ipl-logo

Durkheim's Theory Of Collective Conscience

838 Words4 Pages

Durkheim described the framework of shared norms and beliefs as the collective conscience, and though he acknowledged that individuals actualize norms, he believed the collective conscience is an example of a social fact as it was a product of interactions between individuals and once established, it influences individual behaviour (Ritzer, 2008). The collective conscience creates a ‘normative order’ whereby certain behaviours come to be expected of people, and these behaviours or norms are then difficult to change (Best, 2003). Durkheim asserted that the collective conscience is a “determinate system” which performs as the primary “organ of society” as it binds individuals together and to society (as cited in Morrison, 1995, p.131) by constructing …show more content…

Mills argued that “rationally organized social arrangements are not necessarily a means of increased freedom – for the individual or for the society” (Mills, 1959/2000, p.169); although it may appear rational for women to be responsible for housework as they have been historically, their lack of choice in the matter means they also lack freedom. Mills (1959/2000) also acknowledged that many of our expectations and behaviours are rooted in history and are outside the control of individuals as they are influenced by external forces that strive to maintain a functioning society. Similarly, Marx wrote about how “the emancipation of the oppressed class” can only occur if society is transformed which infers that cannot be achieved by individuals alone (as cited in Morrison, 1995). The public issue or phenomenon of women being responsible for housework exhibits the characteristics of Durkheim’s social facts; it is a product of socialization, it is culturally the norm in most societies and those that do not conform are excluded or viewed as exceptions to the norm. Women continue to do more housework than men as the collective conscious created and maintains this arrangement as the …show more content…

The structure of society and the course of history are changed through decisions and actions of those that have the power to do so, and historically those people have been men. A woman’s place in society in the mid twentieth century was relative to a man’s; man and wife, the male sex and the other sex, the stronger and the weaker, the dominant and the subordinate, the independent and the dependent, the essential and the inessential (de Beauvoir, 1949). Therefore historically it has not been easy for women to alter their position in society. In relation to the division of labour Durkheim’s theory of organic solidarity, whereby individuals have different skills and responsibilities and therefore are dependent on each other, (Ritzer, 2008) can be used to describe breadwinner / homemaker households where women are dependent on men to earn money to provide for the family, and men are dependent on women to do the housework as their function is to manage the home. This social arrangement has been an inherent element in society to the benefit of

Show More
Related
672 Words | 3 Pages

In doing so, these working women began to have the ability to support themselves, and, therefore, tended to rely less on men. However, these women not only defied the workplace’s principles, but also condemned society’s gender

Read More
615 Words | 3 Pages

There did not understand the state of mutual help within a marriage. Berry also explains that many feminists nowadays dream of a marriage that looks more like “an intimate ‘relationship’ involving (ideally) two successful careerists in the same bed, and on the other hand a sort of private political system in which rights and interests must be constantly asserted and defended.” The household is not a full economy, it is focused on consumption. Both partners, to the feminists, work hard to be able to afford what they find important in life

Read More
809 Words | 4 Pages

Second Great Awakening: The Second Great Awakening was an Evangelical Protestant revivals that swept over America in the early 19th century. The movement began around 1790 and gained momentum by 1800 and after 1820 membership rose rapidly among the Baptist and Methodist congregation whose preacher led the movement Fugitive Slave Law 1850: The Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850. this federal law made it easier for slave owners to recapture runaway slaves; it also made it easier for kidnapper to take free blacks.

Read More
86 Words | 1 Pages

In her article, “Three Inventories, Three Households”, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich argues that women’s work was crucial not simply for subsistence but that “women were essentials in the seventeenth century for the very same reasons they are essentials today-for the perpetuation of the race” (Ulrich 51). She believes, women were expected to do everything. They were not only to take care of the children, but they were also cook, clean, raise the greens and ranches. Mainly, women plays important role for the survival and continuation of life.

Read More
1500 Words | 6 Pages

In “The Pastoralization of Housework” by Jeanne Boydston, Boydston explores the effect of the romanization of housework. The pastoralization of housework that occurred during the Antebellum period was the result of the development of early industrialization. In order to have something remain constant in the changing times the formation of two separate gender spheres allowed a routine to an ever changing society. A result of these two spheres was the pastoralization of domestic labor in the early 1800s that made labor ‘invisible’ and began to discredit the women’s work at home, but also raised them to a higher pedestal in the family dynamic. By embracing the idea of True Motherhood women were able to flourish by the naturalization of the social

Read More
884 Words | 4 Pages

2015: A promising year, full of opportunities, though less than 3 months away from coming to a close. Not more than 100 years ago, things were not the same as they exist now. Major problems were faced in eras such as the Progressive Era. Such problems that people faced back then were women’s suffrage, child labor, and deforestation.

