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 Devil's Handwriting: Precoloniality and the German Colonial State in Qingdao, Samoa, and Southwest Africa (Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning)

History

Steinmetz, George

Africa

University of Chicago Press

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.

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.

Regulating the Social

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Princeton University Press

A new history of French social thought that connects postwar sociology to colonialism and empire In this provocative and original retelling of the history of French social thought, George Steinmetz places the history and development of modern French sociology in the context of the French empire after World War II. Connecting the rise of all the social sciences with efforts by France and other imperial powers to consolidate control over their crisis-ridden colonies, Steinmetz argues that colonial research represented a crucial core of the renascent academic discipline of sociology, especially between the late 1930s and the 1960s. Sociologists, who became favored partners of colonial governments, were asked to apply their expertise to such "social problems" as detribalization, urbanization, poverty, and labor migration. This colonial orientation permeated all the major subfields of sociological research, Steinmetz contends, and is at the center of the work of four influential scholars: Raymond Aron, Jacques Berque, Georges Balandier, and Pierre Bourdieu. In retelling this history, Steinmetz develops and deploys a new methodological approach that combines attention to broadly contextual factors, dynamics within the intellectual development of the social sciences and sociology in particular, and close readings of sociological texts. He moves gradually toward the postwar sociologists of colonialism and their writings, beginning with the most macroscopic contexts, which included the postwar "reoccupation" of the French empire and the turn to developmentalist policies and the resulting demand for new forms of social scientific expertise. After exploring the colonial engagement of researchers in sociology and neighboring fields before and after 1945, he turns to detailed examinations of the work of Aron, who created a sociology of empires; Berque, the leading historical sociologist of North Africa; Balandier, the founder of French Africanist sociology; and Bourdieu, whose renowned theoretical concepts were forged in war-torn, late-colonial Algeria.

The Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought: French Sociology and the Overseas Empire (Princeton Modern Knowledge)

Americas

Aerial photographer George Steinmetz, shooting from a motorized paraglider, has created an unparalleled portrait of Rub' al-Khali, or "the Empty Quarter," the largest and most likely the hottest sand desert in the world. Although only a fraction of the size of its giant neighbor, the Sahara, the Empty Quarter's punishing terrain has rarely been captured on film, and never from such a striking perspective. Old maps, satellite images, and a dose of Arabian hospitality enabled Steinmetz to travel where few have ventured. He reveals in his photographs a true wilderness, without a single permanent human habitation or known point of water, preserved by its harsh climate and extreme remoteness, as well as a fascinating tradition of a hardy people living at its edges. For experienced travelers or explorers and for those who have never heard of the Empty Quarter, entering the heart of the Arabian Desert is truly the ultimate experience.

Empty Quarter: A Photographic Journey to the Heart of the Arabian Desert

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

Harry N. Abrams

Flying hundreds, sometimes thousands, of feet above ground strapped into a motorized paraglider that is little more than a parachute with a small motor, National Geographic photographer George Steinmetz has spent more than twenty years photographing some of the most remote and spectacular environments around the world. In African Air, Steinmetz captures stunning panoramas in more than fourteen countries in Africa, giving readers captivating and intimate views of areas that have rarely, if ever before, been photographed. From densely packed urban centers to small, remote villages, from migrating herds of wildebeests and elephants to infinite miles of desert, African Air is a compelling testament and celebration of the majesty and splendor of Africa’s most breathtaking landscapes. With extraordinary vision and a unique perspective, Steinmetz portrays sky, land, and water in ways that have never been expressed before.

African Air

Celebrated exploration photographer George Steinmetz takes his art to a new level in Desert Air, the first comprehensive photographic collection of the world’s “extreme deserts,” which receive less than four inches of precipitation per year. Steinmetz has spent 15 years on this epic body of work, capturing remarkable and surreally beautiful visions of deserts, from China’s great Gobi Desert to the Sahara in northern Africa to Death Valley in California. Much more than a visual journey, these images are enriched by the exciting stories behind Steinmetz’s adventures in some of the world’s most difficult and challenging areas—from smuggling his paraglider into Libya to getting arrested for spying in Iran, to crashing into a tree in western China. Desert Air reveals extraordinary desert ecosystems that together form a kind of disparate family of coevolved landscapes; similar, yet each unique in its own way. To preview some of these incredible images, watch the book trailer on Vimeo:　http://vimeo.com/50387081

Desert Air

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.

New York Air: The View from Above

Abrams Books

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.

The Human Planet: Earth at the Dawn of the Anthropocene

Revkin, Andrew

Individual Artists

Wüsten von oben

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Frederking u. Thaler

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Steinmetz, George. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Steinmetz, George

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Steinmetz, George. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Devil's Handwriting: Precoloniality and the German Colonial State in Qingdao, Samoa, and Southwest Africa (Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning)

The Devil's Handwriting: Precoloniality and the German Colonial State in Qingdao, Samoa, and Southwest Africa (Chicago Studies in Practices of Meaning)

Regulating the Social

The Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought: French Sociology and the Overseas Empire (Princeton Modern Knowledge)

Empty Quarter: A Photographic Journey to the Heart of the Arabian Desert

African Air

Desert Air

New York Air: The View from Above

The Human Planet: Earth at the Dawn of the Anthropocene

Wüsten von oben