The problem of this research was to compare the ideas of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber concerning the relationship between society and religion. The primary sources for the study were The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Durkheim and The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and The Sociology of Religion by Weber. An effort was made to establish similarities and differences in the views of the two theorists concerning (1) religious influences on social life and, conversely, (2) social influences on religion.

Ce mémoire comprend trois parties. Dans la première je propose une synthèse de constats établis à partir de mes propres travaux et étayés par les acquis des principaux auteurs sur lesquels j'estime pertinent d'appuyer une démarche sociologique rigoureuse sur mon terrain d'investigation actuellement privilégié : au premier rang Emile Durkheim, mais aussi Erving Goffman, Howard Becker, Alvaro Pirès, Mary Douglas, Hannah Arendt, Claude Faugeron, Antoinette Chauvenet, et quelques autres, dont le nom apparaîtra dans ces pages. Je propose une synthèse des constats établis à partir de mes propres travaux, étayés par les œuvres de ces maîtres. Cette première partie se développe en cinq chapitres : 1/ le crime est une construction sociale, 2/ les prisons stigmatisent leur environnement (la notion de périmètre sensible), 3/ les relations entre les agents de la prison dépendent de l'environnement, 4/ ce que produit la prison comme ce qui s'y déroule est surdéterminé par ce qui se passe en amont, 5/ on n'enferme pas « sociologiquement correct ». La deuxième partie de ce mémoire est constituée d'une analyse originale présentée sous forme de deux hypothèses qui s'inscrivent dans le prolongement de mes travaux précédents et de ceux des auteurs dont les analyses servent de point d'appui aux miennes. Ces deux hypothèses devraient contribuer à un renouvellement de l'analyse sociologique de la prison, et, plus largement, à un enrichissement de la sociologie de la déviance. La première interroge l'influence de l'enfermement carcéral sur la construction sociale de l'image du criminel : alors que, selon la logique judiciaire, c'est la condamnation qui différencie criminels et innocents, je postule que la prison joue un rôle déterminant, à la fois en tant que telle et comme stigmate le plus puissant des dispositifs de coercition de la justice pénale. La seconde propose une analyse macrosociologique des fonctions sociales de l'enfermement pénitentiaire, dont la principale, masquée, est analysée comme fonction latente de la prison : étayée par une nouvelle lecture de la thèse de Paul Fauconnet sur la responsabilité pénale, cette fonction latente permet de comprendre la survivance du dispositif carcéral malgré son inadéquation au plus légitime des objectifs qui lui sont assignés : l'amendement des repris de justice. Dans la troisième partie de ce mémoire, je présente un éventail de projets de recherches visant à permettre de répondre aux questions soulevées par les hypothèses précédemment développées. J'ai regroupé ces projets selon trois axes de recherche : 1/ les étapes du processus pénal : recherches quantitatives et qualitatives sur les « tris » opérés selon des logiques pénales et sociales parmi les justiciables lors de ces différentes étapes (compléments de recherches existantes ou en cours), 2/ les réactions des justiciables mis en cause dans une affaire pénale : recherches sur les inégales stratégies mises en œuvre face aux risques d'enfermement, 3/ les représentations sociales de la prison et des dispositifs de coercition légaux : recherches sur les représentations des divers groupes sociaux (réactualisations de recherches anciennes et compléments de recherches partielles) et sur les représentations des « sociologues de la prison » eux-mêmes, dont il convient d'analyser parallèlement les positions dans le champ social, les problématiques principales et les déroulements de carrière (aucune recherche en ce sens n'a été effectuée à ce jour).

The thesis presented here explores the relevance of the classical works of Emile Durkheim and George Herbert Mead to contemporary postmodern cultural critiques. Postmodern social theory specifically that of Richard Rorty and Jean Baudrillard have come to offer a type of social theory that challenges the notion of the social. This referential problem of the social becomes a striking attack on the epistemology of sociology, which purports to offer scientific knowledge about the human condition as a social process. The theoretical works of Durkheim and Mead especially their respective concepts of the "collective consciousness" and the "generalized other" are offered here as closely related articulations of the core sociological concept of "the social." It is argued that postmodernism, by postulating an excessively precarious social theory, falls short as a theory of society when juxtaposed to the classic sociologies of Durkheim and Mead. However, it is also noted that the transformation of the field of sociology from a primarily textual discourse to a quantitative enterprise increasingly exposes the field of sociology to uniquely postmodern critiques.

The aim of this study is to contribute to the research about the role of rituals in the construction of social identity of women in Newar society. By studying the Kumari tradition, I explore how religious traditions play a role in maintaining social values and gender roles. Following this, I analyze how this role contributes to the continuation of the practice in the face of calls for its abolition in recent years. Of central importance is the controversy surrounding the Kumari tradition fueled by criticism from the UN and western media alleging that the religious practice of Kumari worship is a violation of children’s rights. This study also discusses changes in the Kumari tradition between 1996-2008, resulting in greater acknowledgement of the child’s social needs, both during and after her rule. The issue of the ‘anomalous’ position of former Kumari and how Nepalese society attempts to deal with it is also brought to light.

