Introduction to Sociology/Famous Sociologists

Sociologist Time Period School of Thought Most Well-Known Contributions
Comte, Auguste 1798-1857 positivism coined the term "Sociology"; founder of positivism; developed the Law of three stages
Durkheim, Émile 1858-1917 structural functionalism; solidarism well-known for several books, including: Suicide, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life; The Division of Labour in Society; started the first journal of sociology; also asserted that there are social facts
Marx, Karl 1818-1883 socialism; conflict theory explained the origins and functioning of Capitalism; advocated socialism; argued that the history of all societies is rooted in class conflict
Spencer, Herbert 1820-1903 social darwinism created a lengthy volume on sociology; applied Darwinian evolution to social life; coined the phrase "survival of the fittest"
Simmel, Georg 1858-1918 most well-known for his work on social structure and life in large cities
Veblen, Thorstein 1857-1929 most well-known for his book The Theory of the Leisure Class
Cooley, Charles Horton 1864-1929 symbolic interactionism most well-known for his concept of the looking-glass self
Mead, George Herbert 1863-1931 symbolic interactionism developed symbolic interactionism
Weber, Max 1864-1920 verstehen well known for several books, including The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
Parsons, Talcott 1902-1979 structural functionalism formalized the theory of structural functionalism
Garfinkel, Harold 1917-2011 ethnomethodology developed the methodological and theoretical approach of ethnomethodology
Goffman, Erving 1922-1982 symbolic interactionism most well-known for his ideas involving dramaturgy and his books Stigma and The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Bourdieu, Pierre 1930-2002 most well-known for his cultural capital and habitus