Georg Simmel Research Articles

American Cities in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction by Robert Yeates

Reviewed by: American Cities in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction by Robert Yeates Michael Fuchs Ruined Cities. Robert Yeates. American Cities in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction. UCL P, 2021. ix+201 pp. $40 pbk. Open access ebk. In American Cities in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, Robert Yeates sets out to show that “America has its own specific history with urban ruins in fiction” and that these “ruins have functioned in very different ways in the individual historical contexts of particular US cities and in relation to particular media formats” (16). After setting the stage by referring to studies ranging from those by Georg Simmel and Lewis Mumford to James Berger and Stephen Joyce’s much more recent Transmedia Storytelling and the Apocalypse (2018), Yeates explores representations of post-apocalyptic American cities in six particular cultural and media-historical constellations, from fiction in the early twentieth century to the transmedia storyworlds of the early twenty-first century. The opening chapter situates Jack London’s The Scarlet Plague (1912) in the context of “the inconsistent but vital relationship between the emerging genre of sf and the magazines,” which Yeates considers a reflection “of the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century urbanization and industrialization of America” (47). This chapter presents a convincing reading of The Scarlet Plague as an extension of London’s nonfiction writings about the San Francisco earthquake, epitomizing the author’s turn “towards fantastic tales of possible future catastrophes” after 1906 (36). In addition, Yeates outlines the publication history of The Scarlet Plague, drawing on archival sources and providing great insights into Gordon Grant’s simple yet powerful illustrations. [End Page 129] The second chapter moves to the 1950s, when radio became the dominant medium due, in part, to changes in urban planning and transportation. As Yeates explains, whereas “the early twentieth-century commuter look[ed] to magazines for entertainment while aboard public transport, the commuters of the 1950s pilot[ed] private automobiles” and “found in radio an indispensable source of entertainment that could hold their attention without distracting them from their drive” (51). Next to the changes in media properties, Yeates emphasizes a distinct change in the causes of imagined urban disasters, as “wilful acts of sentient forces, whether human or alien” replaced chance and natural causes (55). The chapter discusses two episodes of the fantasy-horror series Quiet, Please (1947–1949) and three episodes of the sf anthology series Dimension X (1950–1951), highlighting the particular media properties of radio plays and demonstrating how these media artifacts negotiated scientific optimism and belief in technological progress with the threat of nuclear annihilation. Chapter three continues the exploration of Cold War anxieties, this time in the medium of film. Yeates’s focus turns to aerial warfare here, which was employed as a military strategy in World War II and then became a key element of how sf films of the 1950s and 1960s imagined urban destruction. Using The War of the Worlds (1953) and The Time Machine (1960) as his main examples, Yeates echoes Jennifer Fay’s analysis of “nuclear conditioning” through motion pictures in her excellent book Inhospitable World (2018), suggesting that sf movies of the 1950s and 1960s not only reflected the anxieties of their times but also allowed viewers to confront and ultimately overcome their fears of urban and nuclear destruction. The next chapter provides a structurally not entirely convincing yet nevertheless enjoyable detour to the Blade Runner franchise (centering on the 1982 film) that showcases “what about this franchise resonated at the different moments of its development, and how the texts’ differing contexts reveal the strengths of Blade Runner’s particular take on the post-apocalyptic American city” (91). Starting from the observation that “little has been written to situate [the original Blade Runner] film in the movement of the late 1970s and 1980s towards demonizing and policing sexuality in America’s major cities” (92), the chapter focuses on Othering and how marginalized characters “navigate the liminal spaces of the ruined city as acts of experimentation, improvisation and expression in resistance to the policing of their identities” (115). Using Wasteland (1988) and Wasteland 2 (2014) as a launching pad, the fifth chapter turns to videogames and their...