The present study utilises a Durkheimian approach to study alcohol in society and education, centrally drawing on the sociological works of Emile Durkheim and those of the neo-Durkheimian sociologist, Stjepan Mestrovic. Durkheim�s sociological concepts and commentary, and Mestrovic�s perspective, refashioned, is applied to the present context, of which alcohol is a part. The arument to be advanced, is that in the Durkheimian sense, societal and educational alcohol issues, as part of wider social change, are in a state of excessive anomie and egoism caused by neoliberal philosophy, policy and practice. Mostly, the theory of James M. Buchanan will be drawn upon as standing for neoliberalism. Mestrovic�s interpretation of Durkheim in the light of his view of the indirect influence of Arthur Schopenhauer on Durkheim, particularly with regard to Schopenhauer�s view of will and representation, provides a fresh reading of Durkheim�s work. Mestrovic�s adaptations challenge the received view of Durkheim as a functionalist, and Enlightenment positivist interested in social order. This is explained by noting Mestrovic�s application of those adaptations to some of Durkheim�s central concepts, and, Mestrovic�s identification of the contemporary relevance of Durkheim, culminating in what Mestrovic calls postemotionalism. Mestrovic�s Shopenhauerian Durkheimianism, and Durkheim, can be critiqued from the perspectives of a number of commentators, poststructuralism and, Jennifer Lehmann�s critical structuralism with regard to issues of particularly gender, but also culture, as well as for exhibiting essentialist and liberal strains. Buchanan is also liberal and essentialist, but differently to Durkheim, holds to an economic, individualistic and clearly positivist view of society and education. By comparison with Durkheimianism, however, Buchanan�s perspective is a good representative example of true neoliberalism. Durkheim in particular, is rendered as a liberal - by comparison to Buchanan, a very social democratic liberal thinker, but one still in need of further adaptations over and above those made by Mestrovic for a Durkheimianism relevant to contemporary issues of gender and culture with regard to policy and practice in society and education where alcohol is concerned. Mestrovic�s perspective and Durkheim�s concepts, when modified by way of discussed and synthesised supplementary, high-modern and poststructural, post-Freudian feminist, and semiological, radical theories of gender and culture, is relevant for studying society and education. The application of Durkheimian perspectives, so rendered, means that various issues related to alcohol such as, alcohol and other addictions and dysfunctions, gendered drinking, gendered family relations, alcohol use and abuse, media advertising, research studies philosophies, culture, local and global markets, as well as legislation, can be seen in an alternative way. Following Durkheimian perspectives means that education can be contextualised accordingly. Educational governance, professionalism, teacher training and curriculum reform policies and programmes related and specific to alcohol education, can be interpreted in alternative ways to those currently accepted. Durkheimian perspectives on society and education: highlight the damage caused and the conservatism entailed by neoliberal philosophy, policy and practice, and; provide alternatives to the current societal situation, as well as the current drug education market in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

The present study utilises a Durkheimian approach to study alcohol in society and education, centrally drawing on the sociological works of Emile Durkheim and those of the neo-Durkheimian sociologist, Stjepan Mestrovic. Durkheim�s sociological concepts and commentary, and Mestrovic�s perspective, refashioned, is applied to the present context, of which alcohol is a part. The arument to be advanced, is that in the Durkheimian sense, societal and educational alcohol issues, as part of wider social change, are in a state of excessive anomie and egoism caused by neoliberal philosophy, policy and practice. Mostly, the theory of James M. Buchanan will be drawn upon as standing for neoliberalism. Mestrovic�s interpretation of Durkheim in the light of his view of the indirect influence of Arthur Schopenhauer on Durkheim, particularly with regard to Schopenhauer�s view of will and representation, provides a fresh reading of Durkheim�s work. Mestrovic�s adaptations challenge the received view of Durkheim as a functionalist, and Enlightenment positivist interested in social order. This is explained by noting Mestrovic�s application of those adaptations to some of Durkheim�s central concepts, and, Mestrovic�s identification of the contemporary relevance of Durkheim, culminating in what Mestrovic calls postemotionalism. Mestrovic�s Shopenhauerian Durkheimianism, and Durkheim, can be critiqued from the perspectives of a number of commentators, poststructuralism and, Jennifer Lehmann�s critical structuralism with regard to issues of particularly gender, but also culture, as well as for exhibiting essentialist and liberal strains. Buchanan is also liberal and essentialist, but differently to Durkheim, holds to an economic, individualistic and clearly positivist view of society and education. By comparison with Durkheimianism, however, Buchanan�s perspective is a good representative example of true neoliberalism. Durkheim in particular, is rendered as a liberal - by comparison to Buchanan, a very social democratic liberal thinker, but one still in need of further adaptations over and above those made by Mestrovic for a Durkheimianism relevant to contemporary issues of gender and culture with regard to policy and practice in society and education where alcohol is concerned. Mestrovic�s perspective and Durkheim�s concepts, when modified by way of discussed and synthesised supplementary, high-modern and poststructural, post-Freudian feminist, and semiological, radical theories of gender and culture, is relevant for studying society and education. The application of Durkheimian perspectives, so rendered, means that various issues related to alcohol such as, alcohol and other addictions and dysfunctions, gendered drinking, gendered family relations, alcohol use and abuse, media advertising, research studies philosophies, culture, local and global markets, as well as legislation, can be seen in an alternative way. Following Durkheimian perspectives means that education can be contextualised accordingly. Educational governance, professionalism, teacher training and curriculum reform policies and programmes related and specific to alcohol education, can be interpreted in alternative ways to those currently accepted. Durkheimian perspectives on society and education: highlight the damage caused and the conservatism entailed by neoliberal philosophy, policy and practice, and; provide alternatives to the current societal situation, as well as the current drug education market in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

