New Releases by George Steinmetz

Die Welt, in der wir leben, ist geprägt von den Spuren moderner kolonialer Imperien. Welchen Einfluss hat diese Prägung auf die Sozialwissenschaften und auf die postmoderne Soziologie? Für die neu entstehende Disziplin war die Kolonialforschung einst von entscheidender Bedeutung. Ab den 1930er Jahren waren Soziologen und Soziologinnen gefragt, ihr Fachwissen auf soziale Themen wie »Detribalisierung«, Urbanisierung, Armut und Arbeitsmigration anzuwenden. Diese koloniale Orientierung durchdrang alle wichtigen Teilbereiche der Forschung. Gerade in Zeiten der Dekolonisierung war die koloniale Soziologie Avantgarde ihres Fachs, vor allem in imperialen Ländern wie Großbritannien und den Niederlanden, besonders aber in Frankreich. Dort forschten mehr als die Hälfte der Soziologen und Soziologinnen zu kolonialen Themen, sowohl in den Kolonien als auch in den Metropolen; unter ihnen waren nicht nur Apologeten, sondern auch scharfe Kritiker des Imperialismus. Zahlreiche Institutionen entstanden, Universitäten, Forschungsinstitute, Regierungsorganisationen und Museen, die sich der Forschung über Imperien widmeten. Diese fundierte Studie präsentiert überraschende Einsichten und zeigt eindrücklich, dass das ambivalente Erbe der Kolonialsoziologie enormen Einfluss auf das sozialwissenschaftliche Denken der Gegenwart hat.

"This book is a history of the field of sociology as it existed from the interwar, wartime, and postwar periods in France and its Empire. This does not refer just to sociologists who did some work in the colonies, or occasionally thought about them in their metropolitan work, but a specific field which was constituted to understand and then govern these colonies. The author argues that the re-founding of French sociology during and after World War II - which spawned the likes of Raymond Aron, Jacques Berque, Georges Balandier, and Pierre Bourdieu - occurred within the context of the re-founding of the French empire. Though there was been much discussion of "decolonizing" sociology in the postwar period, the deep history of sociology''s connection to French colonialism and empire has been ignored when, the author argues, it is central. The main driver of the expansion of sociology in this period was colonial developmentalism. Sociologists became favored partners of colonial governments, applying their expertise to an array of "social problems," such as de-tribalization, poverty, labor migration, rapid urbanization and the growth of shantytowns, and the decay of traditional families and religious beliefs, and working on "modernizing" solutions. Many sociologists whose careers began in the overseas colonies formulated concepts and theories that quickly entered metropolitan (and then global) sociology, and their origins were forgotten. Steinmetz examines the ways in colonial sociologists differed from the rest of the discipline -in many ways they represented its most dynamic cutting edge-and how their locations may have affected their intellectual agendas and scholarship. He explores the ways in which these sociologists networked and tracks their major intellectual innovations and influence as a group. He also explores the marginalization faced by both sociologists working in the colonies and those born there, while showing the ways in which they were able to overcome them. The specific challenges of colonial sociology-including some very strongly anticolonial colonial sociologists-shaped sociological theory in ways that are still dominant. The book amounts to a historical sociology of French academia all told-with an emphasis on sociology and other human sciences-as well as a collective biography of many of the major figures, many who are continually read and cited to this day"--

A dynamic aerial exploration of our changing planet, published on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day The Human Planet is a sweeping visual chronicle of the Earth today from a photographer who has circled the globe to report on such urgent issues as climate change, sustainable agriculture, and the ever-expanding human footprint. George Steinmetz is at home on every continent, documenting both untrammeled nature and the human project that relentlessly redesigns the planet in its quest to build shelter, grow food, generate energy, and create beauty through art and architecture. In his images, accompanied by authoritative text by renowned science writer Andrew Revkin, we are encountering the dramatic and perplexing new face of our ancient home.

Shooting in all seasons and from dawn to dusk, Steinmetz captures the thrilling complexity and romance of 21st-century New York, with its new skyline and waterfront landscape, dazzling contemporary architecture and historic buildings—along with parks and streets and rooftops used for every possible purpose, and the massive infrastructure that keeps it all going. Included are such iconic places as Central Park and Times Square, new landmarks such as the High Line and the September 11 Memorial, One World Trade Center and other additions to the exclusive list of the world’s tallest buildings, and intriguing sites throughout the five boroughs. Steinmetz records some of the city’s beloved traditions—such as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, the New York marathon, and the U.S. Open—but what makes his photographs special is their surprising intimacy, as they capture New Yorkers going about their lives in their remarkable city.

