Distributed for University College Dublin Press
On the Process of Civilisation
This is Volume 3 in the "Collected Works of Norbert Elias", translated by Edmund Jephcott. Recognised as one of the most important works of sociology in the last century, "On the Process of Civilisation" has been influential and widely discussed across the whole range of the humanities and social sciences. This sumptuous new edition, completely revised with many corrections and clarifications, includes colour plates of all the 13 drawings from "Das Mittelaterliche Hausbuch" to which Elias refers in his famous discussion of ’Scenes from the life of a knight’. Beginning with his celebrated study of the changing standards of behaviour of the secular upper classes in Western Europe since the Middle Ages, Elias demonstrates how ’psychological’ changes in habitus and emotion management were linked to wider transformations in power relations, especially the monopolisation of violence and taxation by more increasingly effective state apparatuses.
Table of Contents
Norbert Elias (1897-1990) Note on the text Preface by Elias VOLUME I - Changes in the behaviour of the secular upper classes in the West PART ONE - On the Sociogenesis of the Concepts of ’Civilisation’ and ’Culture’ 1 Sociogenesis of the antithesis between ’Kultur’ and ’Zivilisation’ in German usage 2 Sociogenesis of the concept of ’civilisation’ in France PART TWO - Civilisation as a Specific Transformation of Human Behaviour 1 The history of the concept of ’civilite’ 2 On medieval manners 3 The problem of the change in behaviour during the Renaissance 4 On behaviour at table 5 Changes in attitudes towards the natural functions 6 On blowing one’s nose 7 On spitting 8 On behaviour in the bedroom 9 Changes in attitudes towards the relations between men and women 10 On changes in aggressiveness 11 Scenes from the life of a knight VOLUME II - State formation and civilisation PART THREE - Feudalisation and State Formation 1 Introduction 2 Dynamics of feudalisation 3 On the sociogenesis of the state PART FOUR - Overview - Towards a Theory of Civilising Processes 1 The social constraint towards self-constraint 2 Spread of the pressure for foresight and self-constraint 3 Diminishing contrasts, increasing varieties 4 The courtisation of the warriors 5 The muting of drives - psychologisation and rationalisation 6 Shame and repugnance 7 Increasing constraints on the upper class - increasing pressure from below 8 Conclusion Postscript (1968) Appendices I-XXXI Bibliography Index.