Durkheim Is Dead! ─ Sherlock Holmes Is Introduced to Social Theory

In this sociology textbook/mystery novel, students can join Sherlock Holmes and Watson as they discover a new area ripe for acrimony and intrigue: social theory. In 1910, the most prominent social theorists in the world gather in London for a conference on the new science of sociology. Things rapidly fall apart, though, as a fight breaks out, a jewel is stolen, and famous sociologist Emile Durkheim disappears. As Sherlock Holmes and Watson investigate, it appears that social theory may not only explain actions—in this case, it may be the cause of them. So Holmes and Watson investigate social theory itself, learning directly from those creating it: W.E.B. Du Bois, Sigmund Freud, Vladimir Lenin, Beatrice Webb, Georg Simmel, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. The theories, lives, and passions of each sociologist are revealed as Holmes and Watson, learn first-hand just how influential social theory can be.

Arthur Asa Berger, retired professor from San Francisco State University, is the author of over 40 books, including the mystery novel/textbook Postmortem for a Postmodernist, and editor of The Postmodern Presence: Readings on Postmodernism in American Culture and Society.