Durkheim was a major proponent of structural functionalism, a foundational perspective in both sociology and anthropology.
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Structural functionalism is a broad perspective in sociology and anthropology which sets out to interpret society as a structure with interrelated parts.
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The current wave of historical comparative research sociology is often but not exclusively post-structural in its theoretical orientation.
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Through the work of Simmel, in particular, sociology acquired a possible character beyond positivist data-collection or grand, deterministic systems of structural law.