Narcissism in Postmodern Society

Freud’s theory on narcissism was developed in a society where the bourgeois had influential dominant power, so the analysis he proposed was in a cultural and historical atmosphere created by the upper class. Moreover, Christopher Lasch also mentioned his in influential book The Culture of Narcissism (1978) that narcissistic culture was taking place in a “late capitalism.” I intend to argue in this paper that Lasch’s narcissistic culture was embedded in a postmodern society, that is, “late capitalism” refers to postmodernism. Therefore, I employ the ideas postmodern thinkers such as Baudrillard, Georg Simmel, and Habermas to discuss how the characteristics of individuals living in postmodern society are similar to the characteristics of narcissists portrayed by Lasch. First, I elaborate on the issue of self-identity, followed by a discussion of narcissistic culture depicted by Lasch. Finally, I propose the contribution and critiques of Lasch’s discourse of development of narcissistic culture.

The Inimitable Sociologist: Revisiting Georg Simmel's Seminal Texts

In 1858, Georg Simmel was born in Berlin. The conflicts of Germany's unique road to modernity were best exemplified by that metropolis. Financial speculation and rapid urbanisation fueled Berlin's ascent to global prominence. While a young proletariat (Georg Simmel) fought the government and the bourgeoisie for political and economic rights, an avant-garde cultural elite coexisted uncomfortably with the central European aristocracy. The landed Prussian Junker aristocracy, the cornerstone of Bismarck's unified German Reich, was eroded because of the proliferation of modern technologies that created power and riches. The Hohenzollern dynasty, one of the oldest in Europe, ruled over a tumultuous realm while being enamoured with the most contemporary concepts.

The Construction of the Femable Subject in Georg Simmel

Resumo Georg Simmel foi um dos primeiros professores em Berlim a admitir as mulheres em suas aulas e seminários. Em sua teoria da modernidade, adota a perspectiva do indivíduo inserido em uma cultura objetiva, própria da economia monetária, e em uma cultura subjetiva, própria do sujeito. São, então, realidades inter-relacionadas. Os conceitos de cultura objetiva e cultura subjetiva são condutores de sua obra, recursos teóricos utilizados para analisar o impacto diferenciado da filosofia do dinheiro entre os sexos. Ao buscar centrar-se no sujeito singular e histórico, Simmel diferencia o masculino e o feminino na cultura, não no ser individual e único. Este artigo aborda a construção do sujeito feminino em Simmel no âmbito de uma sociologia da cultura.

Goldschmidt and Social Theory

The concepts of contradiction and dialogue are crucial to Hermann Goldschmidt’s Contradiction Set Free. In this paper, I place Goldschmidt into dialogue with two social thinkers for whom similar ideas were equally crucial: Georg Simmel and Donald Levine. In the case of Simmel, I highlight his theory of conflict specifically, but more generally his commitment to duality and ambiguity. In the case of Levine, I feature his attempt to articulate what he calls a “dialogic” narrative of the sociological tradition. I seek to evaluate Goldschmidt’s own thinking by his own criteria, by asking whether the sociological and the philosophical approaches to these questions are parallel, in opposition, or an instance of a contradiction in Goldschmidt’s sense.

Philosophical perspectives on mobility: a comparative study of the legacy of Georg Simmel and John Urry

Philosophical perspectives on mobility: a comparative study of the legacy of Georg Simmel and John Urry

PARA UMA APROXIMAÇÃO ENTRE A SOCIOLOGIA DO CONHECIMENTO E A PSICOLOGIA COGNITIVA

Abstract This social theory essay prospects for pathways for bringing together two seemingly unrelated traditions of thought: the sociology of knowledge and cognitive psychology. Such an endeavor is pursued at two different levels. First, I lay out three general assumptions underlying the sociology of knowledge, as conceived by several authors from Karl Mannheim onwards, examining whether and to what extent they are compatible with contemporary cognitive psychology studies, especially in heuristics and biases research program. Second, I bring under the same roof some of Georg Simmel’s ideas about the cognitive assumptions that render social life possible and some contemporary findings on heuristics and biases by connecting a thought experiment built upon Simmel’s ideas to a set of real-life experiments conducted in cognitive psychology.

