Description
Book SynopsisThis book presents a review and criticism of all sociological literature on suicide, from Emile Durkheim's influential Suicide (1897) to contemporary writings by sociologists who have patterned their own work on Durkheim's. Douglas points out fundamental weaknesses in the structural-functional study of suicide, and offers an alternative theoretical
Table of Contents*Frontmatter, pg. i*Preface, pg. vii*Contents, pg. xi*Introduction, pg. xiii*Part I. The Durkheimian Approach to Suicide, pg. 1*1. The Historical Context of Durkheim's Theory of Suicide, pg. 3*2. Durkheim's Suicide, pg. 13*3. Introduction to the Post-Durkheimian Theories, pg. 79*4. The Gibbs and Martin Status Integration Theory of Suicide, pg. 84*5. Powell's Status and Anomie Theory of Suicide, pg. 92*6. The Ecological Theories of Suicide, pg. 95*7. The Status Change Theories of Suicide, pg. 109*8. Halbwachs' Subculture Theory of Suicide, pg. 124*9. The Henry and Short Theory of Suicide, pg. 132*10. Gold's Theory of Suicide, pg. 144*11. A Summary of the Weaknesses and Contributions of Sociological Works on Suicide, pg. 152*12. The Nature and Use of the Official Statistics on Suicide, pg. 163*13. Social Actions as Meaningful Actions: Fundamental Considerations of the Nature of "Meaning", pg. 235*14. The Construction of Social Meanings, pg. 247*15. Sources of Information and the Construction of a Theory of Suicidal Actions as Socially Meaningful Actions, pg. 255*16. General Dimensions of the Meanings of Suicidal Phenomena, pg. 271*17. Common Patterns of Meanings Constructed in Which the Meanings of Suicidal Actions are of Fundamental Importance, pg. 284*18. The Suicidal Process, pg. 320*19. General Conclusion, pg. 338*Appendix I. Durkheim's Theory of the Relations Between the Individual and Society and Suicide, pg. 341*Appendix II. The Formal Definitions of Suicide, pg. 350*Bibliography, pg. 385*Index, pg. 393
