How can difference in the rate of suicide be explained? That is the central question in this classic work by the father of modern sociology, Emile Durkheim. What interested Durkheim was not so much the reasons for an individual's suicide but why one society had a higher rate of suicide than another and why there were variations between social classes or religious groups.

This volume represents a collection of three essays written by seminal sociologist and philsopher Emile Durkheim in which he puts forward the thesis that society is both a dynamic system and the seat of moral life.

Durkheim's study of socialism, first published in English in 1959, is a document of exceptional intellectual interest and a genuine milestone in the history of sociological theory. It presents us with the extensive commentary upon another key figure in the history of sociological thought, Henri Saint-Simon.

In this influential work, first published in English in 1963, Durkheim and Mauss claim that the individual mind is capable of classification and they seek the origin of the 'classificatory function' in society.

Durkheim's study of socialism, first published in English in 1959, is a document of exceptional intellectual interest and a genuine milestone in the history of sociological theory. It presents us with the sociological theories of a truly first-rate thinker and his extensive commentary upon another key figure in the history of sociological thought, Henri Saint-Simon. The core of this volume contains Durkheim's presentation of Saint-Simon's ideas, their sources and their development.

In this influential work, first published in English in 1963, Durkheim and Mauss claim that the individual mind is capable of classification and they seek the origin of the 'classificatory function' in society.

This volume represents a collection of three essays written by seminal sociologist and philosopher Emile Durkheim in which he puts forward the thesis that society is both a dynamic system and the seat of moral life.

The landmark investigation into suicide and society?now in a new translation
Emile Durkheim, one of the fathers of modern sociology, was the first to suggest that suicide might be as much a response to society as an act of individual despair. When he looked at social, religious, or racial groups that had high incidences of suicide, he discovered that abnormally high or low levels of social integration increase the likelihood of suicide. More than a century after its initial publication, Durkheim's groundbreaking work continues to fascinate and challenge those seeking to understand...

In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Emile Durkheim sets himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity. He investigates what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia. For Durkheim, studying Aboriginal religion was a way "to yield an understanding of the religious nature of man, by showing us an essential and permanent aspect of humanity." The need and capacity of men and women to relate to one another socially lies at the heart of Durkheim's exploration, in which religion...

There would be no need for sociology if everyone understood the social frameworks within which we operate. That we do have a connection to the larger picture is largely thanks to the pioneering thinker Emile Durkheim. He recognized that, if anything can explain how we as individuals relate to society, then it is suicide: Why does it happen? What goes wrong? Why is it more common in some places than others? In seeking answers to these questions, Durkheim wrote a work that has fascinated, challenged and informed its readers for over a hundred years. Far-sighted and trail-blazing in its...