Charles Horton Cooley (August 17, 1864 – May 7, 1929) was an American sociologist and the son of Thomas M. Cooley. He studied and went on to teach economics and sociology at the University of Michigan, and he was a founding member and the eighth president of the American Sociological Association. He is perhaps best known for his concept of the looking glass self, which is the concept that a person's self grows out of society's interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of others
Charles Horton Cooley was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on August 17, 1864, to Mary Elizabeth Horton and Thomas M. Cooley. His father was very successful in the legal field, and with a high social status he was well respected in the community.[1] Thomas Cooley was the Supreme Court Judge for the state of Michigan and was one of the first three faculty members to start the University of Michigan Law School and was later appointed the dean at the law school from 1859-1884.[2] His mother, Mary Elizabeth Horton took an active interest with public affairs and traveled with her husband to several cities around the United States in relation to the Interstate Commerce Commission.[3] Charles was the fourth of six children. His father was a very successful man that stressed the importance of education to his six children. Nevertheless, Cooley had a difficult childhood and was somewhat of a passive child.[4] The intimidation and alienation he felt by his own father at a young age took a toll in his life later on. Due to this situation, he suffered for fifteen years from a variety of illnesses, some appearing to be psychosomatic. He was shy and developed several insecurities due to his speech impediment, and lack of playmates.[5] Cooley was a day dreamer and many of his "dreaming-life" had some form of influence to his sociological works.[6] As a child he dealt with the feeling of isolation and loneliness, which led him to take an interest in reading and writing.[7][8][9]
Education[edit]
Cooley grave in front of Cooley family obelisk, Forest Hill Cemetery, Ann Arbor
At the age of sixteen Cooley started attending the University of Michigan. Cooley suffered from "obstetative elimination" which is an illness that affects the mental and physical health of individuals.[10] His illness negatively affected his college life since it caused him to take breaks from studying.[11] Due to his illness it took him seven years to graduate from the University of Michigan in 1887. Charles continued with a year's training in mechanical engineering at the same school. In 1888, he returned for a master's degree in political economics, with a minor in sociology. He began teaching economics and sociology at the University in the fall of 1892. Cooley went on to receive a PhD in 1894. His doctoral thesis was The Theory of Transportation in economics.
Since Cooley's father was honored nationwide, Cooley feared the idea of failure. He did not know where he belonged in life and did not know what he wanted to do with his life. He questioned if he wanted to study science, mathematics, social science, psychology or sociology. He wanted a job that allowed him to write and think. After reading philosopher Herbert Spencer's works Cooley realized he had an interest for social problems. Cooley decided that he wanted to study sociology because it gave him the ability to think and analyze social problems.[12] He began teaching sociology in the academic year of 1894 to 1895.
Family life[edit]
Cooley married in 1890 to Elsie Jones, the daughter of a professor of medicine at the University of Michigan. His marriage enabled him to concentrate fully on scholarly work and the contemplative life he prized above all. A highly cultivated woman, Mrs. Cooley differed from her husband in that she was outgoing, energetic, and hence capable of ordering their common lives in such a manner that mundane cares were not to weigh very heavily on her husband. The couple had three children, a boy and two girls, and lived quietly and fairly withdrawn in a house close to the campus. The children served Cooley as a kind of domestic laboratory for his study of the genesis and growth of the self. He would observe imitation behavior in his three children and analyzed these behaviors by comparing their ages and reactions.[13] Hence, even when he was not engaged in the observation of his own self but wished to observe others, he did not need to leave the domestic circle.
Cooley grave in front of Cooley family
obelisk,Forest Hill Cemetery, Ann Arbor