The normativity of multiple social identity: from motivation to legitimacy

Purpose. The authors of this article aim to reveal how motivation and legitimacy ensure the normativity of the structuring and genesis of multiple social identity. Theoretical basis. Social constructivism was chosen as a research methodology. It reveals social identity as an identity constructed by its bearer on the basis of ready-made versions of social identity proposed by social groups and society. Social circles, identified by Georg Simmel, unite representatives of different social groups into a wider oneness, which can be interpreted as a multiple social identity, and the motivation for its formation can be identified on the basis of Weber’s concept of legitimacy. Originality. Identifying the structure and genesis of a multiple social identity creates prerequisites for establishing its normative foundations, as well as for a specific analysis of the procedures for achieving its motivation and legitimacy. Georg Simmel’s concept of social virtues promotes consideration of the basic virtues of an individual as those that enable one’s to be a member of various social groups in which these virtues are manifested. Conclusions. The social virtues present in the social identities that are part of a multiple social identity determine not only the social status of these individuals in these social groups but also the ranking and normative significance of these groups for this individual. If the observance of virtues in a certain social group causes a higher motivation of an individual’s behavior, then this group acquires a higher legitimacy for her/him. Using the example of virtues, it is possible to search for other possible grounds for the formation of multiple social identity. Such grounds are primarily other characteristics of key social practices that support different social groups.

The Role of Money and Fashion in Character Building in Confession of A Shopaholic Movie

This article discusses the film Confession of A Shopaholic, directed by P.J. Hogan based on Georg Simmel's sociology of money to dismantle the role of money and fashion in the formation of the main character's character. The purpose of this article is to formulate how money problems can change individual character. Georg Simmel's sociology of money points discussed in this article cover two things, namely money as an institution that supports social stratification and the financial system as part of the evolution of society. Simmel's view of fashion is used to support this research. Research data is taken from scenes or dialogues of the main characters in shopping, including when faced with choices. There is a deep connection between money, fashion, social stratification, and the results of the evolution of society which play a role in building the mentality of society itself. Childhood experiences also shape the individual's passion to fulfill his desires as an adult. The results of the study show that the cooperation between money and goods offered by the market is able to drive the emotional side of the individual and the role of the environment to support individuals in finding awareness

Introduction

Introduction

Hans Kelsen and sociology

This review focuses on one major work of Hans Kelsen which was first published in 1922 and is now included in the most recent volume of Hans Kelsen Werke. While Kelsen’s reputation is as a legal philosopher, this 1922 work shows that he had an excellent understanding of sociology, especially regarding Georg Simmel and Max Weber.

From Spatial Forms to Perception: Reassessing Georg Simmel’s Theory of Space

Among the founders of sociology, it was Georg Simmel who provided the most thorough analysis and theory of space. This paper aims to reconstruct Simmel’s spatial theory and his observations of spatial relations. The German sociologist engaged with spatiality in a threefold way. First, he tried to provide a systematic social theory of space; second, analyzing spatial relations was important for his diagnosis of modernity; third, he dealt with the subjective constitutions of space in his shorter, essayistic writings. This paper argues that the importance of the third strand for a sociological understanding of space has seldom been recognized in sociology. In addition, it also shows that despite the diversity in perspectives, there is an underlying coherence to Simmel’s theory of space. As a result, it becomes evident that Simmel was not only ground-breaking in conceptualizing space from a sociological point of view, but that his theory of space continues to be inspirational and relevant to this day for interpreting the entanglement of social and spatial relations.

Doors, privacy and the public sphere: a conceptual discussion on the spatial structure of early modern Istanbul

Abstract The aim of this article is to offer a new conceptual framework for the study of various spaces in Istanbul during the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries. I contend that rather than the sharp distinction manifested with the public–private dichotomy, we need to focus on gradations of privacy. I offer qāpū and bāb as two new concepts borrowed from the period's own repertoire for representing the macro and micro ends of the spatial gradation. Theoretically, I draw on George Simmel's definition of doors as the interfaces of spatial formation.

