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H-German CFP: Modern Minima Moralia Project

Discussion published by R.C. Smith on Friday, September 18, 2015 Type: Call for Papers Subject Fields: Humanities, Political Science, , Social History / Studies, Sociology

Minima Moralia is widely considered a literary and philosophical masterpiece. Written by Theodor Adorno during the Second World War, the book, built from aphorisms and reflections, focuses on everyday existence in late-capitalist society. Shifting from personal experience to deep critical consideration of disturbing tendencies and broad trends in late industrial society, topics considered by Adorno are as diverse as they are revealing. They range from the desolation of the family to the decay of conversation and the rise of 20th Century . Through each passage, each unfolding reflection, Adorno offers insight into the smallest changes in everyday behaviour, while illuminating the bigger picture with regards to the negative forces of his time. In short: Adorno’s incisive investigations into some of the most common social phenomena, into the mediations between the patterns of everyday life and the broader course of systemic trends which surround those patterns, provides the reader with a rich critical social-philosophical orientation to see how commonplace and routine practice in society stood in relation to the most catastrophic events of the twentieth century.

Minima Moralia forever remains a significant document of reflection. It teaches us how the subtle shifts in culture; the silent subtlety of everyday minutia; the everyday unfolding and transformations of social, political and economic life; are far from devoid of meaning. When considered through critical reflection, casual or daily phenomena can expose various antagonisms, conflicts and crises, and their linkages to the systemic and structural crises of the economic, political, social, cultural, and psychic realms. In a sense, such a finely honed critical examination of the phenomena of contemporary social life, which can almost take on a certain phenomenological plane of analysis, can offer fundamental insights into the negative aspects of the state, law, economy, religion – in short, the entire material and spiritual culture of humanity (to paraphrase ). It can reveal the crisis of democracy, of community, of the social fabric of contemporary capitalist society, not to mention the everyday levels of needless (social) suffering of people, of socially induced emotional and psychological trauma, and even the underlying political struggle for emancipation.

Inspired by Adorno and, indeed, the rest of the early , this Call for Papers is really an invitation for authors of all backgrounds to contribute to an ongoing project, which concerns the development of a modern version of Minima Moralia.

As a series of individual reflections and aphorisms, each piece will be published individually online as part of a greater anthology which, together, as a whole, will present a collective critical dissection of contemporary life.

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Author Information

Citation: R.C. Smith. CFP: Modern Minima Moralia Project . H-German. 09-18-2015. https://networks.h-net.org/node/GROUP_NID/discussions/84032/cfp-modern-minima-moralia-project Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-German

The deadline for submissions is ongoing.

The article should be an original work. If accepted for publication, it will appear on Heathwood’s website as part of a special project series (with the possibility of this series also eventually being published as a book).

Text: 10-12 point size font (Times or Times New Roman), preferably in .doc or .docx format

Article Length: 500-2000 words

Author’s data: Short author’s bio and photo

References: Please put references in a footnote at the bottom of the same page. They should be APA in format.

Readers Profile: High

Please send submissions to [email protected], specifying the CFP in the subject heading.

Original link to CFP: http://www.heathwoodpress.com/call-for-papers-modern-minima-moralia-proj...

Contact Info:

Robert C. Smith

Executive Editor

Heathwood Institute and Press

Contact Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.heathwoodpress.com

Citation: R.C. Smith. CFP: Modern Minima Moralia Project . H-German. 09-18-2015. https://networks.h-net.org/node/GROUP_NID/discussions/84032/cfp-modern-minima-moralia-project Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 2