‘Prior To Durkheim’s 1897 Publication, Suicide Had Traditionally Been Examined From A Purely Individualistic Psychological: Sociology And Political Studies Assignment, NUI, Ireland

 Choose 1 of the following questions

 Question 1

‘Prior to Durkheim’s 1897 publication, Suicide had traditionally been examined from a purely individualistic psychological standpoint having little to do with society or social forces.’

How does Durkheim respond to this contention in his study and what impact does he see social forces having on suicide? In your response, explain and analyze the four categories of suicide identified by Durkheim and consider the role played by these social forces (social integration and moral regulation) in helping us to understand this particular social phenomenon.

Question 2

Provide a description of Marx’s concept of Historical Materialism and explain how this helps us to understand the economic exploitation, which Marx argued accompanied Capitalism. How did Marx suggest that class-based structural inequalities could be eliminated? Is there still a place for Marx in contemporary dialogue?

Choose ONE of the two questions below:

3 (a)Critically discuss the contributions of your chosen thinkers to the development of “gender” and sexism and/or “race” and racism as sociological categories of analysis.

OR

3 (b) Explain, compare and critically discuss your chosen thinkers’ ideas about the role of the individual and the relationship between the individual and the social world.  How does each thinker understand the relationship between knowledge about society and social justice?

Question 4

4) (a) Explain Weber’s concept of the ideal type, and use it to explain his account of the ideal-type of the early Puritan capitalist, following this, give a contemporary example of an ideal type, such as an ideal-type of a ‘consumer’, ‘social-media influencer or phenomenon of your choice.

OR

4 (b) Give an overview of Weber’s account of forms of rationality, and apply them to everyday examples, such as mass attendance, going to university, Christmas shopping, the CAO application process, Covid restrictions, or other examples of your choice. Remember, many of these examples have elements of several forms of action.