The Emile Durkheim Archive --- version 2.0

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) is by far one of the most important and prolific sociologists in the history of the field. Durkheim himself is credited with making sociology a science, as he used an empirical methodology in his own studies, especially in regard to his study of suicide rates and issues of European nations.

Durkheim coined the term "anomie," and shed light on the inner workings of society that his predecessors had overlooked. He showed that all the aspects of human society work together much like the parts of a machine, and this concept is referred to today as sociological functionalism. This idea of functionalism--societal organization playing the major role in the lives of humans--has become the very paradigm of most sociological study today.

This site was created as a resource for undergraduate students of sociology, and should be used accordingly. Durkheim's own words are provided extensively in this archive, to best convey his ideas, concepts, and theories.