Decolonial Durkheim: Central Australian Festivals and the Making of the Modern World

• In Event: Theorists and Theories in the History of Sociology and Social Thought

Abstract

It has been widely assumed that Durkheimian sociology contributed to creating a sharp distinction between traditional and modern societies based on a Eurocentric bias that presents the latter as an exception to the former. However, a close examination of Durkheim’s work may challenge this assumption. Through an in-depth analysis of his posthumously published lectures alongside Les Formes Élémentaires de la Vie Religiuse, this paper demonstrates how Durkheim sought to apply the model developed for studying Aboriginal Australians to his lectures in order to reevaluate European history. The topics covered include the genesis of private property in Ancient Rome, the Crusades in the Middle Ages, the French Revolution, and the role of mythological truths in the Modern Era. In doing so, the paper advances a Durkheimian decolonial critique that scrutinizes modern society through the same theoretical lens employed in the study of Indigenous ones.

Author

• Romulo Lelis, University of Sao Paulo