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Norbert Elias was a German sociologist who later became a British citizen. He is especially famous for his theory of civilizing/decivilizing processes.
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culture · German British sociologist · writer · sociologist · university teacher · philosopher · musicologist · poet · psychologist · philosopher of culture · also Norbert Elias, Elias
Born 22 June 1897 · Died 1 August 1990 · Q75812
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A new board took over the management of the Foundation: Johan Heilbron (Rotterdam and Paris), Jason Hughes (Leicester), Adrian Jitschin (Frankfurt), and Arjan Post (Secretary, Amsterdam)
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Died 1990-08-01.
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Awarded International Nonino Prize (1990).
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Collected himself the Nonino prize for a Maestro del nostro tempo in Italy
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Had published 15 books and something approaching 150 essays
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Awarded honorary doctor of the University of Strasbourg-II (1987).
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Awarded Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1986).
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The Große Verdienstkreuz of the German Federal Republic was awarded to him, and on his 90th birthday he was appointed Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau by the Dutch queen
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Invited Norbert Elias to preside over a gathering of a host of his internationally distinguished fellows who in turn wanted to review and discuss Elias' most interesting theories on civilising processes in person
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Elias established the Norbert Elias Foundation to administer his legacy after his death
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Awarded Theodor W. Adorno Award (1977).
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Spent much time as visiting professor in various German and Dutch universities, and from 1978 based himself in Amsterdam
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Elias had published only one book, Über den Prozess der Zivilisation, and no more than a handful of articles
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But continued to teach graduate students in Leicester until the mid-1970s
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– at the very late age of 57 – he at last gained his first secure academic post, at University College Leicester (which soon became the University of Leicester), first as lecturer and later as reader in sociology
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The LSE was evacuated to Cambridge, but when an invasion of Britain by German forces appeared imminent, Elias was detained at internment camps in Liverpool and on the Isle of Man for eight months, on account of his being
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Met up with his former friend and supervisor Mannheim at the London School of Economics, where he obtained a position as senior research assistant
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It was virtually ignored until its republication in 1969, when its first volume was also translated into English
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Moved on to Great Britain, where he worked on his magnum opus, The Civilizing Process, until 1939, now supported by a scholarship from a relief organization for Jewish refugees
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Elias chose to cancel this project and followed Karl Mannheim to become his assistant at the University of Frankfurt
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Elias moved to Heidelberg, where Alfred Weber accepted him as a candidate for a habilitation (second book project) on the development of modern science, entitled Die Bedeutung der Florentiner Gesellschaft und Kultur für
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Graduated with a doctoral dissertation in philosophy entitled Idee und Individuum (Idea and Individual) supervised by Richard Hönigswald, a representative of neo-Kantianism
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Elias took up a job as the head of the export department in a local hardware factory
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After passing the preliminary examination (Physikum)
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Was declared unfit for service and was posted to Breslau as a medical orderly
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Norbert Elias volunteered for the German army in World War I and was employed as a telegrapher, first at the Eastern front, then at the Western front
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Born 1897-06-22.
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