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National Socialism (national + socialism)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences66%

Selected Abstracts

Kafka, Critical Theory, Dialectical Theology: Adorno's Case against Hans-Joachim Schoeps

GERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 2 2010
Margarete Kohlenbach
ABSTRACT Theodor Adorno derived from his reading of Kafka some of the central assumptions that inform the critical theory of the Frankfurt School. He opposed theological Kafka interpretations in general, and in particular rejected Hans-Joachim Schoeps's reading of Kafka in the context of Karl Barth's dialectical theology. Adorno and Schoeps thus came to exemplify the dichotomy with which we still characterise the early reception of Kafka's work as either secular (sociological or political) or theological and religious. The disintegration of religion as a comprehensive social system in twentieth-century Germany means that writers can agree with traditional theology and religion in some regards while opposing them in others. This article argues that any unqualified adoption of the dichotomy between the secular and the religious is detrimental to our understanding of both Kafka's work and its early reception. First, the article outlines some of the major discrepancies in Kafka's heterogeneous engagements with religion. Second, it places Adorno's rejection of Schoeps's interpretation in the political context of National Socialism and the Holocaust. Finally, it compares Adorno's notion of ,inverse theology' with Schoeps's inversion of salvation history. Throughout, the article aims to ascertain the differences as well as the underlying commonalities between Adorno's and Schoeps's Kafka reception. Wesentliche Richtlinien der Kritischen Theorie der Frankfurter Schule verdanken sich der Kafka-Rezeption Adornos, die theologische Deutungen Kafkas im allgemeinen abweist und insbesondere Hans-Joachim Schoeps' Verständnis von Kafkas Werk im Kontext der Dialektischen Theologie Karl Barths verwirft. Adorno und Schoeps repräsentieren die Pole einer Dichotomie, mit der noch heute die Beiträge der frühen Kafka-Rezeption entweder als soziologisch und politisch oder als theologisch und religiös klassifiziert werden. Die Desintegration religiösen Lebens in der deutschen Gesellschaft des 20. Jahrhunderts bringt es mit sich, dass Schriftsteller in jeweils bestimmten Hinsichten traditionelle Theologie und Religion verwerfen,und,übernehmen können. Der vorliegende Beitrag argumentiert, dass jede nicht-spezifizierte Vorstellung einer Dichotomie von religiösem und weltlichem Leben und Denken aufgegeben werden muss, wenn wir Kafkas Werk und seine frühe Rezeption verstehen wollen. Der Beitrag skizziert zunächst zentrale Diskrepanzen in Kafkas heterogenen Bezugnahmen auf Religiöses. Im Anschluss stellt er Adornos Schoeps-Kritik in den politischen Kontext von Nationalsozialismus und Holocaust. Wie der Beitrag als ganzer soll der abschließende Vergleich der Begiffe ,inverse Theologie' (Adorno) und ,Unheilsgeschichte' (Schoeps) ein angemessenes Verständnis der Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten in der Kafka-Deutung der beiden Autoren ermöglichen. [source]

Public Good, Private Protections: Competing Values in German Transplantation Law

LAW & POLICY, Issue 2 2002
Linda Hogle
Organ transplantation has become almost routine practice in many industrialized countries. Policy, ethical, and legal debates tend to center on fairness of allocation rules or alternatives to promote greater numbers of donations. There are also certain beliefs about the use of bodily materials that are often presumed to be homogenous across Euro,American societies. In Germany, however, the idea of using the bodies of some for the good of others, and the right to proclaim some bodies dead for large,scale medical and political purposes is highly charged. This is due to the historical context of medical experimentation, selection, and euthanasia under National Socialism, and the former East German socialist policies which intervened in the private lives and bodies of citizens. This article is based on an ethnography of organ procurement practices during the period when German policymakers struggled with writing a transplant law. Active public resistance revealed deep concern about state intervention in private matters and amplified the growing unrest over definitions of moral community in a changing, post,reunification society. The article shows how public disputes about health policy become a way through which societies deal with other social conflicts. [source]

From ,Musiktheorie' to ,Tonsatz': National Socialism and German Music Theory after 1945

MUSIC ANALYSIS, Issue 2-3 2004
Ludwig Holtmeier
First page of article [source]

Islamism and Western Political Religions

RELIGION COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2009
Hendrik Hansen
The political ideas of Islamism as they have been formulated by Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb share a number of striking similarities with Western political religions like Communism and National Socialism, in particular the radical dualist interpretation of history and the understanding of politics as a struggle against evil. However, the concept of political religions as it has been elaborated by Voegelin and further developed by Gentile implies the deification of a secular entity. Thus, if political religions are defined as being based on secularism, this concept seems to be inappropriate for the analysis of Islamism. This paper investigates whether this interpretation is correct and whether the concept of ,politicised religions' should be considered more useful for the analysis of Islamism. It gives an overview of the concepts of political and politicised religions and of the political ideas of Islamism based on the writings of Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb. The theses are that (1) both ,fundamentalism' and ,politicised religions' are misleading concepts for a comparison of their political theories with Western political religions; and (2) the concept of political religions is indeed applicable to Islamism, if we arrive at the understanding that not secularism but the radicalisation of the friend,foe-distinction and the understanding of politics as a purge of evil from the world ought to be considered its central themes. [source]

Die Ökumene und der Widerstand gegen Diktaturen: Nationalsozialismus und Kommunismus als Herausforderung an die Kirchen [The Ecumenical Movement and Resistance against Dictatorships: National Socialism and Communism as a challenge to the Churches] by Joachim Garstecki (ed.)

THE ECUMENICAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2009
Article first published online: 27 FEB 200
No abstract is available for this article. [source]

Aufstieg und Fall der Kolonialwissenschaften im Nationalsozialismus

BERICHTE ZUR WISSENSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE, Issue 4 2003
Karsten Linne Dr. phil.
Abstract The German colonial plans concerning Africa in the era of National Socialism ascribed a central role the sciences. Scientists of all possible fields launched into activities. Especially subjects which were directly related to the practice of colonial policies, e.g., African languages, ethnology, law, economic sciences, and medicine, were developed. There were colonial ambitions at nearly every German university, but there was one which was designated to become the centre of colonial sciences: the university of Hamburg. It has to be realized that working in this field of studies protected scientists from being drafted by the army for a long time. [source]