Page 23 - GHES-1-2

Global Health Econ Sustain

PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE
Max Weber and Harriet Martineau in physical

education: Nuances of historical parallelism and
gender bias in the sociological method

Fabricio Boscolo Del Vecchio *, Erlene Pereira Barbosa , and Rodrigo Cantu 2
1
2
1 Department of Gymnastic and Health, School of Physical Education, Federal University of Pelotas,
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
2 Department of Sociology and Politics, Federal University of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Physical education has been constituted in a complex scenario, and despite this
epistemological debate, we can find the existence of a “sociology of sport,” a relatively
recent field of study dominated by names such as Karl Marx, Norbert Elias, Pierre
Bourdieu, and Michel Foucault, while the name of Max Weber and Harriet Martineau,
the first woman sociologist, is absent of research in the “sociology of sport.” This
article aims to explore two possible phenomena to explain this failure: Historical
parallelism and gender bias. This research applies the bibliographic method with
a descriptive approach, based on the works of Max Weber and Harriet Martineau,
Academic editor: including supporting theoretical references. As the main result, Weber considered
Mihajlo Jakovljevic M.D. Ph.D. MAE sociology as a science that seeks to interpretively understand social action and
*Corresponding author: explain it causally in its course and effects. According to Weber, scientists must be
Fabricio Boscolo Del Vecchio skilled in separating judgments of reality (what is) and judgments of value (what
(fabricioboscolo@gmail.com)
ought to be) in scientific analysis, to pursue genuine knowledge, and he organized
Citation: Vecchio, F.B.D., Barbosa, his sociological analysis method based on two main tools: (1) Ideal types and
E.P. & Cantu, R. 2023. Max Weber (2) types of social action. Temporarily before Weber, Martineau (1802 – 1876) pointed
and Harriet Martineau in physical
education: Nuances of historical to aspects related to the observation process, and provided examples related to the
parallelism and gender bias in the different classifications of what Weber referred to as “social action.” She emphasized
sociological method. Global Health the need to engage with the people and groups from which one seeks to gather
Econ Sustain, 1(2): 0992.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.0992 information, and two elements stand out: (1) The recommendation to study things,
using people’s discourse as if it was a commentary on them and (2) the occasional
Received: May 25, 2023
need to distance oneself a little to have a more accurate view of the phenomenon.
Accepted: August 15, 2023 Martineau provided relevant indications regarding the recording of facts, previously
Published Online: September 5, to Weber. In conclusion, it is expected that researchers from different areas, including
2023 physical education, who employ research methods from the social sciences, field
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s). diary observations, and interviews, can appropriate what was previously produced
This is an Open Access article before Max Weber, in this case, by Harriet Martineau.
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, Keywords: Physical education; Sociology; Sports; Research projects; Gender role
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Physical education is an area of knowledge that dialogues with the social sciences,
affiliations. which has been constituted in a complex scenario because, despite this epistemological

Volume 1 Issue 2 (2023) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.0992