On The Current Rediscovery of Georg Simmel’s Sociology — A European Point of View

Dahme, Heinz-Jürgen

doi:10.1007/978-94-009-0459-0_3

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…As was the case with the group as a sociological subject, the common theme of modernity was independently formulated by the two scholars. Even granting that Vierkandt welcomed Simmel’s Soziologie ‘with great enthusiasm’ and that he ‘took up his approach and tried to refine it’ (Dahme, 1990: 15–16), Vierkandt’s Gesellschaftslehre —his main sociological work—contains only seven citations to Simmel (ibid. : 13, 20, 163, 311, 374, 380, 436).…”

Section: Vierkandt’s Notion Of the Group From A Theoretical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Alfred Vierkandt’s notion of the social group

Segre

2021

History of the Human Sciences

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German sociologist Alfred Vierkandt is hardly remembered today. This may seem surprising. Several prominent sociologists from the German-speaking countries contributed to the Handwörterbuch der Soziologie (1931), which Vierkandt edited and published. However, Vierkandt did not interact with any of them significantly, and this publication brought no recognition of the importance of his sociological oeuvre in Germany, the United States, or elsewhere. His key notion of the social group found no acknowledgment among other contemporary or later sociologists, even though several of them used this notion and discussed social groups in their own writings. Moreover, those who paid close attention to his writings, like Abel and Hochstim, evaluated them quite critically. Both before and after World War II, Vierkandt remained a solitary and relatively unknown author.

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Section: Vierkandt’s Notion Of the Group From A Theoretical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Alfred Vierkandt’s notion of the social group

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2021

History of the Human Sciences

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“…Simmel’s sociology of space should hence be read as an inseparable part of his sociology of forms and not as an autonomous theory of spatial formations. While scholars of Simmel’s legacy produced profound in-depth studies of his work (Frisby 1984; Dahme 1990; Levine 1991; Weinstein and Weinstein 1993; Jaworski 1998; Kemple 2007; Helle 2013), research that deals specifically with his sociology of space is more scarce and scattered in diverse disciplinary venues (see, e.g. Borden 1997).…”

Section: Simmel’s Sociology Of Social Formsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Simmelian approach to space in world politics

Gazit¹

2018

Int. Theory

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Assumptions regarding space and spatiality exist in all major theoretical traditions in international relations, from realism to constructivism, but the mutual constitution of space and social interaction in the study of world politics requires further conceptual development in its own right. This article suggests a preliminary research agenda for the study of space and social relations in IR by lending insight from Georg Simmel’s classical sociology of space. Simmel’s approach offers scholars of contemporary world politics an innovative conceptualization of the relations between physical and symbolic space (‘the physical-symbolic axis’) and between space and time (‘the spatio-temporal axis’); and a set of practical analytical tools to apply in IR research by defining the foundational qualities of space (exclusivity, divisibility, containment, positioning, and mobility) and suggesting a typology of distinct sociospatial formations: organized space, governed space, fixed space, and empty space. The article discusses the potential of Simmel’s nuanced relational approach to contribute to the contemporary study of world politics, and demonstrates its utility in two particular areas of research: the study of unbundled sovereignty and mobility in late modernity; and the study of empty spaces in IR.

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“…Over the past decades, Simmel's social theory has witnessed a notable revival, especially with the advent of the new cultural studies and the discussions on modernity and postmodernity (see, e.g., Backhaus, 1998;Blegvad, 1989;Dahme, 1990;Featherstone, 1991;Gross, 2001;Scaff, 1988;C. Turner, 1989;Weinstein, 1990, 1993).…”

Section: Past Present and Future Of The Sociology Of Moneymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociology of the Sociology of Money

Deflem

2003

Journal of Classical Sociology

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I offer a discussion of Simmel’s Philosophy of Money in comparison with the analyses of money in the writings of Marx, Weber and Durkheim. Based on this analysis, I argue that Simmel’s ambiguous status as a classic can be accounted for by some of the characteristics of his approach as well as the historical (non-)reception of his work. Simmel’s relative neglect in sociology for the better part of the century as well as his recent revival with the rise of the new cultural studies and the postmodern paradigm shift hint at an important interdependence between the history and systematics of sociological theory. The theme of money has not managed to be accepted as an undisputed topic of sociological reflection because of its non-independent status in most social theories (apart from Simmel’s) as well as the factual resistance to totalizing accounts (like Simmel’s) in the history of sociology. Recent transformations in social theory, however, indicate that money may, and to some extent already has, become a more autonomous topic of inquiry. In conclusion, I argue that Simmel’s work does lend itself to be taken up in postmodern perspectives and that the sociological study of money can likewise be appropriated by the new cultural studies. However, these new perspectives will have to come to terms with the modernist resistance of Simmel and the other sociological classics’ remaining influence in contemporary sociological theory.

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On The Current Rediscovery of Georg Simmel’s Sociology — A European Point of View

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Alfred Vierkandt’s notion of the social group

Alfred Vierkandt’s notion of the social group

A Simmelian approach to space in world politics

The Sociology of the Sociology of Money

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