Dieter Reicher – författare

The book focuses on major aspects of Norbert Elias's social theory through research on supposed “minor” topics, such as manners, sports, leisure and cultural practices. While many of his publications became essential for scholars in the different disciplines concerned, the development of the figurational approach towards these fields was not always completed. The edited volume picks up some lose ends by including archive manuscripts by Elias on the genesis of sport, developments of cultural practices, and the sociology of the body, which are published here for the very first time. Based on critical reviews of these texts, international experts show how the new material adds up to Elias’s oeuvre and how it can be fruitfully applied to current research.

The book focuses on major aspects of Norbert Elias''s social theory through research on supposed “minor” topics, such as manners, sports, leisure and cultural practices. While many of his publications became essential for scholars in the different disciplines concerned, the development of the figurational approach towards these fields was not always completed. The edited volume picks up some lose ends by including archive manuscripts by Elias on the genesis of sport, developments of cultural practices, and the sociology of the body, which are published here for the very first time. Based on critical reviews of these texts, international experts show how the new material adds up to Elias’s oeuvre and how it can be fruitfully applied to current research.

In 1962 Norbert Elias was invited as a temporary professor at the University of Ghana in Legon, Accra. He taught, employed fieldwork, travelled, and met many people in postcolonial Africa. When Elias left Ghana in 1964, he had laid the basic groundwork for a fundamental sociological argument on human societies.The volume on hand is a selection of his unpublished writings based on these experiences. Together they touch upon not only the well-known criticism of Eurocentrism and a developmental perspective but also what could be considered the core of Elias’s work: the concept of civilisation. In a foreword, Dieter Reicher and Adrian Jitschin have endeavoured to explain and break down the relations of Elias’s African experience to the rest of his work and biography. They also clarified some misleading interpretations of Elias’s time in Africa. Finally, Arjan Post has uncovered the previously unknown fascinating story of Elias’ encounter with Malcolm X in an epilogue.

In 1962 Norbert Elias was invited as a temporary professor at the University of Ghana in Legon, Accra. He taught, employed fieldwork, travelled, and met many people in postcolonial Africa. When Elias left Ghana in 1964, he had laid the basic groundwork for a fundamental sociological argument on human societies.

The volume on hand is a selection of his unpublished writings based on these experiences. Together they touch upon not only the well-known criticism of Eurocentrism and a developmental perspective but also what could be considered the core of Elias’s work: the concept of civilisation. In a foreword, Dieter Reicher and Adrian Jitschin have endeavoured to explain and break down the relations of Elias’s African experience to the rest of his work and biography. They also clarified some misleading interpretations of Elias’s time in Africa. Finally, Arjan Post has uncovered the previously unknown fascinating story of Elias’ encounter with Malcolm X in an epilogue.

Das Buch erklärt, welche sozialen Mechanismen hinter der Entwicklung der Todesstrafe stehen. Dies geschieht anhand der zwei Fallstudien Österreich und England in der Zeit von 1700 bis 1914.  Während des 18. und der ersten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts wurden in England wesentlich mehr Menschen zum Tode verurteilt oder hingerichtet als im Habsburgerreich. Dieser Befund überrascht und stellt ein soziologisches Rätsel dar. Weshalb besaß das damals fortschrittliche und liberale England ein derart blutiges Strafrecht, wohingegen das vergleichsweise rückständige und polizeistaatlich organisierte Österreich nur sehr wenige Hinrichtungen aufwies?

Ist der Nationalstaat ein Auslaufmodell? Vieles deutet darauf hin, dass das 21. Jahrhundert ebenfalls von dieser Staatsform dominiert bleibt. Trotzdem sind Vorstellungen von "Wir" im Zusammenhang mit der Idee der "Nation" seit einiger Zeit im Westen Gegenstand heißer Debatten, die in eine Wir-Krise zu münden drohen. Im Zuge dieser Auseinandersetzungen operieren bestimmte gesellschaftliche Statusgruppen mit einem distinktiven und politisierten Topos von "Kultur", während andere das nationalstaatliche Modell zur Gänze ablehnen. Die hier vorliegende Argumentation stützt sich auf historisch-langfristig fokussierte Untersuchungen der Entwicklung nationaler Wir-Bezüge in vier unterschiedlichen Kulturfeldern.