Emile Durkheim on the Family.(Book Review)

Journal of Comparative Family Studies, January, 2005 by Cheal, David

LAMANNA, Mary Ann, EMILE DURKHEIM ON THE FAMILY. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc., 2002, 287 pp., $34.95 softcover, $74.95 hardcover.

The goal of this book is to present a comprehensive review of Emile Durkheim's work on the family. Going beyond Emile Durkheim's infamous remarks on women in his study of family life and suicide, Mary Ann Lamanna has sought out a wide range of sources in order to integrate Durkheim's fragmentary writings on the family. Chapter topics include: Durkheim's life and times; his evolutionary theory of the family; methodologies for studying the family; the relationship of kin, conjugal family and the state; the interior of the family; family policy; gender; and sexuality. The book concludes by reviewing the strengths and...