Issue 137, December 2016

Unease with Civilization: Elias, Koselleck, Alexander Articles The unease with civilization Nicole Pepperell Abstract: Norbert Elias’s concept of the civilizing process is perhaps the most controversial aspect of his work, attracting frequent criticism for its perceived Eurocentrism, as well as impassioned defences that critics have misunderstood the concept. In this piece, I explore how The…

Issue 127, April 2015

Cultural systems, crisis, and entrepreneurship Articles: What is world-systems analysis? Distinguishing theory from perspective Salvatore Babones Abstract: World-systems analysis is a well-established but poorly-defined critical research tradition in the social sciences. Its undisputed progenitor, Immanuel Wallerstein, steadfastly maintains that world-systems analysis is not a theory, yet it is widely referred to as such by commentators,…

Issue 121, April 2014

Big city blues   Table of Contents April 2014; 121 (1) Introduction: Big city blues Trevor Hogan and Julian Potter Abstract: The advent of the ‘mega’ or world city seems inseparable from the ambivalent and transient experience of modernity – the ideals of liberty, individuality, property, accelerating progress, and, for many, the realities of immobility,…