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Structuralism
Emile Durkheim
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917). Considered one of the
founding sociologists and the founder of
structuralism and functionalism. That suggests
two important assumptions by Durkheim: first,
that various social institutions have functions that
they fulfill in society, and second that society has
a structure. When one part of society is shifted,
the whole structure shifts. Durkheim’s parents
were French Jews; his father was a rabbi. Studied
philosophy and taught philosophy for 5 years
before moving into a social science position.
Died of a stroke at 59. Durkheim was disliked by
many of his colleagues, and it took him many
years to advance in his career. This is due in part
to anti-semitism, and in part to his zealous
insistence that sociology was the most important
of the sciences. His defense of the importance of
sociology made him many enemies.
Durkheim
His books include:
• The Division of Labor in Society,
which examines how work is organized
(1893)
• The Rules of Sociological Method,
which makes suggestions about social
science research methods (1895)
• Suicide, which looks at the social
sources of suicide (1897)
• The Elementary Forms of Religious
Life, which examines the social
purposes of religion, looking mostly at
aboriginal religions in Australia (1912)
Durkheim’s Study of Suicide
• Near the end of the 19th century,
French sociologist Emile
Durkheim undertook an
experiment to demonstrate the
value of sociology
• His goal was to explain suicide in
terms of social facts—using the
sociological imagination
Durkheim’s Suicide
• We usually explain suicide in terms of
individual factors such as depression
or turmoil
• There’s no question that every suicide
has an individual level explanation in
terms of the biography of the person
attempting suicide and his/her unique
circumstances
Durkheim’s Suicide
• But, suicide rates are social
factors
• They are more than the
accumulation of stories of all
those who have committed
suicide
• They also tell a story about the
society and time period they
represent
Durkheim’s Suicide
• Durkheim compared suicide rates
for a number of European
countries, as well as the change in
these rates over time
• He made a number of important
findings
Durkheim’s Suicide
• Suicide rates were higher in
Protestant countries than in
Catholic countries
• Suicide rates increased during
periods of social turmoil,
particularly as these countries
transitioned into an industrial
economy
Durkheim’s Suicide
From these findings, Durkheim
developed a typology of suicide,
focusing on 3 main types:
1. Egoistic Suicide: Persons who are not
sufficiently socially integrated
(Protestants)
2. Altruistic Suicide: Persons who are too
socially integrated (Widows)
3. Anomic Suicide: Persons whose goals
do not align with the norms of the
society (particularly because those
norms are in flux) (Farmers in an
industrializing society)
Structuralism
• The view that our social actions are
founded upon basic observable
patterns (or structures).
• These structure effectively produce
basic laws of the human social world,
as biological structures produce basic
laws of physiology
• Although all of the early sociologists
qualify as structuralists to some
degree, this school of thought is
largely traced to Emile Durkheim
A Framework for Comparing Theoretical
Approaches
Structuralism
Functionalism
Class
Conflict
Interpretive
Racial
Conflict
Feminist
Theory
Queer
Intersectional
Social Self
Focus of
Explanation
How
society is
organized;
resources
and schema
Purpose of
every
social
institution
Economics
Systems of
Meaning
Racial
hierarchy
Gender
Sexuality;
social
boundaries;
mainstream
Combination of
race, class,
gender,
sexuality,
etc.
Social
Psychology
Implication
for Power
Neutral
Power
important
for social
cohesion
Ruling
class,
bourgeoisie
and
capitalists
Hegemony
White
supremacy;
racial
dictatorship
Patriarchy
Dispersed
Matrix of
Domination
Agency
Key
Questions
What are
the norms,
goals, and
means?
What need
is served by
institutions
Who rules?
How is
stratification
reproduced
What are
the beliefs
and values
of a society
What does
race mean?
How is it
organized
Relative
positions of
men and
women,
meanings
of gender
Who is
treated as
‘other’?
How do the
marginalize
d find
power
How do
different
hierarchies
work hand
in hand to
oppress
some and
privilege
others
Relationship
between
the
individual
and
society;
how do
social exp.
Create
identity
Structuralism
Focus of
Explanation
Implication for
Power
Key Questions
How society is
organized;
resources and
schema
Neutral
What are the
norms, goals, and
means?