This iconic National Geographic photography collection of the world''s most majestic nature landscapes presents the exquisiteness of the great outdoors and showcases evocative and extraordinary images, often unseen. With vast deserts in twilight, snowcapped mountain ranges at the brink of dawn, a forest in the height of autumn colors, these indelible images will magnify the beauty, emotion, and depth that can be captured in the split second of a camera flash, taking readers on a spectacular visual journey and offering an elegant conduit to the world around them. Paired with illuminating insights from celebrated photographers, this beautiful book weaves a vibrant tapestry of images that readers will turn to again and again.

Fielding Transnationalism is a work in progress and one that we hope will be sustained in the future. Together the papers in this volume show the strengths of field theory for apprehending transnational processes and relations, even as they also raise questions for future work. In the spirit of Bourdieu''s own work, the papers are grounded in fine-grained empirical research, and the empirical range is wide. Some speak to institutions that are or could be central to discussions of the transnational in political science - such as the European Central Bank (Mudge and Vauchez), the US government (Stampnitzky), and the British and the German empire (Wilson; Steinmetz). Others show their sociological heritage by also paying attention to cultural production (Buchholz), to academic disciplines (Steinmetz; Krause), and to journalism (Christin). Empirically, of course, there are many further areas of inquiry that could benefit from a field analysis. We could learn from a wide range of historical and contemporary cases. These papers offer a starting point.

"Hyper Arid is the first comprehensive photographic book on all of the world''s extreme deserts (defined for the purposes of this book as those that receive no more than 4 inches of precipitation per year), the most remote and inhospitable places on earth. It is also a visual adventure story by one of the world''s top expedition photographers who has spent the last 15 years on this epic body of work. The stunning and surreally beautiful photographs are enriched with stories from his adventures in the world''s most difficult places: smuggling his aircraft into Libya, getting arrested for spying in Iran, crashing into a tree in Western China, and into the ocean off the coast of Mexico. The book is a comprehensive exploration of virtually every dune field and patch of barren ground that add up to the last great class of wilderness left on our planet. To visualize these remote places in a unique way, Steinmetz learned how to fly the world''s lightest and slowest aircraft, a motorized paraglider. This experimental foot-launched aircraft consists of a backpack motor and a parachute-style wing that lets him fly low, and slow, to take pictures of places that have never been seen before. Together, these extraordinary places are like a disparate family of co-evolved landscapes, each similar, but uniquely beautiful"--Provided by publisher.

Déserts absolus est le premier livre de photographies entièrement consacré aux déserts hyperarides, c''est-à-dire, aux lieux les plus hostiles et les plus inaccessibles de notre planète et qui, selon les scientifiques reçoivent moins de dix centimètres de précipitation par an. Depuis 1997, George Steinmetz a enchaîné les expéditions - qui relèvent parfois de l''épopée - pour réunir ces photographies, d''une beauté irréelle. L''auteur y témoigne de ses incroyables aventures, en même temps qu''il offre au lecteur une exploration détaillée des champs de dunes et des terres stériles qui, ensemble, constituent une partie encore vierge de notre planète. Pour mieux explorer ces lieux reculés, Steinmetz a appris à piloter un para-moteur, l''engin volant le plus léger et le moins rapide au monde.

This title features striking, unique aerial photography of the one of the largest--and harshest--sand deserts in the world: the Rubʻ al-Khali in the heart of the Arabian Desert.

Situé sur le territoire de l''Arabie Saoudite et en bordure des territoires du Yémen, d''Oman et des Emirats arabes unis, le Rub''al-Khali (littéralement, le " quart vide ") occupe 650 000 kilomètres carrés. Pour tout amoureux des déserts, il est le " désert des déserts ". A la fois objet de fascination et de crainte, il est le voyage ultime des aventuriers confirmés. Alors qu''il survolait l''Afrique, George Steinmetz s''est mis à rêver qu''il pourrait, à l''aide de son parachute motorisé, photographier des endroits vierges de toute présence humaine. Bravant les difficultés pour obtenir visas et permis de vol, il s''est attaqué à la plus grande étendue ininterrompue de sable au monde. Revenant sur les traces des premiers Occidentaux à l''avoir traversé, George Steinmetz relate ici son expérience dans l''un des lieux les plus inhospitaliers et les plus fascinants de la planète.

