Cool Conduct: The Culture of Distance in Weimar Germany

Weimar and Now: German Cultural Criticism #17

by Helmut Lethen, Don Reneau (Translator)

Cool Conduct is an elegant interpretation of attitudes and mentalities that informed the Weimar Republic by a scholar well known for his profound knowledge of this period. Helmut Lethen writes of "cool conduct" as a cultivated antidote to the heated atmosphere of post-World War I Germany, as a way of burying shame and animosity that might otherwise make social contact impossible.

Genres: Germany, Sociology, History, Philosophy

301 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Sebnem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Açıkçası, zor okudum. Weimar Cumhuriyeti söz konusu olduğunda Helmut Lethen bir dönem otorite kabul edilmiş olabilir; fakat görüşleri a) açıkça yanlı ve b) anlattığı şeyi çok zor, deyiş yerindeyse kulağını tersinden göstererek anlatıyor. Fakat konuyla ilgilenenler için çok iyi bir kaynakçası var. Son olarak, 1990'lardan sonra Weimar'ın tarihyazımının tam tersi bir perspektiften ele alındığını ve Lethen'in temsil ettiği düşüncenin hakim bakış açısı olmaktan çıktığını belirtmeden geçmeyelim.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book. It had me at "porcupines" in the first sentence. A study of "social distance" and how Germans imagined it in the early part of the century. Debates on community, the violence" society" does in leading you away from community. And much, much more, from etiquette to novels to social policy. Focused on a manifesto by a certain Helmuth Plessner, 1924. "As a guiding principle, authenticity is not right for strangers...After a sudden collision, the coldness of outer space must sink between them." I'm only on p. 5, being supposed to be doing something else, but it's looking good.
Sincerely,

[Ezgi Aydın · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 yıldız vermemin sebebi, kişisel hayal kırıklığım, ampirik bi’ metin beklerken edebiyat kuramlarından kopuk metin/kitap incelemeleri okumuş gibiyim

[Isa]

thought this would be great---based on the "cover" of course, but it is hard to stick to....