Emile Durkheim Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Emile Durkheim Theories - Essay Example His contribution in literature was also immense and is valued up to date (Cuff and Francis 2004, p. 40). One of the main concerns of Durkheim was how the society was formed and how it operated. He observed the formation of the society and the maintenance of social order. He was concerned with the integrity and coherence of the modern society. In this case Durkheim recognized how the society was being transformed by the changes that were taking place in the social life of the people. Durkheim looked closely the shared religious and ethnic background that was changing the life of the society. According to Durkheim, the social changes that were taking place due to religion and ethnic changes could not be ignored in the definition of a normal society. These factors determined how the society was formed and how it operated. To understand the nature of the society and the changes that were taking place, Durkheim constructed as social science model (Giddens 2001, p. 69). Along with Herbert Spence, they developed the first scientific model that could be used to analyze and explain social phenomena. This model which was based on the social facts could be used to explain the existence and quality of different parts that makes up the society. This was explained well by making reference to the different functions of the social facts in maintaining the quotidian and therefore they can be assured as the precursors to functionalism (Durkheim 1938, p. 301). Although Durkheim showed that the society was made up of different parts, he also explained that these parts doest not entirely constitute the whole society. The society was more than these parts and their interrelationship. According to Durkheim, the society has a complex arrangement that is held together by a social fabric (Lukes 1982, p. 60). Durkheim pointed out that while you needed facts in studying science, you do not even know the facts that are relevant to you not until you create the science. This means that we have to use imagination in order to create science that could be used to study the society even before you find out that the science we have created is really imperfect. Therefore Durkheim explained his understanding of the society in view of social fact. He explained social facts as the phenomena which exist in and of themselves although they are not bound to action of individual members of the society. Therefore social facts were different from the action of the individuals. They had a greater objective than the sum total of actions of individuals that compose the society. (Ritzer 2004, p. 21) Unlike his contemporaries like Ferdinand Tonnies or Marx Weber who were considered to have made contribution to the study of the society, Durkheim did not focus on what motivates the action of the individuals in the society but he rather focused on the social facts. His studies were not based on the methodological individualism but focused on the social facts that influence the life of individuals in the society although they are very different from the actions of the individuals. According to Durkheim social facts are made up of different ways of acting and feeling which are not tied to the individual persons. These ways possesses power of coercion which they impose upon individual member

Welsh Migration in the late 19th century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Welsh Migration in the late 19th century - Essay Example Wales occupies the western part of the island of Great Britain facing the sea across Ireland. It was settled by Celts thousands of years ago and, by nature of the rugged mountainous terrain that isolated it from the rest of the island, the Welsh developed a culture, language, and history that is distinguishable from the rest of the U.K. With three sides facing the sea - the Irish Sea to the north, Bristol Channel on the south, and St. George's Channel and Cardigan Bay in the west-Wales developed to become a major source of seafarers and a centre of shipping. Cardiff, the Welsh capital, has one of the best natural seaports in the kingdom. Tucked at the south-eastern corner and close to the boundary between Wales and England, Cardiff's seaport towns of Tiger Bay and Butetown provided a perfect crossroads for ships and their cargoes of goods and people to and from England and the rest of the world. This explains partly why the Welsh are tough, universal, and open to other cultures as the exposure to other peoples have taught them to be tolerant in human nature and temperament. This also justifies why the Welsh are amongst the most daring of English peoples to settle in far-off lands like Australia and Patagonia. Wales is also a land rich with natural resources, mainly coal, iron, slate, gold, and other metals. This is why mining was the main industry and source of employment for many years, supported by the presence of shipyards and ports that brought in workers from over the world to mine the land and ship out coal and other minerals that were sold to the world. Industrial Revolution and Immigration The industrial revolution in late 18th century England caused a huge demand for coal, the fuel that provided the energy needed by steam engines in so-called manufactories producing anything from steel pins to textile. The wealth boom is much like what we are witnessing with the oil-producing nations of our century, as coal was then the oil of industry. The revolution caused a huge demand for raw materials and minerals and, because of economic wealth, a parallel demand for gold and building materials was generated. This led to the opening of more mines to extract natural resources and finding new and more efficient ways to transport these materials to other parts of England and the world. Amongst the results was an explosion in the demand for workers. Initially, these workers consisted of British and Welsh farmers displaced by the drop in agricultural labour demand due to higher wages being earned by work in factories instead of farmlands. This resulted in internal migration from other parts of Wales and the British Isles until the middle of the 19th century into the southern counties of Bridgend, Rhondda, Glamorgan, Merthyr, and Cardiff. However, in such a rough and sparsely populated land, the supply of labour was soon exhausted, so the people had to come from abroad. The magnitude of the immigration phenomenon can be grasped by looking at Welsh population figures in the early, middle, and later 19th century: 600,000 in 1801, 1.2 million in 1851, and 2 million by 1901. In the last decade of the 19th century, an estimated 240,000 immigrants moved into the coalfields of South Wales. Glamorgan's population boomed from 70,000 in 1801 to 1.1 million by 1901, whilst Rhondda's exploded from