Book Theme: Emergence Through Convergence

In the Rules of Sociological Method, Durkheim calls for a science of sociology based on the empirical examination of something called social facts. Social facts are not facts about society, however, but rather structures and norms that exist outside any single individual. Read the excerpt carefully and then answer the following question.

The title of Durkheim’s seminal work, The Division of Labor in Society, doesn’t quite do it justice. It is about so much more than the specialization of tasks or Adam Smith’s pin-makers. It is about how the fabric of society is woven into something greater than the sum of its parts. After reading the excerpt, respond to the following questions.

In Suicide, Durkheim looks at how the social order shapes something that we often think of as personal and private: suicide. After reading the excerpt, respond to the following questions.

When reading The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, it’s easy to think that Durkheim is cynical about religion. After all, according to Durkheim, religion is nothing more than a social invention. However, religion, like the division of labor, serves an important function--it is a collective representation of society’s ideals. Religion, for Durkheim, is comprised of a “whole world of feelings, ideas, and images that follow their own laws once they are born” and that are collectively held within a group. Keep this in mind as you answer the following questions.

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Garinkel’s breaching experiments expose the taken-for-granted absurdity and arbitrariness of everyday existence. Ponder the questions below as you work through the reading.

Latour wants us to take seriously the influence of non-human objects on behavior and activity. As you read, consider the following:

Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann examine how we make reality meaningful through our taken-for-granted habits and assumptions about the world. Ponder the questions below as you work through the reading.

Granovetter’s theory of social networks and weak ties reads differently from most of the other theories in our textbook, relying on diagrams and abstract network descriptions (e.g., “the relationship between A and B”) instead of broad claims about society or individuals’ experiences. But his argument is just as important in helping us understand how social networks shape solidarity and distribute opportunity. As you read, consider the following questions.