Money is no object: Money, cryptocurrency, fiction

Georg Simmel depicts money as an evolving entity that will continue to evolve to a state of ‘perfect money’ disconnected from any external guarantor of value. This article examines some of the different approaches to substantial value underpinning money, suggesting that they represent different types of fictional underwriting. Money is then contrasted with cryptocurrency, suggesting that their respective value is not only derived from different fictions but from different standards of value as major and minor currency. This analysis suggests that far from evolving into a fully abstract and functional instrument for creating stable social relationships, the divergence in currencies and currency fictions is a force for overturning such ‘expedient’ stability.

Quali(a)tative Methods: Sense-Based Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities

This paper begins by tracing the sensory turn in the human sciences—most notably, history and anthropology—which, in turn, gave rise to the interdisciplinary field of sensory studies. The latter field is articulated around the concept of the sensorium (defined as the entire sensory apparatus, including the extension of the senses via diverse media, as an operational complex) and the notion of qualia (defined as those aspects of the material world, such as color and sound, that are contingent on the human perceptual apparatus—in contrast to the inherent or elementary properties of materials, such as number or form, which are not). Sense-based research in the human sciences is tied to sensing and making sense together with others. Its methodology of choice is sensory ethnography, or “participant sensation.” This method departs from the emphasis on observation in conventional qualitative research, as well as the latter’s reliance on such verbocentric methods as the questionnaire or focus group. Sensory ethnography highlights the primacy of the quali(a)tative dimensions of our being together in society. It extrapolates on Georg Simmel’s point: “That we get involved in interactions at all depends on the fact that we have a sensory effect upon one another” (as cited in Howes 2013). In part II of this paper, a critique is presented of the diminution of the quali(a)tative in the context of the Scientific Revolution of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the cognitive revolution of the mid-twentieth century, and the scientization of the senses in the Sensory Evaluation Research Laboratory. These revolutions are problematized for their lopsidedness: the privileging of the infrasensible over the sensible and elemental (or atomistic) over the phenomenal in the case of the Scientific Revolution; the neuronal over the sensual and social in the case of the cognitive revolution; and, the unimodal (or one-sensation- and one-sense-at-a-time) over the multimodal, as well as the reduction of “significance” to the statistical, in the case of the research protocols of the sensory science laboratory. The paper concludes by presenting the results of a series of case studies in sensory ethnography that push the bounds of sense by leading with the senses and bringing the quali(a)tative back in.

패션텍스타일 디자인의 현대적 심미화에 대한 연구

Georg Simmel is a thinker who implied the phenomena and interrelationships of society, culture, and art at the center of human beings in the modern era of the 19th century when the monetary economy of capitalism was intensively revealed. Among his extensive discourses on modernity, 'Cultural Philosophy' and 'Sociological Aesthetics' focuses on the value of human essence, and his research provides fundamental concepts necessary for the study of human awareness as a designer in the contemporary digital-based industry. Through the design methods and processes universally developed in the fashion-textile design studio, the researcher's design thinking and behaviors are drawn from the perspective of Simmel's 'cultural philosophy' and 'sociological aesthetics', and based on this, the results of discussing the creative style and behavior that a designer should have for the modern aestheticization of fashion-textile design are as follows. First, according to the fashion market economy, research is carried out in consideration of the group to which the designer belongs. According to the purpose, direction, process, and role of the designer, design research is conducted by understanding the times and expanding historical knowledge. Second, empathize with the public through communication.By following the principle of autonomous competition in the capitalist market, designers understand and accept trends to express free creativity. Third, explore creative behaviors. The internal value of the industry is raised by combining the cultural and aesthetic needs that can survive in the autonomous competition of the expanded fashion industry.

