University of Nebraska Press Antisemitism and the Constitution of Sociology

Modern antisemitism and the modern discipline of sociology not only emerged in the same period, but―antagonism and hostility between the two discourses notwithstanding―also overlapped and complemented each other. Sociology emerged in a society where modernization was often perceived as destroying unity and “social cohesion.” Antisemitism was likewise a response to the modern age, offering in its vilifications of “the Jew” an explanation of society’s deficiencies and crises.  Antisemitism and the Constitution of Sociology is a collection of essays providing a comparative analysis of modern antisemitism and the rise of sociology. This volume addresses three key areas: the strong influence of writers of Jewish background and the rising tide of antisemitism on the formation of sociology; the role of antisemitism in the historical development of sociology through its treatment by leading figures in the field, such as Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Theodor W. Adorno; and the discipline’s development in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust. Together the essays provide a fresh perspective on the history of sociology and the role that antisemitism, Jews, fascism, and the Holocaust played in shaping modern social theory.  Review “Anyone in the social sciences concerned with antisemitism, prejudice, racism, myth, ideology, and theory should be interested in this volume.”―Mark P. Worrell, associate professor at the State University of New York, Cortland, and author of Dialectic of Solidarity: Labor, Antisemitism, and the Frankfurt School Author: Mark P. Worrell From the Author Marcel Stoetzler is a lecturer in sociology at Bangor University. He is the author of The State, the Nation, and the Jews: Liberalism and the Antisemitism Dispute in Bismarck’s Germany (Nebraska, 2008).   Contributors: Y. Michal Bodemann, Werner Bonefeld, Detlev Claussen, Robert Fine, Chad Alan Goldberg, Irmela Gorges, Jonathan Judaken, Richard H. King, Daniel Lvovich, Amos Morris-Reich, Roland Robertson, Marcel Stoetzler, and Eva-Maria Ziege. About the Author Marcel Stoetzler is a lecturer in sociology at Bangor University. He is the author of The State, the Nation, and the Jews: Liberalism and the Antisemitism Dispute in Bismarck’s Germany (Nebraska, 2008).