scholarly journals Constructing a Modern Society Through “Depillarization”. Understanding Post-War History as Gradual Change

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter van Dam
2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Styhre

Purpose The economic system of competitive capitalism strives toward liquid markets wherein the cost for transacting is minimized. Liquidity is mostly addressed in association with abstract markets (e.g. the securities market), but also consumer markets are determined by liquidity concerns. The purpose of this paper is to examine the shopping mall concept, developed by the architect and social reformer Victor Gruen during the early 1950s, as a form of production of capitalist space, intended to reduce transaction costs. As an auxiliary benefit, Gruen envisioned the shopping mall as a cultural and civic center in the midst of the satellite town of suburbia, the new site of urban expansion during the post-war boom decades. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews secondary literature on the historical development of the shopping mall as a consumer space. In addition, relevant economic and social science literature is referenced. Findings The architecture, design, ornamentation and day-to-day management of the shopping mall were premised on a consumerist way of life, ultimately serving as an all-too-visual index of the triumph of competitive capitalism in the cold war era. However, Gruen’s accomplishments were gradually compromised by the interest of money-minded developers and construction industry actors, and the shopping mall arguably never fulfilled the social and cultural function that Gruen anticipated. Regardless of such outcomes, the production of capitalist space as scripted by Gruen is still determining everyday life in consumer society, making Gruen a key figure, albeit only limitedly recognized, in the history of late modern society and in the capitalist economy. Originality/value The paper emphasizes the role of Victor Gruen in the post-Second World War period, being one of the most influential practitioners and social reformers in the era. Furthermore, the paper stresses how market liquidity is a key concern in Gruen’s project to create a communal space for the American suburban population in the era of the expanding welfare state.


2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-273
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Cassina Wolff

This article deals with the figure of Julius Evola, philosopher and well-known freelance political commentator both during and after Italy’s Fascist dictatorship. My analysis of his intellectual production and political role in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s is a case study that focuses on both continuity and discontinuity of ideological issues in the crucial historical period between the Fascist regime and the establishment of neo-fascism in post-war Italy. Special attention will be paid to unchanging elements in Evola’s philosophy, such as criticism of modern society, rejection of faith in progress, reference to traditional values as reaction to nihilism and belief in the existence of a spiritual hierarchy. A central issue is the ideological influence that Evola exercised on a young generation of neo-fascists in Italy after the Second World War, based on the intention of offering them new rules of conduct in a post-nihilist world. It is exactly this phenomenon that enables us to put in question the declaredapolitìaof Evola.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
Darya V. Sedova

The article is devoted to the study of the accumulated experience of building the system of child neglect and homelessness liquidation, which took place in 1945–1955, to the analysis of experience on overcoming the problems of juvenile crime and delinquency. The purpose of the article is to study the historical past, the experience gained in the post-war decade in liquidation of child neglect and homelessness. The scientific novelty of the article consists in carrying out a complex analysis of the system, which executed the fight against the phenomena under study in the period of 1945–1955 in the areas under consideration. The analysis is carried out on the basis of published and archival sources. During the work on the article, the author used the materials on Ulyanovsk region, the Tatar ASSR; she studied the experience of forming the system for fighting against child neglect and homelessness in the Chuvash ASSR. The material is represented on the basis of a number of traditional general scientific and special-scientific methods: comparison of phenomena under study, description as well as elements of biographical analysis. The main conclusion is made that in 1945–1955 the state attempted to use a complex approach to eradicate child neglect and homelessness by creating and qualitative functioning of specially organized commissions for placing children. There is no doubt that the accumulated historical experience was of great importance for the formation of the modern system of prevention bodies and deserves attention for its use in modern society.


2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Baert

This article is one of the first sociological explorations of power struggles between intellectuals where matters of life and death are literally at stake. It counters the prevailing tendency within sociology to study intellectuals within confined academic institutions where power struggles are limited to matters of symbolic and institutional recognition. This study explores the conflict between collaborationist and Resistance intellectuals at the end of the Second World War in France, and it focuses in particular on the purge of collaborationist intellectuals which culminated in several high profile trials. This article shows that the arguments and meta-arguments put forward in these trials led to broader intellectual debates outside the courtroom. These debates not only centred on the notion of the writer’s responsibility, but also dealt with anxieties about the disintegrative forces of modern society. Whereas collaborationist intellectuals portrayed their writing as either separate from politics or rescuing a defunct or degenerate nation, Resistance intellectuals such as Jean-Paul Sartre were keen to portray collaborators as outsiders, both socially and sexually, lacking in social integration and subservient to a strong external force. The Resistance intellectuals saw the notion of individual responsibility not as antithetical but as integral to the remaking of the French nation, and this concept would become the cornerstone of the reshaping of the intellectual landscape in the post-war era in France.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tereza Hodúlová

