DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

Durkheim: The Division of Labour in Society

Examining social ties and modernity in Durkheim's work

Emile Durkheim author Steven Lukes editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:25th Oct '13

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Durkheim: The Division of Labour in Society cover

This essential work by Durkheim examines social solidarity and labor division, offering insights that remain relevant to contemporary sociological debates.

In Durkheim: The Division of Labour in Society, Émile Durkheim explores the foundations of social solidarity and the complex ties that connect individuals within modern society. This seminal work, often regarded as one of the first classics of sociology, delves into how these connections are formed and maintained in the face of rapid social change. Durkheim's analysis offers a comprehensive look at the nature of labor division and its implications for social cohesion, making it a crucial text for understanding the dynamics of contemporary life.

The revised edition, featuring an insightful introduction by Steven Lukes, not only contextualizes Durkheim's original arguments but also highlights their relevance to current sociological issues. Lukes examines how the themes of modernity, individualism, and capitalism discussed in the book resonate with today's societal challenges. This updated perspective encourages readers to engage critically with Durkheim's ideas and apply them to pressing questions about social structure and individual agency.

In addition to its scholarly contributions, this edition includes helpful learning features that make it accessible for students. By providing a refreshed translation and a clear explanation of Durkheim's arguments, the book serves as an indispensable resource for those studying sociology. Ultimately, Durkheim: The Division of Labour in Society remains a foundational text that continues to inform debates about social order, individualism, and the collective life, making it essential reading for both scholars and students alike.

'If one had to choose one foundational text in sociology - this has to be it. Its critique of market society as well as its radical treatment of capitalism's diseases are even more pertinent today than they were a century ago.' Michael Burawoy, Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, USA 'The Division of Labour in Society is Durkheim's foundational work and Steven Lukes' new, expanded edition - with an improved translation and a lucid, up-to-date introduction - has made it more accessible and more relevant than ever. ' David Garland, New York University, USA 'Durkheim's highly original treatment of an already classical subject made the division of labour as basic a question for sociology as for economics. It took over and transformed the great modern issues of social change and order, individualism and solidarity. The issues remain both contentious and deeply significant, and Durkheim's first major book continues to inform the best debates. Steven Lukes situates Durkheim well in both his historical and his theoretical context, and clarifies the enduring contributions of this book, as well as the places where it contrasts with current thought.' Craig Calhoun, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK 'How can society cohere in the face of escalating economic disparities, the proliferation of conflicting cultural standards, and runaway individualism? How can persons carve an institutional trajectory and find existential fullfilment when the frameworks of collective life seem to come continually unglued? What are the determinants and viable forms of social solidarity? There are no more urgent sociopolitical questions today around the globe. And no book offers more tools and insights to articulate, and perhaps resolve, them than Durkheim's foundational treatment of The Division of Labour in Society. Some 120 years after its writing, it is not only a text for the ages: it is a text for our age.' Loic Wacquant, University of California, Berkeley, USA, and Centre de sociologie europeenne, Paris, France

ISBN: 9781137347138

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 776g

424 pages

2nd edition