SOC4044 Sociological Theory: Jane Addams

1. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 1 SOC4044 Sociological Theory:Jane Addams Note Lecture and Presentation for SOC4044 Sociological Theory Note Lecture and Presentation for SOC4044 Sociological Theory

2. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 2 Jane Addams References Ashley, D., & Orenstein, D. M. (2001). Sociological theory: Classical statements (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Deegan, M. J. (1986). Jane Addams and the men of the Chicago School. Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books. Luft, M. (n. d.). About Jane Addams. Hull House Organization. Retrieved September 23, 2002 from http://www.hullhouse.org/website/about.asp

3. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 3 Jane Addams 1860-1935 Grew up in Cedarville, Illinois Father was a Quaker Strong abolitionist Nobel Peace Prize Winner

4. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 4 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology While Addams is seldom included in sociological theory books as a major theorist (she did develop an excellent research method), there is NO QUESTION that she impacted other theorists and the real world application of sociological theories and concepts.

5. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 5 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology Addams helped shape American sociology in a fundamental way. Her early work in Hull House Maps and Papers set the intellectual precedent for decades of work now recognized as "Chicago Sociology." Her participation in Chicago Sociology was intrinsic to its agenda, its brilliance, and it role in American life and politics. (Deegan, 1986)

6. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 6 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology A map from Hull House Maps and PapersA map from Hull House Maps and Papers

7. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 7 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology Her two major streams of thought, cultural feminism and critical pragmatism, provide a rich heritage for scholars and Americans. She articulated a view of society based on the American experience and the social thought of her age. Patriarchal worldviews prevented an institutionalization of her work in sociology and her epistemological leadership was hidden.

8. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 8 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology Despite this historical distortion of her role as a sociologist, her work with the early men of the Chicago School was significant. Three different patterns of relationships can be discerned.

9. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 9 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology The first network concerns Small, Henderson, Zeublin, and Vincent. Called here the "religious men," this group worked very closely with Addams for almost a quarter of a century. Small, Henderson, and Zeublin were all trained in the ministry and their use of religious assumptions marks their work in a distinctive way�Henderson and Zeublin were particularly close to the social settlement movements and actively turned to Addams for intellectual and moral leadership. Mapping, education, social settlements, the economy, and criminal reforms were all topics central to Addams' sociological contributions and the work done by these men�they shared a basic core of common interests, work, and historical context. All four men were actively associated with Addams, Hull-House, and the study of the city and its reform.

10. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 10 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology George Herbert Mead and William Isaac Thomas formed with Addams a significant intellectual force and influence on American thought. The least sexist of the men, they more willingly accepted Addams as a colleague and brought their personal lives and professional careers together. The considerable overlap in their ideas and work needs to be examined in greater depth. Mead was most influenced by Addams' critical pragmatism, particularly supporting her concepts of democratic change, the need for communication, and the flexibility of human nature. Thomas, too, shared an interest in immigrants and juveniles who were undergoing rapid social change in the new American city. Of all the men, he was the most influenced by her work with women and thereby formed a unique relationship to her thought concerning the role of women in modernizing society.

11. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 11 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology Finally, Robert Ezra Park and Burgess inherited the wealth of concepts and methodologies generated by these early sociologists�Park and Burgess had the most minimal contacts with Addams, but their intellectual debt to her was great. The most sexist of the men, the most opposed to social reform, and part of a new generation of sociological thought, Park and Burgess signaled the end of Addams' direct influence on the men of the Chicago School

12. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 12 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology

13. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 13 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology During the classical period of sociological theory development�most of the recognized theorists white, bourgeois, European or United States men. Jane Addams (the only woman of the earliest sociological theorist to gain a university appointment) was ultimately forced out of her position in the Sociology Department at the University of Chicago and placed in the less prestigious Social Work Department, where�so it was believed�a woman would be more at home. (Ashley & Orenstein, 2001, p. 25)

14. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 14 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology Comte�s Influence on Addam Like Durkheim, Addams also sought to link social scientific investigation with the discovery of appropriate moral rules for modern society. On a trip to England as a young woman, she was influenced by the ideas of a number of British neo-Comteans. The research she sponsored at Hull House in Chicago, her focus for an emerging peaceful world order, and her belief in science as an aid to moral development are reflective of Comtean themes. Although Addams has been less influential and less cited in American sociology than have other Chicago sociologists of her era, she is generally recognized as the foremost founder of professional social work in the United States. Thus, an investigation into the roots of social work ideology might focus on the persistence of Comtean ideas (via Addams) about science and social reform, the role of experts, and the role of government in regulating people�s lives in a capitalist society. (Ashley & Orenstein, 2001, p. 72)

15. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 15 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology Addam�s Influcence on George Herbert Mead George Herbert Mead, always an advocate of women�s rights, publicly marched with Addams in a demonstration for women�s suffrage in the streets of Chicago. Much of Mead�s thought and action was animated by his conception of an emergent democracy. Through a long period in which they exchanged ideas, Mead came to incorporate many of Addam�s views in his image of American democracy and it potentiality to develop into a more inclusive and just social order. (Ashley & Orenstein, 2001, pp. 391, 399-400)

16. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 16 Jane Addams:Chicago School of Sociology Higher Education and Women Cultural Feminism Suffrage Movement Working Women

17. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 17 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) Addams attempted to apply sociological theory and concepts to the real world as a way to solve social problems. The Hull House became her most famous and most enduring testament to her efforts. (Luft, n. d.)

18. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 18 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) During her travels to Europe after the completion of her education, Addams visited and was inspired by the community of residents she met at Toynbee Hall in London. It was there she first encountered the concept of a settlement house and observed well educated university graduates living in a community of working class and poor people. These settlement workers organized clubs, recreation, and educational programs for people in the neighborhood. The distinguishing characteristic of the settlement was its ability to deliver services without employing "professional social workers" or welfare agency staff who were often judgmental and punitive in the way they related to poor people.

19. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 19 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) In 1889, Jane Addams and her lifelong friend, Ellen Gates Starr, had been given a house by a retired businessman named Charles Hull. His once beautiful country mansion, which had served as a retreat from the rigors of city life, had gradually been surrounded by the encroaching tenements of the rapidly growing city. The house, located at the corner of Polk and Halsted streets, was referred to by the people in the neighborhood as "the Hull House." It was to this house Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr moved on September 18, 1889. On that day, they opened their doors, welcomed their neighbors, and thus began the "great experiment" that would last for over 100 years.

20. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 20 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) The community of the westside of Chicago was characteristic of the large, northern, industrial urban areas of the 19th century of America. Chicago was a center of industry and commerce and served as a gateway between the manufacturing northeast and the agricultural midwest. After the civil war, the US push westward to claim new territories fueled an incredible burst of growth in transportation, manufacturing, and commerce. This economic expansion required cheap labor, and thus massive migrations from Europe were encouraged by the US government. The Halsted street neighborhood where Jane Addams made her home was a slum complete with overcrowded tenements, crime, disease, inadequate schools, inferior hospitals, and insufficient sanitation.

21. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 21 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) The abundance of non-English speaking "new Americans" who had come from southern and eastern Europe overwhelmed the public welfare agencies, mutual aid societies, and municipal government. Newspaper accounts from that era abound with reports and editorials in which public debate was devoted to fears of "foreigners, anarchists, and unwashed rabble" who had no knowledge of American democracy and who were perceived as having no contribution to make to American culture. There was great concern expressed as to how quickly the new arrivals would give up their old world ways, and assimilate into mainstream America. It was believed that until they gave up their language, customs, and loyalty to the old countries, the immigrants were a threat to the political, economic, and social structures of the day.

22. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 22 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) Not surprisingly, the new immigrants self-perception was quite different from the one expressed in the mainstream press. Many arrived with little more than the clothes on their backs and their heads filled with tales of "streets of gold". While the merchants and factory owners of this bustling "city of the big shoulders" were all too eager to hire immigrants, most were unwilling to pay a decent wage or accept any responsibility for creating the conditions which perpetuated the slums. Local politicians were easily corrupted by moneyed interests, and city services (garbage removal, building safety codes, and police and fire protection) were woefully inadequate.

23. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 23 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) Economic conditions required parents to work long hours, leaving small children unsupervised and forcing older children to scrounge for themselves. Schooling was inadequate, and teachers unaccustomed to the ethnic diversity were scornful of children who could not speak English. Recreational facilities were non-existent so that juvenile delinquency, prostitution, and petty street crime became major threats to the safety of everyone living in the tenements. Forced to work in appalling conditions, unwelcomed by the community leaders who exploited their labor but ignored their needs, the immigrants of Chicago's westside were without hope or means of escape.

24. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 24 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) It was here that Jane Addams brought herself, her belongings, her political ideals, and her determination to live by a set of principles. She was a student and an advocate of the progressive political movement which espoused such ideas as political reform, women's suffrage, pacifism, cultural pluralism, dignity of labor, social justice, rights of children, the need for public health and safety rules, and the duty of government to protect the vulnerable. She believed that civic, religious, and philanthropic organizations needed to join into partnership with community residents and government to solve the problems which created ghetto life. Addams believed that the "new immigrants" would enrich American culture if given ample opportunity to participate in it. Prophetic words!

25. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 25 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) Addams established her residency in Hull House based upon several basic principles. First, Addams wished to live in the community as an equal participant in the local issues of the day. Unlike the social workers and society matrons who visited the poor and then returned to their middle class homes every evening, Addams and her colleagues lived where they worked. The "settlement" concept was central to the success of the Hull House community, and the practice of "neighbors helping neighbors" became a cornerstone of the Hull House philosophy.

26. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 26 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) Second, the Hull House community believed in the fundamental dignity of all individuals and accorded every person whom they encountered with equal respect while learning about their ethnic origins, cultures, and customs.

27. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 27 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) Third, the Hull House community believed that poverty and the lack of opportunity bred the problems of the ghetto. Ignorance, disease, and crime were the result of economic desperation and not the result of some moral flaw in the character of the new immigrants. Addams promoted the idea that if afforded a decent education, adequate living conditions, and reliable income, any person could overcome the obstacles of the ghetto, and furthermore if allowed to develop his skills, that person could not only make a better life for himself but contribute to the community as a whole. Access to opportunity was the key to successful participation in a democratic, self governing society. The greatest challenge and achievement of the settlement was to "help people help themselves".

28. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 28 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) Implementing these principles was no small task, and Addams gathered around her a community of young men and women, who were well educated, and willing to sacrifice personal comfort, to risk living in a hostile community, and to experiment actively in seeking solutions to the challenge of ghetto life at the turn of the century.

29. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 29 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) The activities of Hull House included: citizenship and literacy classes adult education sports and hobby clubs theatre and dance programs cooking, sewing, and homemaking classes public baths day nurseries health clinics and visiting nurses immunization programs art appreciation lending libraries political discussion groups lectures on educational and workplace reforms loaned meeting spaces for labor meetings, mutual aid societies, and social clubs.

30. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 30 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) Most importantly, Hull House created a forum for public debate on policy and legislative issues in municipal, state, and national arenas.

31. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 31 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) The achievements of the Hull House community are too numerous to list, but the impact was incalculable. This group of idealistic young people made Hull House the most famous settlement house in the USA and generated ideas, proposals, and policy reforms still felt 100 years later. The following movements can all trace their origins, at least in part, to the work of the Hull House settlement. civil rights women's suffrage international peace juvenile protection labor relations court reform public health public housing civic watchdog urban planning

32. Sunday, August 26, 2012 � 2002 by Ronald Keith Bolender 32 Jane Addams:Hull House (A Settlement House) By the time of her death in 1935, Jane Addams had won the Nobel Peace Prize and changed forever the profile of Chicago. After her death, the residents of Hull House carried on the work begun by Jane Addams and the other founders.