Suicide is one of the most tragic events in human existence, and it is also one of the least understandable phenomena in sociology. Emile Durkheim's 19th century work Suicide is the focus of a short analysis video that connects social factors to the act of suicide, and compares society to a busy highway on which accidents occur because of drivers' failure to integrate and regulate.

Concepts

suicide, socialization, statistics, sociology

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Connect with a sociology lesson on suicide or socialization
• Apply the video to a study of a character from a class novel who doesn't fit into society, or when discussing a historical figure who committed suicide

Classroom Considerations

• Addresses a sensitive topic in a clinical way
• Best used with older classes
• Find a longer version of the analysis on the publisher's website

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Applicable to many uses in a social studies or language arts classroom
• Uses an approachable comparison to make Durkheim's argument

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.9-10.2 RH.9-10.9 RH.11-12.2 RH.11-12.9