Norbert Elias fu un sociologo tedesco le cui teorie esplorarono le intricate relazioni tra potere, comportamento, emozione e conoscenza nel tempo. Diede forma in modo profondo al campo noto come sociologia dei processi o figurativa. Nonostante rimase una figura marginale per gran parte della sua carriera a causa di circostanze storiche, Elias sperimentò una significativa riscoperta negli anni '70. Questa rinascita lo stabilì come uno dei sociologi più influenti nella storia della disciplina.
Le buone maniere: usare le posate per mangiare, non sputare nel piatto, osservare una assoluta "privacy" nel soddisfare i propri bisogni fisici sono fatti per noi del tutto naturali. Ma sono veramente naturali, o non sono invece il risultato di un processo culturale?
Gli splendori di Versailles, i fasti e gli sprechi di un'aristocrazia al tramonto, le follie dell'etichetta come spie di una società complessa e fortemente gerarchizzata. Analizzando i rituali della corte francese ai tempi del Re Sole, Elias ricostruisce le origini e l'evoluzione di un sistema sociale nato in Francia, ma affermatosi poi in tutta Europa fino alla Rivoluzione e oltre, e coglie l'essenza del rapporto tra forme del cerimoniale, linguaggio dei rapporti sociali e potere.
The book explores the intricate dynamics of life among the French nobility at the royal court during Louis XIV's reign. It reveals how courtiers became ensnared in a complex system of etiquette and ceremony, where their social standing dictated their expenses and lifestyle, often overriding personal wealth. This classic study sheds light on the interplay between rank and daily life in a lavish yet constraining environment, highlighting the challenges faced by both courtiers and the king himself.
Exploring the Individual vs. Society discourse, this collection features three pivotal essays by Norbert Elias, spanning from 1939 to 1987. Elias delves into the concept of individualization as a crucial aspect of socialization and civilizing processes across generations. He challenges the notion of a solitary self by introducing innovative ideas such as I-identity versus We-identity and the We-I balance, enriching the understanding of how individuals relate to society. This edition offers profound insights into the dynamics of identity and social interaction.
The writings in this volume previously unpublished in English include the essay 'On Seeing in Nature', his doctoral dissertation 'Idea and Individual', a response to Karl Mannheim's famous paper on cultural competition, and a number of short stories contributed to a newspaper. Other essays collected together here concern primitive art, the sociology of German anti-Semitism, kitsch style and the age of kitsch, and the expulsion of the Huguenots from France. This edition includes as an appendix a draft outline of Elias' Habilitation thesis begun under Alfred Weber. "Early Writings" have been translated from the German edition, Fruschriften, published by Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt/Main as volume 1 of the Norbert Elias Gesammelte Schriften, 2002.
The book delves into the dynamics of power and social hierarchy within two similar working-class groups in a 1960s community, illustrating how one group wielded power to marginalize the other through stigma and gossip. Elias extends this analysis into a broader theory of power relations, exploring its implications across various societal divisions, including class, ethnicity, and gender. Additionally, it features a posthumous essay inspired by Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," marking its debut in English.
Beginning with the author's celebrated study of the changing standards of behaviour of the secular upper classes in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, this title demonstrates how psychological changes in habitus and emotion management were linked to wider transformations in power relations.