Emile Durkheim
David Emile Durkheim
Sociological Theory
Rosanna Ashley
May 1, 2008 I. Biography
David Emile Durkheim was one of the founders of sociology. He was born April 15, 1858 at Epinal in the Eastern French province of Lorraine. He was the fourth child and second son of Moise and Melanie Durkheim. His family was Ashkenazic Jewish, and his father was a rabbi. It was said that young Emile would follow in his father’s footsteps and become a rabbi as well. (Ashley, 2005)
However at the young age of thirteen, he took up with a Catholic woman teacher, who influenced him. He decided to move to Paris and study Catholicism. This was a short-lived experience for young Emile, as he realized that he preferred to study religion from an agnostic standpoint, as opposed to being indoctrinated. Emile still remained close to his family and the Jewish family. (Coser, 1971)
Durkheim was a bright student. He attended College d’ Epinal and was awarded several honors and recognitions. Afterwards he transferred to a French high school, The Lycee Louis-le-Grand in Paris. While attending he prepared himself for exams that later would open doors to the prestigious Ecole Normale Superieure, a traditional training ground for the Elite persons of France. It took Durkheim three times to pass the entrance exam (his third attempt was his successful one in 1879). He was a wonderful, hardworking student and he met and made friends with many people who later became political figures of the Third Republic. His friends gave him a nickname while attending Ecole Normale. The called him “the metaphysician”. (coser, 1971)
Emile was a very dissatisfied with the school. He felt that the school made far too many concessions to the spirit of dilehanism and tended to reward elegant dabbling and the quest for novelty and originality of expression rather than solid and systematic learning. Although he maintained many close friends, his professors repaid him for his apparent dissatisfaction and graduated
Sociological Theory
Rosanna Ashley
May 1, 2008 I. Biography
David Emile Durkheim was one of the founders of sociology. He was born April 15, 1858 at Epinal in the Eastern French province of Lorraine. He was the fourth child and second son of Moise and Melanie Durkheim. His family was Ashkenazic Jewish, and his father was a rabbi. It was said that young Emile would follow in his father’s footsteps and become a rabbi as well. (Ashley, 2005)
However at the young age of thirteen, he took up with a Catholic woman teacher, who influenced him. He decided to move to Paris and study Catholicism. This was a short-lived experience for young Emile, as he realized that he preferred to study religion from an agnostic standpoint, as opposed to being indoctrinated. Emile still remained close to his family and the Jewish family. (Coser, 1971)
Durkheim was a bright student. He attended College d’ Epinal and was awarded several honors and recognitions. Afterwards he transferred to a French high school, The Lycee Louis-le-Grand in Paris. While attending he prepared himself for exams that later would open doors to the prestigious Ecole Normale Superieure, a traditional training ground for the Elite persons of France. It took Durkheim three times to pass the entrance exam (his third attempt was his successful one in 1879). He was a wonderful, hardworking student and he met and made friends with many people who later became political figures of the Third Republic. His friends gave him a nickname while attending Ecole Normale. The called him “the metaphysician”. (coser, 1971)
Emile was a very dissatisfied with the school. He felt that the school made far too many concessions to the spirit of dilehanism and tended to reward elegant dabbling and the quest for novelty and originality of expression rather than solid and systematic learning. Although he maintained many close friends, his professors repaid him for his apparent dissatisfaction and graduated
Bibliography: aboutsociology.com. Emile Durkheim. Retrieved March 11, 2008, Ashley, David, and David M. Orenstein. Sociological Theory (Classical Statements). 6th ed. Pearson Education, Inc, 2005. Coser, Lewis A. Masters of Sociological Thought Ideas in Historical and Social Context. New York at Stoney Brook: Harcourt Brace Jevanovich, Inc, 1971. Zeitlin, N. M. (1968). Idealoghy and the Development of Sociological Theory In (N. J. Smelser, Ed.). Englewood cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Inc.