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Newsletter of the Norbert Elias Foundation 26 Newsletter of the Norbert Elias Foundation EDITORS’ NOTES • Richard Kilminster reports marking a student essay in which it was stated that against the model of ‘homo clausus’ Elias counterposed a model of ‘homines aperatif’ [sic]. We know from conferences that figurationists like a drink, but … • Norman Rosenthal, Exhibitions Secretary at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the University of Leicester, on 11 July 2007, and in his response he recalled that: ‘Leicester in some ways was where my life started, in all sorts of ways. I had incredible teaching here. Not only in the History Department, though that was the subject that I read … There were extraordinary people here and in the Sociology Department, Ilya Neustadt and the legendary Norbert Elias, whom some of you will know, was also teaching here. It’s very little known that this man who is now a legend all over the world – in the United States, in Germany, in France – as a refugee spent his life here and wrote many of his books here. Leicester was in a certain sense a great intellectual centre, very much through him, and through many other people who were there.’ We believe that Norman assisted Elias in mounting the exhibition of his collection of African art at the Leicester City Art Gallery in 1970. • Readers’ attention is drawn to the calls for papers for two important conferences in the autumn of 2007, one in Marbach marking the completion of the publication of the Elias Gesammelte Schriften by Suhrkamp, and the other in Frankfurt on Elias and American Studies. FROM THE NORBERT writings that he has edited. Sadly, Peter authors from other continents. ELIAS FOUNDATION died just before he was able to see a The Prize is awarded ‘in commemora- finished copy of the book. An obituary tion of the sociologist Norbert Elias Peter Rudolf Gleichmann, will appear in Figurations 27. (1897–1990), whose writings, at once 1932–2006 theoretical and empirical, boldly crossed disciplinary boundaries in the We are sad to report the death of Peter Fifth Norbert Elias Prize social sciences to develop a long-term Gleichmann, Professor of Sociology perspective on the patterns of interde- at the University of Hannover, one of The fifth Norbert Elias Prize will be pendence which human beings weave the principal advocates in Germany of awarded in 2007. The Prize consists in together’. This does not mean, however, the ideas of Norbert Elias and one of a sum of €1,000 and it will be awarded that the prize-winning book will neces- the editors – along with Johan Gouds- to the author of a significant first major sarily be directly inspired by Elias’s blom and Hermann Korte – of Human book published between 1 January own work. Figurations, the Festschrift that marked 2005 and 31 December 2006. Elias’s eightieth birthday in 1977. The Previous winners of the Elias Prize news reached us just as this issue of In previous years, the Prize has been have been: Figurations was being compiled. Hans- reserved for European authors. On this 1999 David Lepoutre, Coeur de ban- Peter Waldhoff had already contributed occasion, the Board of the Elias Foun- lieue: Codes, rites et langages (Paris: a note about the volume of Peter’s dation has decided to open the prize to Odile Jacob, 1997) Issue No.26 December 2006 Figurations 1 2001 Wilbert van Vree, Meetings, Man- 2007, wrote the following ‘Thema State- lating to the point where global warm- ners and Civilisation (London: Univer- ment’ for her year of office, and we ing may be irreversible. In Iraq, a con- sity of Leicester Press, 1999) thought it would be of interest to (and tinuing war tightly inter-braided with cheering for) readers of Figurations. US domestic politics brings more dead 2003 Nikola Tietze, Islamische Iden- and wounded Americans, many more titäten: Formen muslimischer Religi- Intellectuals in the West have long uncounted dead and wounded Iraqis, osität junger Männer in Deutschland believed that progress was inevitable, and threatens widening instability in und Frankreich (Hamburg: Hamburger while having vastly different ideas the Middle East. The US is alleged to Edition, 2001) about how and why progress would be the most powerful nation in world occur. Whether their confidence was in history; its military and economic 2005 Jason Hughes, Learning to Smoke: revolution or parliaments or technology, footprints determine the life chances Tobacco Use in the West (Chicago: Uni- it was generally assumed that socie- of people everywhere. Tragically, that versity of Chicago Press, 2003) ties would become more just and more great power can and does produce poli- prosperous, and that this prosperity cies that violate axiomatic sociological For the 2007 prize, the jury will consist would be more widely shared. No more. knowledge about social cohesion and of three previous winners of the prize, Alarming trends are unfolding in the stability’. under the chairmanship of Wilbert van twenty-first century that threaten confi- Vree, with Stephen Mennell represent- dence in a better future, or even in any What are the prospects for understand- ing the Board of the Elias Foundation. future at all. ing, and reversing, these trends? How can sociologists, whose intellectual mis- Nominations for the prize should be Sociology emerged in the nineteenth sion it is to understand the connections sent to Saskia Visser, Secretary to the century, as the very idea of society between everyday life and large social Norbert Elias Foundation, J.J. Viot- came into focus by thinkers attempting forces, and to communicate that under- tastraat 13, 1071 JM Amsterdan, The to understand the wrenching changes standing to wider publics, contribute to Netherlands, by 