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What Was David Emile Durkheim's Impact On Society

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David Émile Durkheim was born in Epinal, the capital town of the Vosges, in Lorraine France on April 15, 1858. Durkheim’s mother, Mélanie, was the daughter of a merchant. Durkheim was born into a Jewish family, in which his father, Moïse, had been a rabbi in Epinal since the 1830s, and his grandfathers had also been rabbis. Accordingly, Durkheim was destined to follow his father’s footsteps and become a rabbi himself. This caused him to spend a part of early education in a rabbinical school (Jones 12-23). Durkheim did not continue on this path, however, for Durkheim would break away from Judaism after his arrival in Paris. Durkheim, in his early years, faced anti-semitism from French citizens due to his Jewish cultural background. He studied …show more content…

Being marginalized by French society would contribute to Durkheim’s future, for marginalization helped Durkheim view society’s patterns; a sociologist in the making. Being alive during the Great War, World War 1, also had a negative impact on his life. Durkheim would prioritize the war effort, burying himself in meetings. In the later years, Durkheim would face Anti-Semitism yet again. Another negative impact from the war was the fate of Durkheim’s son, André. Sent to the Bulgarian front in 1915, he was declared missing in January, and in April 1916, was confirmed dead. His son’s death caused Durkheim to withdraw, forbidding his friends to even mention his son’s name in his presence (Jones 12-23). After speaking at a meeting, Durkheim collapsed from a stroke, which he later recovered from, and died at the age of 59. For most of his life people disrespected him for his cultural background, but would later revere him for his studies and teachings. Some struggles Durkheim faced was the horror of war and …show more content…

For instance he coined the term “social facts” (Andersen and Taylor 14) which are the social patterns such as customs and social values of an individual. Another example is his study of suicide, where Durkheim would view the patterns of suicide and generalize. For example, Protestants had the highest suicide rate (Jones 82-114). He saw that suicide was a social phenomenon. Another contribution Durkheim made was his concept of the division of labor, in which he argued traditional societies were made up of similar people in terms of values, religious beliefs, and background, while modern societies were made up of a complex division of labor, beliefs, and backgrounds (Hurst). As stated in the American Journal of Sociology, “it remains one of the peak contributions of modern sociology” (Merton

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