Reclaiming Forgotten Voices: Harriet Martineau’s Contribution to the Sociology of Education and Feminist Theory

My proposal invites a critical reflection on what we have been taught about the contributions of male and female sociologists in the field of education. Often, alongside the famous "fathers" of sociology like Durkheim, Weber, and Mead, female figures such as Harriet Martineau, Flora Tristan, Frieda Wunderlich, and Jane Addams have been overlooked, despite offering innovative and relevant contributions to the analysis and interpretation of educational processes.

I would like to briefly reflect on the theoretical and empirical contribution of Harriet Martineau, the first sociologist, who in the first half of the 19th century developed a progressive, inclusive, and universalist vision of education. Her idea of education—addressed to the privileged, the marginalized, the disabled, and women, oriented towards social justice and the development of individual capacities—anticipated concepts that are still debated today.

By addressing the dilemma between "reproductive" education and education that liberates from inequalities and injustices, Martineau's work within the canon of sociology of education could advance feminist theory in legitimizing education as part of the scientific culture of society, a goal inherited from past female sociologists and still not fully achieved (Acker, 1987).