Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society Norbert Elias and Modern Social Theory

Dennis Smith offers a fascinating survey of Elias′s life and writings and traces the growth of his reputation. He also illustrates how Elias′s insights can be applied to understand Western modernity and social and political change, showing why Elias is so important to sociology. Offering a fascinating survey of Norbert Elias′s life and writings, Dennis Smith traces the growth of his reputation. He is the first author to confront Elias′s work with the contrasting theories of Talcott Parsons, Hannah Arendt, Michel Foucault and Zygmunt Bauman. He also illustrates how Elias′s insights can be applied to understand Western modernity and social and political change. Smith shows why Elias is important for sociology, but he is also clear sighted about the limitations of Elias′s approach.