The National Geographic photographer captures the extraordinary diversity of Africa''s landscapes, from dense urban centers to tiny, remote villages, from harsh deserts to dense forests, in nearly two hundred full-color aerial photographs that offer panoramic views of more than fourteen different countries throughout the African continent.

Germany’s overseas colonial empire was relatively short lived, lasting from 1884 to 1918. During this period, dramatically different policies were enacted in the colonies: in Southwest Africa, German troops carried out a brutal slaughter of the Herero people; in Samoa, authorities pursued a paternalistic defense of native culture; in Qingdao, China, policy veered between harsh racism and cultural exchange. Why did the same colonizing power act in such differing ways? In The Devil’s Handwriting, George Steinmetz tackles this question through a brilliant cross-cultural analysis of German colonialism, leading to a new conceptualization of the colonial state and postcolonial theory. Steinmetz uncovers the roots of colonial behavior in precolonial European ethnographies, where the Hereros were portrayed as cruel and inhuman, the Samoans were idealized as “noble savages,” and depictions of Chinese culture were mixed. The effects of status competition among colonial officials, colonizers’ identification with their subjects, and the different strategies of cooperation and resistance offered by the colonized are also scrutinized in this deeply nuanced and ambitious comparative history.

The Politics of Method in the Human Sciences provides a remarkable comparative assessment of the variations of positivism and alternative epistemologies in the contemporary human sciences. Often declared obsolete, positivism is alive and well in a number of the fields; in others, its influence is significantly diminished. The essays in this collection investigate its mutations in form and degree across the social science disciplines. Looking at methodological assumptions field by field, individual essays address anthropology, area studies, economics, history, the philosophy of science, political science and political theory, and sociology. Essayists trace disciplinary developments through the long twentieth century, focusing on the decades since World War II. Contributors explore and contrast some of the major alternatives to positivist epistemologies, including Marxism, psychoanalysis, poststructuralism, narrative theory, and actor-network theory. Almost all the essays are written by well-known practitioners of the fields discussed. Some essayists approach positivism and anti-positivism via close readings of texts influential in their respective disciplines. Some engage in ethnographies of the present-day human sciences; others are more historical in method. All of them critique contemporary social scientific practice. Together, they trace a trajectory of thought and method running from the past through the present and pointing toward possible futures. Contributors. Andrew Abbott, Daniel Breslau, Michael Burawoy, Andrew Collier , Michael Dutton, Geoff Eley, Anthony Elliott, Stephen Engelmann, Sandra Harding, Emily Hauptmann, Webb Keane, Tony Lawson, Sophia Mihic, Philip Mirowski, Timothy Mitchell, William H. Sewell Jr., Margaret R. Somers, George Steinmetz, Elizabeth Wingrove

Why does the welfare state develop so unevenly across countries, regions, and localities? What accounts for the exclusions and disciplinary features of social programs? How are elite and popular conceptions of social reality related to welfare policies? George Steinmetz approaches these and other issues by exploring the complex origins and development of local and national social policies in nineteenth-century Germany. Generally regarded as the birthplace of the modern welfare state, Germany experimented with a wide variety of social programs before 1914, including the national social insurance legislation of the 1880s, the "Elberfeld" system of poor relief, protocorporatist policies, and modern forms of social work. Imperial Germany offers a particularly useful context in which to compare different programs at various levels of government. Looking at changes in welfare policy over the course of the nineteenth century, differences between state and municipal interventions, and intercity variations in policy, Steinmetz develops an account that focuses on the specific constraints on local and national policymakers and the different ways of imagining the "social question." Whereas certain aspects of the pre-1914 welfare state reinforced social divisions and even foreshadowed aspects of the Nazi regime, other dimensions actually helped to relieve sickness, poverty, and unemployment. Steinmetz explores the conditions that led to both the positive and the objectionable features of social policy. The explanation draws on statist, Marxist, and social democratic perspectives and on theories of gender and culture.