Modernity and the Holocaust

Fülszöveg

'Such is the concentrated brilliance of this study that it is sure to find an appreciative audience in every field of research which touches on the Holocaust. Above all, to those who still hold faith with the notions of civilization, progress and reason this book will sit alongside others which have challenged fundamental beliefs of our time.' Times Literary Supplement 'Modernity and the Holocaust is a very fine book. Broad in scope and penetrating in analysis, it is disturbing as its subject matter demands, yet never fails to preserve the crucial element of reflective distance out of which new or more acute knowledge is able to emerge.' Times Higher Education Supplement 'This is a profound book, brilliant in its insights . . . It demands wide readership.' Political Studies 'Bauman's achievement is truly remarkable.' Patterns of Prejudice Sociology is concerned with modern society, but has never come to terms with one of the most distinctive and horrific aspects of modernity - the... Tovább

Fülszöveg

'Such is the concentrated brilliance of this study that it is sure to find an appreciative audience in every field of research which touches on the Holocaust. Above all, to those who still hold faith with the notions of civilization, progress and reason this book will sit alongside others which have challenged fundamental beliefs of our time.' Times Literary Supplement 'Modernity and the Holocaust is a very fine book. Broad in scope and penetrating in analysis, it is disturbing as its subject matter demands, yet never fails to preserve the crucial element of reflective distance out of which new or more acute knowledge is able to emerge.' Times Higher Education Supplement 'This is a profound book, brilliant in its insights . . . It demands wide readership.' Political Studies 'Bauman's achievement is truly remarkable.' Patterns of Prejudice Sociology is concerned with modern society, but has never come to terms with one of the most distinctive and horrific aspects of modernity - the Holocaust. Zygmunt Bauman's brilliant new work discusses what sociology can teach us about the Holocaust, but more particularly concentrates upon the lessons which the Holocaust has for sociology. He points out how the significance of the Holocaust can be sidestepped in our understanding of modernity. One way is to reduce the Holocaust to something which happened to the Jews, to an event in Jewish history. A second way is to regard the Holocaust as representing loathsome aspects of social life which the progress of modernity will increasingly overcome. Neither of these views stands up to scrutiny. The main theme of Bauman's work is the demonstration that the Holocaust has to be understood as deeply involved with the nature of modernity - neither a singular event on the one hand, nor a phenomenon associated simply with the persistence of 'barbarism' on the other. A number of corrections to the current understanding of modern society, its institutions and processes follow. There is nothing comparable to this work available in the sociological literature. This subtle but powerful and disturbing book will make a major impact both upon those working within the discipline of sociology and upon others concerned with the study of one of the most horrific phenomena of our time. The book will be essential reading for a professional audience in sociology, political science and Jewish studies, but will alsó reach a wide lay audience. Vissza