For this assignment you will write an essay that engages with Durkheim’s sociological theory of suicide. You will have two (2) prompts to choose from.Option 1:In Durkheim’s study of suicide, the dependent variable was the suicide rate. Durkheim believed that social forces would affect the overall suicide rate – these forces became his independent variables. Durkheim’s major independent variables were religious affiliation, marital status, military/civilian status, and economic conditions. Durkheim argued that suicide was a social fact and that suicide rates were to be treated as Sui Generis and evidence of underlying social forces at work in society.First, write an introduction that briefly outlines Durkheim’s sociological theories of suicide. This should include answers to the following questions: what are the four types of suicide? What are the social causes of these different types of suicide? How do these causes relate to the structure of societies and the relationship of society to the self?Next, for this essay you will discuss the institution of marriage (including widowhood and divorce) in regards to Durkheim’s theories about suicide. What did Durkheim find was the relationship between marriage (including variants upon the state of matrimony) and rates of suicide? How did this vary by gender? How did marriage relate to Durkheim’s ideas about Egoistic and Anomic suicide? How did marriage as an institution and a family arrangement manage to affect suicide rates? Be certain to include in your answer a discussion of Durkheim’s underlying social theories and specifics of marriage as a mechanism in mitigating or exacerbating suicide rates.Last, you will evaluate the implications of Durkheim’s theories of suicide. The rate of marriage peaked in the 1950s and has steadily dropped since the 1970s. Divorce rates have also increased since the 1970s. Having children out of wedlock is now common. Applying what you know about the relationship between marriage as an institution and suicide rates, how would you expect the suicide rates of the 1950s to compare to the suicide rates of today? Briefly defend your answer, you may make use of the readings from the first half of the course or the Denney et al reading “Adult Suicide Mortality in the United States: Marital Status, Family Size, Socioeconomic Status, and Differences by Sex*”