Read More
1009 Words | 5 Pages

Within my own life, gender socialization has caused me not to pursue lucrative jobs in career fields that are “for men,” while sociobiology could have deterred me from entering the more physically demanding but rewarding field of culinary arts in favor of the less prestigious field of baking and pastry arts. As for Gilman’s Marxist emphasis, my co-worker has unfortunately lost her economic independence simply because she had to give up her job in order to give her son the attention he needs. Overall, while writing this essay, I was disheartened to discover that it was easy for me to identify the aforementioned examples, but I also realized that it is not as bad as it once was for women—it is a lot easier for women to rebel against gender inequality now. Despite these advances in freedom, however, I feel that Gilman’s theory is relevant when it comes to explaining the social world due to the fact that gender inequality still exists today, and it can still have an impact on a woman’s economic independence even though it is not as overt. With that being said, Gilman’s theory will continue to be useful because it helps to identify the roots of gender inequality that need to be eliminated if we ever want complete gender equality within our

Read More
848 Words | 4 Pages

“Generally, men are socialized into believing that their essential role in life is to work outside the home and provide for the family while women are taught that their main role is to be homemakers” (Akotia and Anum 5024). The breadwinner is normally thought of as a man, but Lena puts a twist on that gender role. “You the head of this family. You run our lives like you want to” (Hansberry 1948). Lena breaks the gender role

Read More
992 Words | 4 Pages

Durkheim believed that society was made of individuals, but in order to study society we must look beyond the individual to the social facts. Social facts act external to the individual and impose themselves upon the individual, according to Emile Durkheim. If the rules of social facts are violated then there can be punishment or social ridicule. These are things that keep individuals from acting out of the norm from society. Things such as schools, religion, and government keep people from acting out of the norms and morals of society.

Read More
791 Words | 4 Pages

During the 1890’s until today, the roles of women and their rights have severely changed. They have been inferior, submissive, and trapped by their marriage. Women have slowly evolved into individuals that have rights and can represent “feminine individuality”. The fact that they be intended to be house-caring women has changed.

Read More
1804 Words | 8 Pages

In her conventional view, a woman must support her husband by creating an organized home and nurturing him. Women are not only in charge of doing the housework and childcare, but they have their own individual dreams they want to reach. It is discriminatory towards women when they live under the social expectations of being uneducated and a supported wife. From the textual support, it is evident that women struggle to reach their individual goals under a male-dominant society that require women to be

Read More
846 Words | 4 Pages

In their theories both highlight the division of labour and alienation as methods and results of maintaining control within a capitalist society. Durkheim coined the term social facts to describe the external and internal forces that habilitate individuals within a society. “….” . Social facts include values, cultural norms, and social structures comprise those sources that

Read More
1745 Words | 7 Pages

When socialism was conceived, it carried the revolutionary message of equality and equal opportunity for all of humanity - Karl Marx believed this equality could be achieved through the elimination of social and wealth class. Very soon, theorists began viewing other inequalities through Marx’s lens, especially the question of women’s de jure and de facto inequality. Friedrich Engels, Marx’s colleague and co-author of the tenet of Marxism, the Communist Manifesto, began dealing with this issue as early as 1884 in his work The Origin of Family, Private Property, and the State. In this work, Engels qualifies men’s subjugation of women and their labor (their ability to produce male heirs that would inherit a father’s property) as perhaps the first

Read More
1088 Words | 5 Pages

Social reproduction is a term coined to describe the process of reproducing workers for the labour market. Although social reproduction is focused towards the labour market, Armstrong and Peck distinguish larger processes at work such as gender roles in the household as well as the role of the state in social reproduction. Peck, Armstrong, and Taylor & Rioux explore various ways that social reproduction is accomplished, such as the role of labour regimes and the state. With regards to the gender division of labour, Marglin, Federici, and Gaskell explore how social reproduction has contributed to women and men being treated differently through processes such as the devaluation of skill. With the knowledge of the process of social reproduction,

Read More
567 Words | 3 Pages

As women were known as the caretakers of the home, slowly but surely woman began to gain rights and today, are as close to equal as men as possible. Naturally, women are child bearers thus society deemed their roles to be in the home and to take care of the family. In the 1820s and 30s, a rise in women school teachers occurred which helped women increase their status. However, this was soon not enough for women and a demand for more occupational possibilities as well as political rights occurred. This soon led to the women’s movement which in turn led to women’s suffrage in 1920.

Read More

More about Durkheim's Theory Of Collective Conscience

Related Topics

Open Document