Florence Kelley

Abstract

Florence Kelley is a seminal, yet largely unrecognized, figure in the history of sociology. The article examines her contributions to the discipline and presents a socio-historical outline of the formation of her sociological thought. It highlights four themes that are integral to Kelley’s praxis: women, workers, immigrants and children. Following a discussion of these themes, I go on to argue that Kelley has been neglected generally amongst many contemporary sociologists as a result of possible sexist and anti-Marxist tendencies within the discipline. Finally, I throw some light on the fact that even radical circles in contemporary sociology tend to exclude systematically their radical female counterparts.