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This book introduces the sociology of philosophy as a research field, asking what can be gained by looking at the discipline of philosophy from a sociological perspective and how to go about doing it, as presented through three case studies of 20th-century Swedish and Scandinavian philosophy. After a general introduction to the topic including its brief history and central concepts, the case studies tackle questions such as how the crucial distinction between analytical and Continental philosophy came to be established in Sweden, how the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess worked out in his early philosophy an approach to dealing with the cultural trauma of the Second World War and the Nazi occupation, and how professional philosophical careers were built in postwar Sweden. The authors then take a forward look, suggesting where the field might go from here and what its future key areas might be. This volume will appeal to scholars and students in sociology, philosophy, intellectual history, and Scandinavian studies.
"An enthralling, heartening study of a man of unflagging interest in life" Independent "A thoroughly researched biography" New York Review of Books "Provides readers of English with a perfect introduction to the life and works of an outstanding writer, one whom everyone should read" Irish Times "I am thoroughly convinced by Gudmundsson's portrayal of Laxness" J. M COETZEE A strong and memorable portrayal of a man who fought heroically to write for the world, but in one of its rarest languages. Halldór Laxness won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1955. During his life, which spanned nearly the entire century, he not only wrote sixty books, but also became an active participant in Europe's i...
Disturbing the Nest assesses the future of the family as an institution through an historical and comparative analysis of the nature, causes, and social implications of family change in advanced western societies such as the United States, New Zealand, and Switzerland by focusing on the one society in which family decline is found to be the greatest, Sweden. The founding of the modern Swedish welfare state was based in large part on the belief that it was necessary for the state to intervene in society in order to improve the situation of the family. Of great concern was the low birthrate, which was seen as a threat to the very survival of Swedes as a national population group. The Social De...
As two of the leading social scientists of the twentieth century, Alva and Gunnar Myrdal tried to establish a harmonious, “organic” Gemeinschaft [community] in order to fight an assumed disintegration of modern society. By means of functionalist architecture and by educating “sensible” citizens, disciplining bodies, and reorganizing social relationships they attempted to intervene in the lives of ordinary men. The paradox of this task was to modernize society in order to defend it against an “ambivalent modernity.” This combination of Weltanschauung [world view], social science, and technical devices became known as social engineering. The Myrdals started in the early 1930s with ...
How Picturebooks Work is an innovative and engaging look at the interplay between text and image in picturebooks. The authors explore picturebooks as a specific medium or genre in literature and culture, one that prepares children for other media of communication, and they argue that picturebooks may be the most influential media of all in the socialization and representation of children. Spanning an international range of children's books, this book examine such favorites as Curious George and Frog and Toad Are Friends, along with the works of authors and illustrators including Maurice Sendak and Tove Jansson, among others. With 116 illustrations, How Picturebooks Work offers the student of children's literature a new methodology, new theories, and a new set of critical tools for examining the picturebook form.
When I interviewed for the job, Keith Beal, the Research and Development Director, and my immediate supervisor, gave me a tour of the manufacturing area and made it a point to stop at a small table. There were about three or four assemblers at the table manually placing Sharpie “reservoirs” into Sharpie “barrels”, fitting the “ferrule” (top half of the pen) into place, spin welding the assembly, adding the ink with a foot-operated syringe, setting the tip and cap in place, and then placing the finished marker in a box that was partitioned to hold twelve rows of twelve—one gross of product. “This,” Keith told me, “Is the Sharpie Marker.” All Bill wanted as he interviewed for the job of chemist at Sanford Ink Company in Bellwood, Illinois was a way to support his young family. He could worry about making his mark in the world after his family had a place to sleep, a used car to drive, and food in the refrigerator. Furniture for the apartment could come later. What happened next is today a piece of Americana.
Finnish ethnology has in recent years been seeking methods for use in studying Industrial Era communities and their occupations. These methods differ considerably from those applied in the study of peasant culture, which is the traditional item for Finnish ethnological research.
For over a century, Europe has been characterised by a plurality of capitalist modernities. At any moment, each country possesses its own distinctly modern qualities which are partly shaped through interrelationships with other countries. Each European commodity society has experienced successive, but different overlapping, periods of industrial modernity (large scale factories and urban growth), high modernity (social modernization promoted by social engineering) and hypermodernity (the acceleration of modernity, yielding new circumstances and sensibilities). Interrogating contemporary hypermodern Europe thus requires an exploration of industrial and high modern Europe. Recognising European...