This thesis discusses the philosophy of positivism in nineteenth century France. Based on an empirical vision of society, positivism advocated values of rationality, progress, and secularization. In that way, it stood as one of the defining systems of thought of the modern era. I discuss, however, an undercurrent of anxiety about those same values. Positivism's founder, Auguste Comte, argued that all sciences would become unified and organized under universal principles and empirical standards. He viewed the human mind as becoming more rationalized throughout history. In his later career, however, he argued that rationalism was a destructive force and that a new form of secular religion as necessary to establish morality and order. I argue that this transition from science to religion represents an underlying anxiety of the nineteenth century. Intellectuals from different sides of the political spectrum viewed progress as positive, but also limited. They argued that something beyond science, in the realm of the religious, the metaphysical, or the subjective, was necessary for society. They expressed these concerns through the language of gender. Comte argued that women would be at the center of his religion. They would socialize and moralize men, making them part of a new unified, pacifist and orderly social whole. I also discuss two later intellectuals, social psychologist Gustave Le Bon and pioneering sociologist Emile Durkheim. Le Bon represented the fin-de-siecle rejection of positivism. He began with positivist principles, but later argued that humanity was irrational and violent. He viewed the modern masses as a powerful force which threatened to destroy civilization. The other figure, Durkheim, rejected Le Bon's form of nationalist right-wing thought and formed theories of social harmony, altruism, and a solidarity. He sought to reconcile egalitarian republican principles with positivist science. Despite their diverging theories, however, Le Bon and Durkheim employed similar assumptions about modernity and gender. Le Bon argued that European men were superior, and that all other groups shared an undeveloped mentality. Durkheim argued that men were social while women were simpler and mentally limited. Their views, far from establishing an unproblematic hierarchy of gender and race, in fact expressed anxieties about the state of modernity. They identified women, the lower classes, and other societies with values of simplicity, unity, and tradition. They identified the modern, Western male individual with the problems of modern society: excessive rationalization, instability, and secularization. This sense of ambivalence about modernity reveals the central importance of positivism to understanding nineteenth century thought. Positivism sought to reconcile seemingly antithetical principles of order with progress, individualism with social unity, and morality with rationalization. In doing so, it established anxieties about the forces of change. Positivists advocated the most modern of principles, and sought to further the progress of civilization, but also identified those rationalized forces as problems in need of control. Positivism thus established its own undoing, which would come at the beginning of the twentieth century. In that era, intellectuals rejected purely scientific visions of the world in favor of subjective thought. I locate the origins of that rejection at the very foundations of positivist theory.

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La sociologie a proposé une multitude d’explications sur divers phénomènes sociaux. Cependant, plusieurs sociologues, dont Boudon se sont surtout intéressés à l’aspect scientifique de la sociologie. Les questions les plus souvent posées lorsqu’on entreprend de telles études se penchent essentiellement sur le caractère scientifique de la discipline sociologique. Quels sont les critères de scientificité de la sociologie ? Quel est son sens épistémologique dans la littérature scientifique ? Quel est son raisonnement existentiel dans la construction du savoir ? La sociologie pourrait-elle être traitée méthodologiquement parlant au même titre que les autres disciplines des sciences naturelles ou particulières ? Si oui, pourrait-elle expliquer les lois des phénomènes sociaux à partir des observations hypothético-déductives sur la nature de la réalité sociale ? Dans cette thèse, nous tenterons de répondre à ces questions en nous appuyant sur des concepts élaborés par les sociologues classiques et contemporains.

La sociologie a proposé une multitude d’explications sur divers phénomènes sociaux. Cependant, plusieurs sociologues, dont Boudon se sont surtout intéressés à l’aspect scientifique de la sociologie. Les questions les plus souvent posées lorsqu’on entreprend de telles études se penchent essentiellement sur le caractère scientifique de la discipline sociologique. Quels sont les critères de scientificité de la sociologie ? Quel est son sens épistémologique dans la littérature scientifique ? Quel est son raisonnement existentiel dans la construction du savoir ? La sociologie pourrait-elle être traitée méthodologiquement parlant au même titre que les autres disciplines des sciences naturelles ou particulières ? Si oui, pourrait-elle expliquer les lois des phénomènes sociaux à partir des observations hypothético-déductives sur la nature de la réalité sociale ? Dans cette thèse, nous tenterons de répondre à ces questions en nous appuyant sur des concepts élaborés par les sociologues classiques et contemporains.