Against the caprice of wills: Durkheim on sex, marriage, and family

Alexander Riley

Chapter 16 in The Elgar Companion to Émile Durkheim, 2026, pp 274-288 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The insights provided by Durkheim's analysis of sex, the sex difference, marriage, and the family are profound. His level of knowledge on these topics was considerable, and he understood the study of the human family as an essential element in the construction of the new discipline of sociology. Appropriately, he wrote extensively on the topic in numerous articles and reviews. Given the volume and the intellectual depth of the engagement with these topics by one of the recognized founders of the discipline, it is surprising that Durkheim's work in these areas is so absent in most contemporary sociological discussions of sex, marriage, and the family. In this chapter, I try to explain why this is happening in the process of sketching out the broad contours of Durkheim's insights and the changes in the field that have led contemporary sociologists in antithetical directions.

Keywords: Durkheim; Sex; Sex Difference; Marriage; Family; Divorce (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035322923
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