An overview of Durkheim and Merton’s social anomie

Authors

Keywords:

Social Anomie, Durkheim, Merton, Functionalism, Abrupt Change, Social Structure, Social Order.

Abstract

The goal of this study is to explain Emile Durkheim’s and Robert King Merton’s social anomie. Durkheim and Merton are the two prominent sociologists of functionalist tradition. American sociologist Merton is accepted as the successor of European Sociologist Durkheim in this tradition. Merton examines the works of Durkheim by accepting, criticizing, finding the gaps, and/or offering new thoughts/notions. Social anomie is one of the most well-known notions among them. Their introduction of social anomie into sociological knowledge has also become stepping stones for many contemporary researchers in literature. Social anomie was first mentioned and discussed in “Suicide” by Durkheim and in “Social Structure and Anomie” by Merton. In this regard, this study aims at tracing the influence of Durkheim on Merton in the explanation of social anomie. Finally, this paper sheds light on the social anomie from the perspective of these two philosophers and provides a thorough analysis of the concept.

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Author Biographies

Taner Çam, A. Gaffar Okkan PMYO

Taner Çam is a faculty member at A. Gaffar Okkan Police Vocational College. He has a Ph.D. degree in Sociology from University of North Texas (2010), a M.A. degree in sociology from Kırıkkale University (2003), and a BA degree from the Turkish National Police Academy (1997). Mr. Cam’s current research interests include social problems, sociological theory, social change, causes of delinquency, drug use, crime, and terrorism.

Fatih Irmak, Turkish National Police

Ph.D., Turkish National Police, Sociologist

References

Durkheim, Emile. 1951. Suicide: A study in Sociology. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press.

Durkheim, Emile. 1964. The Division of Labor in Society. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Coser, Lewis A. and Bernard Rosenberg. 1969. Sociological Theory: A Book of Readings. New York: Macmillan.

Coser, Lewis A. 1975. The Idea of Social Structure Papers in Honor of Robert K. Merton. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Maryanski, Alexandra R. and Jonathan H. Turner. 1991. “The Offspring of Functionalism: French and British Structuralism.” Sociological Theory 9(1): 106-115.

Merton, Robert K. 1938. “Social Structure and Anomie.” American Sociological Review 3(5): 672-682.

Merton, Robert K. 1968. The Social Theory of Social Structure. New York, NY: The Free Press.

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Published

2014-12-16

How to Cite

Çam, T., & Irmak, F. (2014). An overview of Durkheim and Merton’s social anomie. Journal of Human Sciences, 11(2), 1297–1305. Retrieved from https://j-humansciences.com/ojs/index.php/IJHS/article/view/3083

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Section

Sociology