4: Western and non-Western perspectives
- Page ID
- 231733
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Sociology is a western discipline that developed in a particular context at a particular time. Its beginnings are attributed to and written by white men of a particular social status. August Comte (1798-1857) and other “founding fathers” (gender intentional) were white men of a certain class who had a specific perspective on society that was presented as universal truths These founders aligned with the Structural Functionalist perspective and viewed the ideas of modernity as the way towards progress. Key aspects of modernity are: Industrialization and capitalism, rationalization and bureaucracy, secularization, individualism, democracy and nation states. Since many other parts of the world did not follow what characterized European modernity these cultures were often seen as uncivilized and in need of help from the West, which helped justify Western Imperialism.
While University of Chicago takes credit for the first sociology department in the United States, WEB DuBois was a contemporary who theorized and empirically documented the causes of racial and social inequality yet was largely ignored by the field in its inception. Dubois initially taught at Wilberforce University. He later worked at University of Pennsylvania where he studied Black communities in Philadelphia and then he taught for many years at Atlanta University doing much of his work on race and society.
