Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/355

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
*
301
*

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. 301 SOCIAL SETTLEMENTS. whole. One may (2) take society as one finils it at present and analyze the mental factors which control the complex interrelations of men. See , Language; Mytiiulogy; Custom; Lav; Sociology. Consult: Wundt, Human and Animal Psy- chologi/, translated (Xew York. 1804) ; Le Bon, The Crowd (ib.. 1896) ; id., I'lie Psychology of Peoples (ib., 1898) ; Baldwin, Social and Ethical Interpretaiions in Mental Development (ib., 1897); Tarde, Etudes de psychologie socials (Paris, 1898). SOCIAL SCIENCE. See Sociology. SOCIAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, Ameri- can. A society for the study of .social (juestions. It was organized in Boston, Mass., in 1805, and meets annually in such cities as may be selected. Its work is classified in five departments: education and art; health; trade and finance; social econ- omy; and jurisprudence. Its membership is about 1000, of whom thirty corresponding mem- bers are distinguished sociologists of England and Continental Europe. The association pub- lishes the annua! Journal of Social Science. SOCIAL SERVICE, American In.stitute of. An American educational and research society. It was organized in Xew York in 1902 and is the outarowth of the League for Social Service founded by Josiah Strong and V. H. Tolman in 1898. It is modeled largely after the JIusee Social (q.v. ) of Paris. Its purposes are: (I) To gather facts bearing on social and industrial betterment; (2) to interpret these facts by scientific study; and (3) to disseminate informa- tion freely for the education of public opinion by means of monographs, lectures, and various publications. At the request of the National Government, the League prepared for the Paris Exliibition of 1900 an excellent exhibit of social economy which attracted much attention abroad. Social Service, the organ of the League, is pub- lished by the Institute. SOCIAL SETTLEMENTS. The name given to those houses, situated in the poorer districts of certain great cities, where educated men and women live, that they may come into contact with the poor and better the conditions of that class. The social settlement movement repre- sents an attempt to establish closer relations between the higlier and lower social classes, with the aim of giving to the poor opportunities for culture, while securing for the rich a broader view of life through closer contact with the people, Jlany settlements have become outposts for other institutions, social observatories and statistical laboratories. The movement originated in the enthusiasm of certain Oxford students, in- fluenced by the philosophy of Dr, Arnold and Frederick D, Maurice, and by Thomas Hill Green, who felt the need of a better understanding of the life of the people. In 1867 Edward Denison, a wealthy student, began to work in the parish of Saint Philips in Stepney. Early death prevented him from carry- ing out his plan of establishing homes similar to the present settlement. In 187.T Arnold Toyl^■ bee, then tutor at Oxford, spent his summer in Whitechapel, where he became a leader among workingmen. He, too, met an early death, but his influence was so strongly felt that the first settlement was named after him. Toynbee Hall was founded in 1884 by Rev, Samuel A. Harnett, in whose parish Toynbee had worked. The move- ment spread rapidly and by 1890 there were promising university settlements in London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, In the United States, Hull House (Chicago) and the College Settle- ment in Xew York City were opened in October, 1889. The X'eighborhood Guild of Xew Y'ork, a forerunner of the settlement, now took on this new form as the Universit_y Settlement. The revised bibliography (see below) lists 44 set- tlements in Great Britain, 101 in the LTnited States, one regular settk-ment in Paris, and sev- eral institutions with settlement activities, one in Berlin, and several in Holland. The movement has even spread to Japan, India, and New South Wales. The larger settlements are usually managed and supported by regularly incorporat- ed associations. A head worker, who receives a salary, is engaged. The expenses are met by money raised in various ways. Buildings and special equipments are obtained by gifts. In order to create independence, a nominal fee is charged for some classes. A characteristic fea- ture of the settlement is residence, more or less temporary, on the part of the workers both volunteer and paid. Except the head worker and occasionally' an assistant, the i-esidents, however, pay their expenses, ' The activities may be summed up as follows: (I) Physical. Gymnasium, baths, military drill, baseball, basketball, and playgrounds are pro- vided. Efforts are made to improve the sanitary conditions of the neighborhood. Many settlements have summer homes. (2) Educational. As an educational agency the settlement maintains cir- culating libraries, reading-rooms, and home li- braries; lectures; musical instruction; art in- struction; classes for those who desire business training and law ; for those whose education has been neglected, or for foreigners to learn English; for the .study of literature, history, and econom- ics ; for industrial training, including domestic service, kitchen gardening, dressmaking, etc, (3) ^Esthetic. Special picture exhibits and concerts are given and pictures are loaned. Encourage- ment is given to the growing of plants, and to other methods of beautifying individual homes. (4) Religious. Religious instruction is usually avoided, although Sunday talks, con- certs, or open discussions are frequent, A few settlements — as the Chicago Commons or Oxford House — aim to exert a religious influence, (5) Philanthropic, In this field the settlement aims to cooperate with existing organizations. Relief is very seldom given except as a personal mat- ter, A dispensary, a day nursery, or an employ- ment bureau is, however, frequently attached to a settlement. Flower distributions are made, and the University Settlement in New Y'ork co- operates with a model pawnshop and a legal aid bureau. (6) Social. Numerous clubs are established for adults — smoking, debating, ath- letic, and political clubs; dramatic, literary, and reading clubs ; and all manner of clubs for girls and boys. Women's clubs and mothers' meet- ings are common. Additional features are the stamp savings bank for children, coflFee houses, the publication of a newspaper or bulletin, and the promotion of boarding clubs, especially for working girls. Some settlements are especially interested in work with