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Almost half of the 28 essays in this volume have not been published in English before, and many of the others are little-known. Some directly express Elias's dissatisfaction with the historical, present-centered trend of modern sociology. Others scintillatingly show how wide-ranging were Elias's own sociological interests. Topics include, among many others: the work of Theodor Adorno; sociology and psychiatry; psychosomatic illness; human emotions; communities in long-term perspective; the changing balance of power between the sexes; African art; football; and even pigeon racing. Edited by Richard Kilminster and Stephen Mennell.
List of contents
Norbert Elias, 1897-1990; Note on the text; Figuration; Social processes; Towards a theory of social processes; Social process models on multiple levels; On the sociogenesis of sociology; The break with traditionalism: report on the discussion; Group charisma and group disgrace; Address on Adorno: respect and critique; Sociology in danger: the case for the reorientation of a discipline; A diagnosis of present-day sociology; The retreat of sociologists into the present; The concept of everyday life; The story of the shoelaces; Social anxieties; On human beings and their emotions: a process-sociological essay; Sociology and psychiatry; Civilisation and psychosomatics; Foreword to The Sociology of Sport; Football in the process of civilisation; Pigeon racing; African art; Stages of African art, social and visual; Some remarks on the problem of work; Professions; The changing balance of power between the sexes - a process-sociological study: the example of the ancient Roman state; 'Where two come together in lawful matrimony...'; Foreword to Women Torn Two Ways; Renate Rubinstein; Appendices: I On the division of social functions; II Max Weber, involvement, detachment and charismatic leadership. III Extended notes to 'Stages of African art: social and visual'; IV List of minor publications by Norbert Elias; Textual variants; Bibliography; Index.
About the author
NORBERT ELIAS (1897-1990) was one of the greatest sociologists of the twentieth century. He studied with Alfred Weber in Heidelberg and served as Karl Mannheim's assistant in Frankfurt. On Hitler's coming to power, he went into exile, first in France and then in Britain. His magnum opus The Civilizing Process received little attention when it was published in Switzerland in 1939 and only after Elias's formal retirement in 1962 were most of his other books and essays published. International intellectual celebrity came to him right at the end of his long life. RICHARD KILMINSTER is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Leeds; STEPHEN MENNELL is Professor of Sociology at University College Dublin.
