformers, many of them women, with different causes: prominent intellectuals, reporters, business people, and a few members of academic circles. In this period, sociology was more of a social critic and a demand for reform than a science, which it turned into with its institutionalization and acceptance in the academic environment.
Settlement Sociology in the Progressive Years offers a wider perspective of the forming of American sociology. The book is recommended to every sociologist, especially those not familiar with the historical development of American sociology. A significant contribution of the book is that it enables us to realize the complexity of American society when sociology was created in the United States, and the immanence of sociological activity and notion of progress in American society in that period. The authors notice that sociology, in the beginning, was intertwined with social work, and only later separated into separate disciplines. The basic thesis for which Williams and MacLean offer convincing arguments is that sociology in the United States was authentically American and different from European sociology since its creation, although American sociologists were familiar with the achievements of European sociology. Williams and MacLean suggest that American sociology includes, but is not limited to, the Chicago School. They correctly affirm that emphasizing only the Chicago School limits the rich American sociological tradition.
The book itself is organized into 10 chapters. Each of the first nine chapters illuminates the contribution of a certain institution or movement, along with its leading figures. At the end of each chapter, Williams and MacLean give us the key points regarding the contribution of the institution or movement discussed in the chapter. The last chapter offers a recapitulation and a wider analysis of the creation of sociology in the United States.
As indicated by the book’s title, it is an analysis of the Progressive Era, a period that lasted from the 1890s to the First World War. It was time in the United States characterized by industrialization, migrations, and urbanization. It was a time of innovations and challenges. These movements led to the rapid growth of large urban centers, which meant not only the development of society, but also the creation of new social problems and reform movements that tried to overcome them. Many felt that the solution to urban problems would be found in the social sciences. Hence the birth of the social science movement.
Williams and MacLean analyze three factors they consider to be important to the inception of American sociology. They point to social gospel and feminist pragmatism on a theoretical level and settlements on an institutional level. Williams and MacLean note that social gospel, which required the Christianization of capitalism – with a vision different from that of laissez-faire capitalism – was an ideal predecessor of sociology. On the other hand, feminist pragmatism, especially exemplified by Hull House and Jane Addams, required women to take on more active roles in social life. It is worth mentioning the role of the Chicago women’s school of sociology, whose contribution to the development of sociology in the United States was to be invaluable. Their contribution to the inception and development of sociology was mirrored in the creation of sociological theory, methodology, and social reform. On an organizational level, the book also analyzes the role of settlements and their founders and idealized leaders. Each of the settlements, with research and social activist niche in their midst, had its own specific contribution to the creation of sociology. According to Williams and MacLean, the settlements were meaningful because they were among the first to recognize the significance of social inequity and social stratification, which remains a key issue in sociology even today.
The book analyzes multiple settlements that played significant roles in the Progressive Era. The authors pay special attention to the University of Chicago and the role of Mary McDowell in the development of the Chicago Commons Settlement; Graham Taylor, the first professor of Christian Sociology at the Chicago Theological Seminary; as well as South End House in Boston, which promoted social Christianity and made significant contributions to the development of urban sociology. The authors highlight especially the roles of Jane Addams and Graham Taylor. They also point out the contribution of Florence Kelley, who was trained in social sciences during her studies in Europe. She was a sociologist theoretically and methodologically. In her work, she applied scientific materialism – in essence, a critical analysis of society.
This book is recommended to the general public, but especially those who consider sociology to be their life calling. The book abounds with little known data presented in a systematic way. The book makes for fast reading, and a lot can be learned from it, not only by the general public, but also the more specialized sociological public.