This book charts the process of civilisation in Japan. Using the theory of civilising processes developed by Norbert Elias, the author examines the complex underlying structural and psychological processes from the seventh century to the twentieth century. Furthermore, by drawing on rich historical data, the author illustrates how these complex processes led the Japanese to see themselves as ‘more civilised’ than their forebears and neighbouring countries. Although the theory serves as an important reference point, the author draws on other works to address different complex questions...

This book uses Norbert Elias and John L. Scotson’s The Established and The Outsiders to map selected established-outsiders figurations in Poland after 1989. Looking at gender and sexual orientation, nationalism and patriotism, race and class, antifeminism and homophobia, elitist and populist imaginaries, religious and political ideals and ideologies, hate speech, and the crisis of the rule of law, this book tracks how inequalities are transformed into figurations of the have and the have-nots by way of spatial, symbolic and institutional exclusion. This edited collection is rooted...

The book analyses the development of Israel's national identity through the world of local Jewish Zionist historiography. Inspired by Norbert Elias' historical and figurational sociology, the book examines the different phases and generations in Israel in light of the collective habitus and the nation-state survival unit, set by Zionism. It does so by putting in relation the intellectual profession of history-writing and the processes of state and identity building. It processually pursues the autonomization of the historiographical field in Israel from its socio-genesis in pre-state...

This Open Access edited volume addresses the important role of education in society through the lens of theoretical concepts developed by Norbert Elias. This book sets out to challenge dominant perspectives within the sociology of education by reorientating traditional debates about socialisation, childhood, early years education, care, schooling and the curriculum, focusing on the relational learning processes that lie at the heart of pedagogic relationships between parents, teachers, children and peers. It also offers an innovative perspective on some of the key debates in childhood...