Elias, Norbert (1897–1990)

Norbert Elias was a German-Jewish sociologist born in Breslau, Silesia (then Germany, today Poland). After studying philosophy in Breslau and a temporary involvement in Zionism, Elias turned to sociology, first in Heidelberg and then in Frankfurt, where he completed his Habilitation in 1933; a re-worked version, translated as The Court Society, was not published before 1969. Like so many others, he left Germany in 1933 after the Nazis came to power. After two years in Paris, he went to England in 1935, where he completed his magnum opus, The Civilizing Process. Years of internment on the Isle of Man and years of work in adult education and group therapy were followed by his first academic post in England at the University of Leicester (1954–1962). Long ...