Jane Addams was not only the co-creator of sociology before Émile Durkheim and Max Weber, but she also proved to be a far superior intellectual in the face of the First World War. Durkheim and Weber suddenly forgot everything they had said about war and peace and became just two more patriots. They were on opposing sides, but had the same attitude; each devoted himself to defending one side and attacking the other. What was the point of all their social thought if they didn’t even use it when the moment came?
The greatest intellectuals shine brightest in the most difficult times. One of those who shone during those years was Jane Addams. Rather than dogmatically aligning herself with one side and praising it without seeing its flaws, she promoted continuous dialogue among the best people from both sides. She led a women’s peace movement that, in 1915, organized the first International Congress of Women with participants from warring countries on both sides (such as the U.S. and Germany), as well as neutral nations. In 1931, she received the Nobel Peace Prize. No other sociologist in history has reached that level.
She truly worked for peace. She didn’t just proclaim she was in favor of peace; she dedicated herself intensely to building it in everyday life. She didn’t simply sign peace manifestos from an office without engaging in building peace with people from all cultures and backgrounds, especially the most vulnerable. On the contrary, she created Hull House knowing that education based on dialogue. including the most diverse perspectives and thoughts along with the highest intellectual and scientific excellence, was the way not just to talk about peace, but to build it.
Today, there are also educational centers with the same orientation, where not only is it seen as positive to have many people from very different cultures and vulnerable backgrounds, but by valuing that diversity, they achieve extraordinary results in both learning and coexistence. In doing so, they provide data disproving racist claims that “too many” immigrants lead to poor outcomes and social problems. Co-creating these centers day by day is building peace.
First in Google Scholar in the categories of "Gender Violence" and "Social Impact".