Émile Durkheim was the founder of sociology as an academic discipline. While some of his collaborators on the journal L’Année sociologique were politically active, he was the sort of serious, hard-working scholar who seems to have spent his entire adult life at his desk. Thus the story of his life is about the books he wrote, the courses he taught, and the journal he helped to edit. His works continue to have an enormous impact on the social sciences, especially in anglo- and francophone countries.

Durkheim was the son of a rabbi and was born on April 15, 1858 in Épinal in the department of Vosges, France. His aspirations took him to Paris, where he studied philosophy at the prestigious École Normale Supérieure. He th

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First published 09 January 2009

Citation: Schmaus, Warren. "Émile Durkheim". The Literary Encyclopedia. 9 January 2009.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1361, accessed 9 February 2010.]