A symposium on Georg Simmel: Essays on art and aesthetics

Georg Simmel has long been appreciated as a major theorist of the arts in society, as well as of aesthetic phenomena in general in social life. Yet Simmel’s essays in the area have remained dispersed for many years across the disparate parts of his corpus and have not been easy to survey in their full thematic cohesion and interconnection. This symposium article reflects on Austin Harrington’s comprehensive anthology of these writings in English, published in 2020, which assembles virtually all the relevant titles – many of them appearing in English for the first time. Among the central topics of discussion are Simmel’s fluid style of theorizing, his thinking about representation, reality and modernity in art, his relationships to philosophers and artistic personalities, and his legacy for the present.

Georg Simmel Goes Virtual: From ‘Philosophy of Landscape’ to the Possibilities of Virtual Reality in Landscape Research

With his text “Philosophy of Landscape” (German original: “Philosophie der Landschaft”), the German sociologist and philosopher Georg Simmel laid a foundation for landscape research that is still significant today. In the text, he equates the creation and perception of landscape with the creation of a painting. In doing so, he provided an essential foundation for landscape research with a constructivist orientation. In order to be able to grasp the differentiated nature of landscape analytically and to apply it to Simmel’s understanding of landscape, we resort to the approach of the three landscapes, which was developed from Karl Popper’s theory of the three worlds. The pictorial metaphor of Simmel’s understanding of landscapes, however, had the effect of limiting landscape to the visual, and often to what he described as ‘natural’. It did not address the power-bound nature of landscape. These aspects, however, are of great importance in current discussions about landscape. Aspects of power, multisensuality, and the incorporation of non-natural elements gain additional currency through the creation of augmented and virtual landscapes. This concerns, on the one hand, the creation of these landscapes, on the other hand, their individual internal consciousness, as well as their social construction. These show, not least, the contingency of landscape construction. They offer possibilities for the investigation of landscape stereotypes, and how innovations can be fed into the social construction of landscape to engage other senses beyond the sense of sight. The aim of our paper is to use conceptual critique to reflect on the conceptual development of social and cultural studies in landscape research since Simmel and to present its potential for framing research on AR and VR landscapes.

Defining Marginality and Liminality for the Study of the Ancient Near East

Abstract Marginality and liminality are concepts that are used in the study of the ancient Near East, although formal definitions for these terms are rarely given. This paper explores the history of the uses of these terms in social theory, discussing the origins of the terms in the writings of early twentieth-century thinkers such as Georg Simmel, Robert Ezra Park, and Victor Turner. It details how these ideas and concepts were debated by psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists throughout the twentieth century, when these terms were adopted into Near Eastern studies. While these concepts were defined by social theorists, investigations of the archaeological, textual, and art-historical evidence from the ancient Near East show that they well reflect emic conceptualizations. Examples from Near Eastern contexts demonstrate the benefits of using flexible and multi-vocalic conceptualizations of marginality and liminality that still recognize the distinctiveness of these two issues. The paper concludes by offering different frameworks for applying these concepts to the study of the Bronze Age Near East.

Shakespeare and the economics of the death penalty

ABSTRACT This article pursues an economic reading of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, arguing that the monetisation of stranger relations has been neglected in the criticism, yet the economic calculations in the text undermine the principles of hospitality and international asylum. Refugees, guests and other newcomers depend on the intersection of credibility and credit. Without friends or relatives nearby to vouch for them, the stranger’s personal history—the story that they tell about themselves—must speak for them and inspire trust and credibility with the authorities. Equally important is the outsider’s creditworthiness, both in terms of the money that they carry on them, and their financial solvency. The hardening of social attitudes towards outsiders and immigrants is likewise often accompanied by an economic vocabulary and apprehensions about impoverishment, unemployment, and resource scarcity. To show the significance of this for economic theory, I draw on the work of Georg Simmel and Sara Ahmed, which understands economics in terms of stranger relations and political discourse. In addition, the article engages with Jacques Derrida’s late seminars on the death penalty, suggesting some of the ways in which the state-sanctioned execution of foreigners in The Comedy of Errors operates similarly to any other credit-based economy.