Reinforcing Place Attachment Through its Disruption: An Ethnographic Example from the Solidarita Housing Estate in PragueThe Solidarita housing estate was built during the years 1946–1951 as one of the first post-war housing estates in Prague, former Czechoslovakia. Inspired by Scandinavian urban standards, architects designed Solidarita as an urban architectural experiment that combined innovative urban strategies, new technologies, collective approach, and cooperative financing. The socio-spatial structure of Solidarita was influenced by the ideology of socialism – the production of an egalitarian society through a centrally planned economy and collective ownership. As a result, the estate was self-sufficient and conducive to neighborly meetings, and it strengthened their relations through its form. The political transformation, commercialization, and privatization in the 1990s caused a gradual change of the socio-spatial image of the neighborhood. Some elements of the housing complex started to lose their original function and the community character of Solidarita could be jeopardized. Using the theoretical concept of place attachment and the concept of social production of place, the aim of this paper is to show how residents of the Solidarita housing estate in Prague are attached to the place of their home and neighborhood and how this attachment is reconceptualized through the post-socialist socio-spatial changes of the place.Posilování vztahu k místu skrz jeho narušení: etnografický příklad ze sídliště Solidarita v PrazeSídliště Solidarita bylo postaveno v letech 1946–1951 jako jedno z prvních poválečných sídlišť v Praze. Architekti, inspirováni skandinávskými urbanistickými standardy, postavili sídliště jako experiment, který kombinoval inovativní urbanistické strategie, nové technologie, principy kolektivního bydlení a družstevní financovnání. Do tehdejší podoby sídliště se rovněž promítla ideologie státního socialismu, jenž byl založen na centrálně plánováném ekonomickém systému a společném vlastnictví. V době svého vzniku měla být Solidarita místem, které svou prostorovou formou a soběstačností podporuje a posiluje sousedské vazby a vztah rezidentů k místu svého domova. Události po roce 1989, doprovázené procesem privatizace a komercionalizace, zapříčinily postupnou transformaci socio-prostorových charakteristik sousedství. Některé původní prvky sídliště ztratily svou původní funkci a spolu s postupnou individualizací začal být komunitní charakter sídliště ohrožován. Článek využívá teoretické koncepty přináležitost k místu (place attachment) a sociální produkce místa (social production of space). Jeho cílem je zjistit, jak a skrze co jsou rezidenti Solidarity připoutáni k místu svého domova a jak je tato přináležitost k místu re/konceptualizována v kontextu post-socialistické socio-prostorové transformace Solidarity. Wzmacnianie więzi z miejscem poprzez jej przekształcenie: etnograficzna analiza osiedla Solidarita w PradzeOsiedle Solidarita zostało wzniesione w latach 1946-1951 jako jedno z pierwszych powojennych osiedli w Pradze. Architekci, inspirowani skandynawskimi standardami urbanistycznymi, zaprojektowali je jako eksperyment, który łączył innowacyjne strategie urbanistyczne, nowe technologie, zasady mieszkalnictwa zbiorowego z finansowaniem społecznym. W pierwotnym kształcie osiedla uwidacznia się też wpływ ideologii socjalizmu państwowego, opierającego się na centralnie planowanym systemie ekonomicznym oraz własności społecznej. W chwili swego powstania Solidarita miała być miejscem oddziałującym na mieszkańców poprzez swą formę przestrzenną oraz samowystarczalność, co miało przyczyniać się do rozwoju więzi sąsiedzkich oraz związania się mieszkańców z miejscem. Wydarzenia po 1989 roku, którym towarzyszyły procesy prywatyzacji i komercjalizacji, stały się powodem stopniowej transformacji społeczno-przestrzennych cech sąsiedztwa. Niektóre z pierwotnych elementów osiedla utraciły swoją funkcję, co wraz z postępującą indywidualizacją przyczyniło się do osłabienia wspólnotowego charakteru osiedla. W artykule oparto się na teoretycznej koncepcji przywiązania do miejsca (place attachment) oraz społecznego tworzenia miejsca (social production of space). Celem artykułu jest sprawdzenie, czy i w jaki sposób mieszkańcy Solidarity są związani z miejscem i jak owo przywiązanie do miejsca ulega re/konceptualizacji w kontekście postsocjalistycznej, społeczno-przestrzennej transformacji osiedla.


2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (7) ◽  
pp. 159-180
Author(s):  
Jaime Hunt ◽  
Sacha Davis

Australia is a multicultural society in which over 300 different indigenous and migrant languages are spoken. While its cultural diversity is often celebrated, Australia’s linguistic diversity is still at risk due to the inherent monolingual mindset (cf. Clyne 2005) of its population. In this paper, we use a cross-disciplinary approach, drawing on both historical and sociolinguistic sources, to investigate some of the major causes of language shift among first- and subsequent generations of post-war German-speaking migrants in Australia. While historical and societal changes have provided greater opportunities for German to be maintained as a heritage language in Australia, these developments may have come too late or have not been effective in the face of English as the dominant language in Australia and as a global language. Our investigation indicates that Australians with German as a heritage language, like many other migrant groups, are still at a high risk of shift to English, despite recent opportunities for language maintenance provided by modern society.


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