ABSTRACT
George H. Mead and W.I. Thomas are the recognized founders of the Chicago School of Symbolic Interactionism. This major stream of sociological thought has been consistently viewed as a theory of action without applied roots. This abstraction of their thought from its practice in social reform has obscured the profound impact of Addams and Hull-House on their sociological concepts. Although Mead had more direct connections between social reform and his epistemology, Thomas was also committed to the activities and ideas of Addams and her female associates. Thomas, moreover, was more financially and institutionally dependent upon the women’s network than Mead was. 1 Therefore, both men were closely associated with social reform and its advocates.
