Iván Szelényi's Yale lecture on Emile Durkheim, part of Foundations of Modern Social Theory (SOCY 151), traces Durkheim's shift from the functionalist and positivist orientation of The Division of Labor in Society and The Rules of Sociological Method toward his later interest in religion in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Szelényi lays out Durkheim's central concern with social cohesion rather than conflict, contrasting him with Marx and Weber. The lecture explains mechanical solidarity among similar individuals versus organic solidarity based on difference, and shows how Durkheim, drawing on Montesquieu, tracked this shift through changes in law, from punitive penal codes to restitutory contract law. It covers Durkheim's idea of the collective conscience and his claim that a well functioning society needs individuals performing different but complementary tasks. Chapters move from historical context into close reading of the text's major themes and legal examples.