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Emile Durkheim, 1858-1917

Emile Durkheim, 1858-1917. One of the BIG THREE in Sociology Born in France April 15, 1858 Son of a Rabbi Raised in strict Jewish fashion Became agnostic ( God is unknown and probably unknowable ). Life and childhood. Labeled as “Founder of Modern Sociology “Father of Functionalism”

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Emile Durkheim, 1858-1917

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  1. Emile Durkheim, 1858-1917

  2. One of the BIG THREE in Sociology • Born in France April 15, 1858 • Son of a Rabbi • Raised in strict Jewish fashion • Became agnostic (God is unknown and probably unknowable) Life and childhood

  3. Labeled as • “Founder of Modern Sociology • “Father of Functionalism” • “Father of French Sociology” • First Full Professor of Sociology • (Founder of bad haircut club) Concepts & Contributions

  4. Major Contributions • Several major contributions to sociology: • Distinguishing sociology from philosophy • Emphasis on use of empirical data (facts) • Focus on the division of labor and its consequences • Collective conscience • Mechanical versus Organic society • NORMs/Core values and moral rules • SUICIDE (most famous)

  5. Social Facts Social facts make up sociology. Social facts must be distinct from psychological (What goes on in your head versus what can be monitored by others) Give examples please

  6. Social Facts • Social facts can be defined as patterns that control our behavior (Law LIKE – English grammar example) • Guides and controls of behavior are made up be group, not individuals • Can’t be ignored • What are consequences of ignoring?

  7. Social Fact “A social fact is identifiable through the power which it exerts upon individuals” (Durkheim,  [1895] 1982, p. 56). Enforced by masses

  8. Social Facts • Through socialization and education these rules become internalized in the individual. • Moral obligations to obey social rules. • Other EXAMPLES?

  9. “Man's characteristic privilege is that the bond he accepts is not physical but moral; that is, social” • Based on social norms http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Emile_Durkheim.jpg

  10. Mechanical Solidarity - Primitive societies • Barter and primitive communalism • Organic Solidarity - Modern societies • Specialization of people • A need for the services of others • Think of society as a human body (each part contributes to the whole - organic) Division in labor/Solidarity

  11. Small populations (>100) No need for money, police, government Might be chief or primitive democracy All resources shared (Apache model) Division of labour based on gender and age: 1)women gather 2) men hunt 3) old care for children Mechanical Solidarity = Primitive societies

  12. Highly organized division of labour Specialization of people A need for the services of others Need government Need police Commodities exchange complex - need currency Trade expands ANOMIE arises (Marx ran) Organic Solidarity - Modern societies

  13. Values and norms change • Jobs become obsolete, others created • Deviance increases and may become “enculturated” (“Gangsta” Hip-hop music in commercials • subcultures emerge (Hippies, Punks, Hip-hop, gangs) but eventually become CO-OPTED Social Implications of Specialization

  14. Co-opted Means they become “mainstream” (available to all) Example 1 – “Right on” was an expression of black solidarity in 1960’s (counter-culture) BIC pen company co-opts slogan “write on” Example 2 – “DIY” (do it yourself) Punk fashion based on making own clothes High end stores begin selling DIY clothes Leads to “Mall punk”

  15. “The totality of beliefs and sentiments common to average citizens of the same society forms a determinate system which has its own life; one may call the collective or common conscience.” Collective conscience “Group Think” • We all need to get married, right? • Drugs are BAD! • We NEED to go to college • Trade jobs (plumber, electricians) are for losers • Girls who wear skimpy clothes are sluts • OTHERS?

  16. Lack of “Normal” “Moral vacation” in immigrants (MAFIA) Leads to depression, suicide, crime Social breakdown Alienation (alone surrounded by people) Topic of Dostoyevsky’s works, Camus’ “L’etranger”, Becket’s “Waiting for Godot” Anomie

  17. Primitive societies • Laws are harsh, intense, rigid, and universally shared. • Law is repressive and the deviant is severally is punished Collective Conscience

  18. Modern societies • Laws are less harsh, less punitive, less intensely felt, and less shared. • Punishment is enforced by issuing fines OR ? ? ? ? ? Collective Conscience

  19. Agents of socialization (norms/moral facts) • Institutions teach norms • Family • Religion • Occupation • The more division in labor, the more individualism becomes the moral compass of modern society Collective conscience

  20. Watch “The Wire” before going on” Part II

  21. Sociology grew from philosophy and must separate itself and become a science Social Phenomenon should be studied empirically using the scientific method Methodology

  22. “facts . . . given in experience” Anti-psychology (anti-individualist) in his cannot “deduce society from the individual” “Method of Covariation” (Correlation - statistical relationship between two random variables or two sets of data). Both happen at the same time NOT CAUSALITY! Social facts - 'legal rules, moral obligations, popular proverbs, social conventions' 'have a permanent existence and do not change methodology

  23. Moral ideas and sentiments are to be preserved but historical bonds with religion must be broken. Educational institutions and wider society should forge and create a new sense of morality Social facts = Morality

  24. Society is sum total of the large number of persons, groups, organizations and social institutions. Society is a system, and its parts contribute to its stability and continued existence. Parts of the society are interconnected and try to meet the demands of each of the parts. Functionalism

  25. Durkheim’s view of crime was that it serves as a function to help unite society's' members. Crime shocks the conscience collective Punishment of violators reminds society as a whole to not risk deviating from the law Punishment also reaffirms the sense of morality within a society Crime

  26. Crime and Law • A society of Mechanical Solidarity is characterized by repressive law and crime would be punished severely • A society of Organic Solidarity is characterized by trying to reintegrate the criminal back into society after treatment Crime

  27. anomie = too rapid population growth reduces amount of interaction between various groups, which in turn leads a breakdown norms & values. By forced division of labor LEADS to power holders, desire for profit (greed), results in people doing work they are unsuited for. Such people are unhappy, and their desire to change the system destabilizes society. ANOMIE & CRIME

  28. serves a social function. "not only that the way remains open to necessary changes but that in certain cases it directly prepares these changes.“ Crime "served to prepare a new morality and faith that the Athenians needed". Crime "was a useful prelude to reforms” Example – accepted that kids could be hit A few parents killed kids before it was acrime Functional Deviance as crime)

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