31 March 2007. that accompanied industrialisation and the strengthening of democratic forces urbanisation. These changes, and the on which the prospects for a better For books in languages other than Eng- large scale but also intimate miseries future depend? lish, French and German, please supply that often came in their wake, illu- a brief outline of the nominated book. minated the importance of big social Frances Fox Piven processes and the big institutional City University of New York Graduate structures that gave rise to them. They Centre Elias-I Email Discussion List also directed attention to the ‘social question’, the new patterns of inequal- Kitty Roukens, moderator of the Elias-I ity, hardship and disorganisation that CIVILISING OFFENSIVE BY discussion list has a new email address: society was creating. The penetrating CHINESE GOVERNMENT [email protected]. Although SISWO has insights of Durkheim and Marx, Weber now been wound up, Kitty can still be and Simmel, as well as the path-break- Andrew Linklater drew our attention to reached (Mondays to Thursdays) at its ing empirical work of the early Ameri- the following article by Richard Spen- old address, Plantage Muidergracht 4, can sociologists who focused on social cer that appeared in the London Daily 1018 TV Amsterdam, problems, reflected their immersion in Telegraph on 2 September 2006. It tel. +31-20-527 0620. the life of their societies, and their com- reminded me of having seen an article mitment to reducing the human suffer- in The Straits Times back in 1993 about To subscribe to the list, simply send an ing that societies can cause. Their work the Singapore government’s campaign email to: [email protected]. provided conceptual tools and data that to persuade its citizens to smile more. NL with the command: SUBSCRIBE contributed to the reform currents of There could be a good PhD thesis on ELIAS-I in the subject line. their societies. official civilising offensives in develop- ing countries – SJM. For further details of the list, see: ‘We live in tumultuous times again. http://www.lsoft.com/scripts/ In the United States, inequalities of Beijing drive to improve wl.exe?SL1=ELIAS-I&H=NIC.SURF- income and wealth are increasing while manners for Olympics NET.NL. our electoral system is degraded by A revolution in social etiquette is money corruption, spectacle and propa- sweeping Beijing as the Communist ganda. The numbers of poor are grow- Party seeks to prepare the capital city IS ANOTHER WORLD POS- ing and their poverty deepening, while for the 2008 Olympic Games. SIBLE? SOCIOLOGICAL PER- the public programs that once mitigated SPECTIVES ON CONTEMPO- economic hardship are shrinking. What In a series of bossy initiatives, from RARY POLITICS happens within the US is of conse- forcing people to queue politely at bus quence to Americans and the world. stops to stopping concertgoers from Frances Fox Piven, President of the Pollution and environmental destruction using their mobile phones, the authori- American Sociological Association from unregulated production are esca- ties are attempting to bring about a 2 Figurations Issue No.26 December 2006 major shift in the way the Chinese been taught just stood for getting rich world with their hands and feet chained behave in public. quickly. together by invisible ties. No one is in Evidence of the campaign can be seen As well as presenting a more attrac- charge. No one stands outside. Some at every bus stop. tive face to the world, the party hopes want to go this way, others that. They people will find in a more refined, self- fall upon each other and, vanquishing ‘Everything needs to get better’, denying Confucianism a conformist or defeated, still remain chained to each said Shen Zengde, 60, as he watched ideology to replace the largely aban- other. No one can regulate the move- over the rush-hour queue waiting for doned Marxism of Chairman Mao. ments of the whole unless a great part the number 117 on Dongzhimenwai of them are able to understand – to see, Avenue.
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    45 Newsletter of the Norbert Elias Foundation FIGURATIONS NEWSLETTER HAS CONTENTS GONE DIGITAL Figurations Newsletter has gone digital 1 As most of you will have already noticed, our newsletter is now distributed electronically People 2 only. The Board of the Norbert Elias Foundation was reluctant to abandon printing, From the Norbert Elias Foundation 2 but in the end financial considerations won out: the cost will be reduced by four-fifths. Robert van Krieken’s YouTube lecture channel Starting with the current issue, subscribers will In the media 2 receive their copy by email, in the form of a PDF file. If you took the trouble to print it out Cooking for Elias 3 two-sided on buff paper, the newsletter will for the moment not look very different from the Figurational Journals online 3 printed version as it appeared from 1994 until now, although we can now use colour photos. Recent books and articles 5 Figurations 45 would normally have been sent Upcoming book publications 12 to you in July, but we have been in the throes of compiling a consolidated email circulation International Sociological Association news 12 list. As well as those on the postal address list, all subscribers to the Norbert Elias Foundation Forthcoming conferences 14 blog will receive this issue of Figurations automatically. If you wish to change your email address to which the newsletter is delivered, or wish to unsubscribe, please contact our Managing Editor, Barbara Górnicka, at [email protected]. It should be noted that all previous issues of Figurations have long been available as downloadable PDFs, at http://www.norberteliasfoundation.nl/ figurations.php.
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