2.7 Conclusion
Let’s return to the Haitian Revolution. Two of the theorists we have discussed offered insights about it. W. E. B. Du Bois wrote about it in several excerpts about the Revolution and one of its leaders, Toussaint L’Ouverture (Du Bois 1996). Du Bois connected Toussaint to several of the founders of sociology, showing some of the interconnections between early sociology and the Haitian Revolution. Comte included Touissant in his new proposed “calendar of saints.” Martineau wrote a fictionalized account of Touissant’s life (2010). Du Bois also pointed to the Haitian Revolution’s contemporary relevance to the United States. Du Bois noted the Haitian Revolution made Napoleon give up on his aims of expanding the French Empire in America. As a result “All of Montana and the Dakotas, and most of Colorado and Minnesota, all of Washington and Oregon States, came to us as the indirect work of a despised Negro…but today let us not forget our debt to Touissant L’Ouverture” (quoted in Du Bois 1996:302).
C. L. R. James, a postcolonial theorist from Trinidad mentioned earlier in this chapter, provided a thorough interpretation of the Haitian Revolution in his book The Black Jacobins (1989[1938]). James described how the slaves formed a class. Pushing against the sole focus on class, he pointed to how race and colonialism also played a role in the events of the revolution. While comparing slavery to the slave revolt, he argued “The cruelties of property and privilege are always more ferocious than the revenges of poverty and oppression. For the one aims at perpetuating resented injustice, the other is merely a momentary passion soon appeased” (James 1989:88-89).
James’ account of the Haitian Revolution provided a theory of capitalism that showed capitalism was “rooted in colonialism and the exploitation of the racialized masses” (Itzigsohn 2013: 179). Simultaneously, James provided a “theory of emancipation and democracy based on the action of these masses” (Itzigsohn 2013: 179). In the book he shows how class struggle and racial struggle are connected. And that the racialized, colonized people had to emancipate themselves. They could not wait for the French white working class or anyone else to save them (Itzigsohn 2013). He even wrote a play based on the revolution, called Toussaint L’Ouverture-The Story of the Only Succesful Slave Revolt in History (James 1992). However, American sociologists continue to ignore James’ contributions, just as they have done with the work of Du Bois (Morris 2017; Itzigsohn 2013). How might we explain this given what we have learned about sociology in this chapter? What might postcolonial theory, critical race theory, or intersectional feminism have to say about this? What additional, theoretically rich events might have sociologists overlooked?
2.7.1 Review of Learning Objectives
Sociologists utilize a variety of different theoretical perspectives to help make sense of human behavior and identify patterns. Some classical theories provide frameworks that contemporary sociologists built on as our world continues to change. Now that you have a sense of what sociology is, you might be asking how sociologists “do” sociology. The next chapter will explore how sociologists use social science research methodology to understand more about human interactions within various contexts.
2.7.2 Key Terms
Base: in Marx’s theory the economic component of the society.
Bourgeoise: in Marx’s theory the wealthy owners/capitalists that control economic production.
Colonialism: when a dominating country creates settlements in a distant territory.
Conflict theory: a macro level theory that proposes conflict is a basic fact of social life. Tends to argue that the institutions of the society benefit the powerful.
Critical race theory: a theoretical framework that examines how racism is embedded in American social life through its systems and institutions.
Feminist theory: a theoretical framework that examines gender related inequalities.
Imperialism: When a country dominates a distant territory.
Intersectionality: the idea that inequalities produced by multiple and interconnected social characteristics can influence the life course of an individual or group. Intersectionality, then, suggests that we should view gender, race, class, or sexuality not as individual characteristics but as interconnected social situations.
Mechanical solidarity: in Durkheim’s theory where people relate to each other based on similarities. Often associated with pre-industrial societies.
Organic solidarity: in Durkheim’s theory where people related to each other based on differences. Often associated with industrial societies.
Positivism: Comte’s theory which suggests that science produces universal laws, science controls what is true, and that objective methods allow you to pursue that truth.
Postcolonial Theory: a theoretical framework that explores colonial relations and their aftermath. The framework tends to focus on subjugated people.
Postmodern theory: is a broad and somewhat intentionally difficult to define term, tends to be skeptical of “objective” universal explanations of how society and culture operate.
Profane: in Durkheim’s theory of religion it is the routine, everyday life.
Proletariat: in Marx’s theory, the workers that must sell their labor.
Rituals: in Durkheim’s theory of religion, it is when society would come together to worship the sacred and reaffirm people’s connections with one another.
Sacred: in Durkheim’s theory of religion, it is religious phenomena that invoke feelings of awe, fear, and reverence.
Social location: your position within society. This often includes your position in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability, religion, and geography.
Spirit of Capitalism: in Weber’s theory, the overall guiding principles of capitalism.
Structural Functionalism: a macro level theory that proposes society is made up of stable institutions and each institution has a function for the society.
Subaltern Group: are groups that are made subordinate by powerful groups because of their class, caste, gender, nationality or any other dimension of difference.
Superstructure: in Marx’s theory, the institutions of the society outside of the economy.
Symbolic interactionism: a micro level theory that emphasizes the importance of meanings and interactions in social life.
Theory: a statement that proposes to describe and explain why facts or other social phenomena are related to each other based on observed patterns.
Verstehen: a German word that means to understand in a deep way.
2.7.3 Discussion Questions
- Select one of the theories discussed in this chapter. What are some of the strengths and limitations of this theory? How might another theory covered in this chapter help address some of the limitations you identified in the theory you selected?
- Pick one of the theories discussed in the chapter. How might it be applied to the Pendleton Round-Up discussed in Chapter 1? What would it emphasize? What might it miss?
- Which historical events were important to the development of sociological theory? Are there other events, besides the Haitian Revolution, that should be theorized? What contemporary events might shape future sociological theorizing?
- How does the social location of individual theorists influence the theories they produced? How does your social location influence what you know about the world and how you see the world?
2.7.4 Licenses and Attributions for Conclusion
“Conclusion” by Matthew Gougherty is licensed under CC BY 4.0
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