Sociology of Suicide
Dr Jack Fawbert
- Regions:
- Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Essex
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Academic Social Sciences
- Fee:
- Expensed
- Category:
- Humanities
- Updated:
- 18th August 2025
- Tagged:
- Positivism | Interpretivism
Suicide is usually regarded as the consequence of psychological problems in the individual. Nevertheless, in his groundbreaking book 'Le Suicide', the French sociologist, Emile Durkheim demonstrated through extensive research that suicide has social as well as psychological causes. He was also concerned to show that social phenomena could be studied in just as rigorous and systematic ways as the natural and physical sciences studied the natural and physical world. Durkheim didn’t deny that personal circumstances and personal psychologies account for individual suicides, but he argued that psychology alone could not account for suicide rates that varied between societies and between social groups and varied over time. However, sociologists who later studied how sudden deaths came to be categorised as 'suicides' criticised Durkheim's reliance on official statistics. Using examples, this talk examines those debates between what are called 'positivists' and what are called 'interpretivists' in sociology.
Views: 7 | Enquiries: 0About Dr Jack Fawbert
I am a retired Senior University Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology. During my career I worked at several UK universities, including Leeds Metropolitan University, De Montfort University, the University of Bedfordshire and Anglia Ruskin University. I was Course leader for Sociology at two of those universities and I was also the external examiner for Sociology at the University of Northampton and the University of Ulster.
During my career, I gave lectures and talks at academic conferences for organisations such as the British Sociological Association, the Association of Teachers of Social Science and the Leisure Studies Association at the Universities of Manchester, Greenwich, East Anglia, York, Leeds Metropolitan, Brighton, Chester, Bedfordshire, Roehampton, Luton and Central Lancashire. I have also given talks at 'A' Level Sociology Revision conferences in London and Manchester as well as organising 'A' Level Sociology Revision Conferences at three of the universities I worked at.
After I retired I worked as a tutor at the Workers Educational Association for three years and the Open University for a further three years. I am now involved with the University of the Third Age (U3A) where I am group leader for the online sociology group as well as a being a member of the Bury-St-Edmunds U3A.
Since joining the U3A I have given talks both online and in person with the titles, 'Blacklisted: Corporate Crime and State Conspiracies', 'Hoodies: Folk Devils and a Moral Panic for the New Millenium', 'Making Sense of Popular Culture', 'Mods and Rockers and Moral Panics', 'Poverty: A Sociological Perspective', 'Sociology of Suicide', 'Sociology, Gender Inequality and Feminism', 'What is Science?', 'What is Social Class?' and 'What is Sociology?' These should give you an idea of the range of topics that I could offer talks on that can be pitched at a variety of audiences from 'A' Level at schools and colleges to U3A talks to leisure classes.
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Dr Jack Fawbert
- 'Blacklisted: Corporate Crime and State Conspiracies
- Hoodies: Folk Devils and a Moral Panic for the New Millenium
- Making Sense of Popular Culture
- Mods and Rockers and Moral Panics
- Poverty: A Sociological Perspective
- Sociology, Gender Inequality and Feminism
- What is Science?
- What is Social Class?
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