Lectures in English: Talks on Simmel, Weber, Marx, and Lenin

Thanks to helpful criticism and suggestions a second and improved edition of this collection can be made available. One text has been added and the format has been changed to make the pages more readable. This is a selection of lectures that were delivered in English in different countries at different times. While the opening piece on Max Weber engulfed in political chaos approaches tragedy, the second text on teaching in Munich and Vienna was presented to students in a joking atmosphere. The reader – and certainly the colleague who was the source of our amusement – will need a good sense of humor to enjoy it. The text on Marx included here found consenting readers in mainland China. The segment on the university and religion starts with a very recent talk in which the ancient Chinese reverence for higher learning is hinted at. Also, a seminar outline on religion has been added. In the methodology part we acknowledge the indebtedness of the discipline to Goffman and his Canadian roots as well as to Shibutani and his Japanese background. In the final part Simmel’s wisdom is applied to problems of kinship, and a text on the family is included that was written for a conference in Japan. This booklet is intended as a modest step in the unending journey to a more successful and more highly regarded sociology in a world so badly in need of its real and potential insights.