Emile Durkheim

Emile Durkheim was a French sociologist and philosopher who is widely regarded as the founder of the French school of sociology. He developed a rigorous methodology combining empirical research with sociological theory, and applied it to various topics such as religion, suicide, education, crime, and morality. He also established the first European department of sociology at the University of Bordeaux in 1895, and founded the journal L'Année Sociologique in 1898. Durkheim's major works include The Division of Labour in Society (1893), The Rules of Sociological Method (1895), Suicide (1897), and The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life (1912). Durkheim was influenced by Auguste Comte's positivism, but he also criticized some of its aspects and developed his own concepts of social facts, collective consciousness, anomie, and solidarity. Durkheim's ideas had a significant impact on the development of sociology and anthropology, as well as on other disciplines such as psychology, education, law, and political science. Durkheim died in 1917 at the age of 59, after suffering a stroke. He was buried in Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris, where his tombstone bears the inscription: Philosopher and sociologist. Founder of French sociology.