The mechanics of the social: Sophie Germain's adventures in microsociology

Abstract This paper traces a genealogical line of microsociology in the theoretical ideas of Sophie Germain, a 19th-century French mathematician and philosopher. While her contributions to mathematics have been rediscovered and re-evaluated in recent years, her theoretical writings remain largely overlooked. To address this gap, I examine Germain's contributions to the history of ideas, with a particular focus on her reflections on the social, political, and cultural issues of her time. I argue that Germain's ideas should be recognised as part of a genealogical tradition of process-oriented approaches to sociology and social theory. In doing so, I make connections between her work and Gabriel Tarde's microsociology.