This work is a guide which locates Elias' work within the development of sociology and also against the background of current debates. Between the 1930s and 1980s he developed an approach to social theory which is now beginning to take root in contemporary social research and theory. Since the translation of his work into English from the 1980s onwards, a growing number of articles on such topics as health, sexuality, crime, national and ethnic identity, and feminimity and globalization, in a variety of disciplines, refer to Elias as an authority in the history of emotions, identity,...

This book locates Elias's work clearly within the development of sociology and also against the background of current debates.
Between the 1930s and the 1980s he developed a unique approach to social theory which is now beginning to take root in contemporary social research and theory. Since the translation of his work into English began to accelerate in the 1980s, a growing number of books and articles on topics including health, sexuality, crime, national and ethnic identity, femininity and globalization, in a variety of disciplines, make positive reference to Elias as an authority on...