Overview

This book draws upon the work of Georg Simmel to explore the limits, tensions and dynamism of social life through a close analysis of the works produced in the final years of his life and reveals what they might still offer some 100 years later. Focusing on the relationships between worlds, lives and fragments in these works, David Beer opens up a conceptual toolkit for understanding life as both an individual experience and as a deeply social phenomenon. Taking the reader through artistic and musical forms of inspiration, to the problems of culture and on to the conceptual understanding of lived experience, the book illuminates the richness of Simmel’s ideas and thinking. This sophisticated dialogue with Simmel’s lesser known later works will provide fresh insights for students and scholars of cultural and social theory and pave the way for a reinvigorated engagement with his ideas.

Full Product Details

9783030129934

Table of Contents

Reviews

“Simmel’s interests were wide-ranging. He could find inspiration in all sorts of subjects and topics, and Beer shows in beautiful detail how extraordinarily original Simmel’s world and work actually were. He brings to light the connections between thinking and writing, between form and content, between systematic arguments and passing remarks.” (Daniel Chernilo, Issue (1-4), European Journal of Social Theory, 2020)

Simmel's interests were wide-ranging. He could find inspiration in all sorts of subjects and topics, and Beer shows in beautiful detail how extraordinarily original Simmel's world and work actually were. He brings to light the connections between thinking and writing, between form and content, between systematic arguments and passing remarks. (Daniel Chernilo, Issue (1-4), European Journal of Social Theory, 2020)

Simmel's interests were wide-ranging. He could find inspiration in all sorts of subjects and topics, and Beer shows in beautiful detail how extraordinarily original Simmel's world and work actually were. He brings to light the connections between thinking and writing, between form and content, between systematic arguments and passing remarks. (Daniel Chernilo, European Journal of Social Theory, 2020)

Author Information

David Beer is Professor of Sociology at the University of York, UK. His previous books include The Data Gaze (2018), Metric Power (2016) and Punk Sociology (2014).

Tab Content 6

Countries Available