Doing Humanities in Nineteenth-Century Germany, edited by Efraim Podoksik, examines the ways in which the humanities were practised by German thinkers and scholars in the long nineteenth century and the relevance of those practices for the humanities today.

Leads scholars and anyone who cares about the humanities into more effectively analyzing the fate of the humanities and digging into the very idea of the humanities as a way to find meaning and coherence in the world. The humanities, considered by many as irrelevant for modern careers and hopelessly devoid of funding, seem to be in a perpetual state of crisis, at the mercy of modernizing and technological forces that are driving universities towards academic pursuits that pull in grant money and direct students to lucrative careers. But as Paul Reitter and Chad Wellmon show, this crisis isn’t new—in fact, it’s as old as the humanities themselves. Today’s humanities scholars experience and react to basic pressures in ways that are strikingly similar to their nineteenth-century German counterparts. The humanities came into their own as scholars framed their work as a unique resource for resolving crises of meaning and value that threatened other cultural or social goods. The self-understanding of the modern humanities didn’t merely take shape in response to a perceived crisis; it also made crisis a core part of its project. Through this critical, historical perspective, Permanent Crisis can take scholars and anyone who cares about the humanities beyond the usual scolding, exhorting, and hand-wringing into clearer, more effective thinking about the fate of the humanities. Building on ideas from Max Weber and Friedrich Nietzsche to Helen Small and Danielle Allen, Reitter and Wellmon dig into the very idea of the humanities as a way to find meaning and coherence in the world. ,

As one of the most renowned figures in the history of anthropology, Bronisław Malinowski is recognised as having been central to the development of the discipline, with interpretations of his thought usually drawing attention to his work in founding the approach of functionalism and his innovative method of intensive field research. This book offers a decisive extension of Malinowski’s achievement, referring to the accomplishments of present‐day social sciences and humanities and the debts that they owe to Malinowksi’s oeuvre. Bringing together eminent scholars in such fields as social anthropology, sociology, law, cultural studies, literary and theatre studies, and art history, this book emphasises the importance of Malinowski’s theoretical and methodological insights as a treasure trove of inspiration for contemporary researchers. A critical commentary on the life, work, and legacy of Bronisłw Malinowski, it sheds light on his academic work, while personal documents, many of which are not well known – or are completely unknown – in the Anglophone sphere, prove their fundamental importance for understanding his oeuvre, and the intellectual connections between his work and the work of other most prominent intellectuals of the 20th and 21st centuries. It will therefore appeal to scholars across the social sciences and humanities with interests in the history of anthropology and sociology and fundamental questions of theory and research methodology.

This book investigates how work ethics in Europe were conceptualised from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. Through analysis of a range of discourses, it focuses on the roles played by intellectuals in formulating, communicating, and contesting ideas about work and its ethical value. The book moves away from the idea of a singular Weberian work ethic as fundamental to modern notions of work and instead emphasises how different languages of work were harnessed for a variety of social, intellectual, religious, economic, political, and ideological objectives. Rather than a singular work ethic that left a decisive mark on the development of Western culture and economy, the volume stresses plurality. The essays draw on approaches from intellectual, social, and cultural history. They explore how, why, and in what contexts labour became an important and openly promoted value; who promoted or opposed hard work and for what reasons; and whether there was an early modern break with ancient and medieval discourses on work. These historicized visions of work ethics help enrich our understanding of present-day changing attitudes to work.

Offers a penetrating, contextual interpretation of German philosopher and social thinker Georg Simmel's ideas on modernity and modern civilisation.

Liberalism is an attempt to both understand and change the world, an ideology and a movement, a set of ideas and a set of institutions. Liberal ideas began in Western Europe, but eventually spread throughout the world. This book examines liberal ideas and institutions in Germany from the end of the eighteenth to the beginning of the twentieth century. Drawing on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, German Liberalism in the Nineteenth Century provides a comprehensive picture of the movement on both the national and local levels. The book's central thesis is that the distinctive features of German liberalism must be understood in terms of the development of the German state and society.Sheehan argues that in the middle decades of the nineteenth century liberalism had the advantage of being the first political movement in Germany. It was able to mobilize and direct a broad variety of groups that wanted to change the status quo. After the formation of a united German nation state, however, liberals faced an increasingly dynamic and diverse set of opponents, who were better able to take advantage of the democratic suffrage introduced by Bismarck in 1867. Although liberals remained important in some states and many municipal governments, by 1914 they were pushed to the fringes of national politics. Sheehan concludes his account of liberalism's rise and fall with some reflections on the movement's place in German history and its significance for the disastrous collapse of democratic institutions in 1933.James J. Sheehan is Dickason Professor in the Humanities and Professor of History at Stanford University.

A description of life, society, and politics in the German territories in the 19th century.