University Libraries About the Libraries Events and Awards Promotion and Tenure Recognition 2012 Honorees Dr. Kenneth D. Allan

Dr. Kenneth Allan

Professor, Sociology

The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life
by Emile Durkheim

Durkheim's "Elementary Forms" is the single most important book in my career as a sociologist and life as a social being. In it he presents a theoretical explanation of the origins of categories of thought and consciousness, as well as religion and human reality. It's a true classic in every sense of the word. In the many, many times I've read it, I've never failed to take away something new, something vital.