INTO. TO SOCIOLOGY NOTEBOOK ENTRY #1- Spring 2010
The “Godfather” of modern Sociology
Emile Durkheim- April 15, 1858- November 15, 1917 (died of exhaustion)- studied
education, crime, suicide, and religion- all of these are what?
- use scientific method to solve societies problems
- a direct relationship with the world around us
- apply what we learn- actually solve problems with Sociology. Should this be the
point of our project?
Others begin to observe and tackle societies problems in the 1800’s- why? Urbanization
and industrialization- first seen as a “poor” person problem- but problems spread to rich
1845 Dr. John Griscom (a biologist)- survey of slum housing in New York walls of
tenements were “smeared with the blood of insects”. See Urban America- A History
Goldfield Brownell – pg. 134
Englishman Edwin Chadwick- 1842- Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring
Population and on the Means for Its Improvement- developed egg shaped sewer- freeing
the streets of feces and other waste
1820- 38% of children under 5 in NYC died
1850- 52% of children under 5 in NYC died
1810- NYC 1 out of 47 chance of dying
1859- NYC 1 out of 27 chance of dying
Durkeim’s Work- primarily worked from others facts- secondary research
His question- if suicide was an individual act created by mental illness, inherited traits, or
climate- then why did the rate vary from country to country?
He founda. rates were lowest in countries where rate of mental illness were highest.- cause
not just mental illness
b. more men committed suicide than women- cause not strictly heredity
c. not climate
see pg. 31 textbook
Use Scientific method to study topic
1. Define the problem
a. Dependent variable- subject of investigation (suicide)
b. Independent variable- influences subject
c. How close to others affects suicide rate
- Religious affiliation
- Marital status
- Military or civilian status
- Economic stability
2. Forming a hypothesis- educated guess checked vs. relevant data
a. Suicide would vary by above mentioned demographic data
3. Collecting the data- this can be an extremely time consuming undertaking
a. Rate higher among Protestants than Catholics
b. Higher among single people than married
c. Lowest among married people with children- exceedingly lower with each
child born- why do you think?
d. Rate higher in extreme economic times- higher or lower- why? confusion
from loss of norms
e. Higher among soldiers than civilians