SOCI 304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Richard Cloward, Anomie, Subculture
20 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
Emile durkheim was the founding father of academic sociology in french and a major social theorist working at the turn of the 20th century. At this time, positivist biological theories were dominant. While theorists were searching for the abnormalities in crime, durkheim was writing about the normality of crime in society. He was fairly sure that contemporary western societies had reached a point of complexity that they were in a constant state of anomie. To durkheim, the explanation of human conduct and misconduct lied within the group and social organization, as well as the individual. It is in this context that he introduces the term anomie. Anomie refers to the breakdown of social order as a result of the loss of standards and values. Social norms no longer control the activity of societal members. Anomie argues that if one does not have legitimate opportunity such as education, money, family name, etc. He/she will commit crime to attain the american dream.
