Comparing Modernities

The authors of this volume explore the tensions and dilemmas that impact pluralism and homogeneity in modern societies. This is the first work in this field in which the frame of discussion is a comparative civilizational analysis. It focuses on issues that are at the heart of the contemporary human experience and culture. The contributors to this book, renowned scholars from all over the world, tackle these issues by referring to different temporal and spatial settings. This book is in homage to Shmuel Noah Eisenstadt. We honor his ground-breaking work in the comparative study of modernities and civilizations.

Contributors are: Jeffrey C. Alexander, Erik Allardt , Saïd Arjomand, Johann P. Arnason, Eliezer Ben-Rafael, Raymond Boudon, Michael Confino, Ralf Dahrendorf, Gerard Delanty, Shmuel N. Eisenstadt, Han Entzinger, Bernhard Giesen, Rolland Goetschell, Ulf Hannerz, Danièle Hervieu-Léger, Jürgen Kocka, Donald N. Levine, Menachem Magidor, Alberto Martinelli, T.K. Oommen, Shalini Randeria, Luis Roniger, W.G. Runciman, Dominique Schnapper, Hayim Tadmor, Stanley J. Tambiah, Wolfgang Schluchter, David Shulman, Sammy Smooha, Piotr Stzompka, Edward A. Tiryakan, Alain Touraine, Zvi Werblowsky, and Björn Wittrock.

Eliezer Ben-Rafael, Ph.D. (1974) in Sociology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is Weinberg Professor of Political Sociology at Tel Aviv University. His recent works include Jewish identities: Fifty intellectuals answer Ben-Gurion (Brill, 2002), and Is Israel One? Religion, Nationalism and Multiculturalism Confounded (Brill, 2005). His edited works include Identity, Culture and Globalization (Brill, 2001).
Yitzhak Sternberg, is a Researcher in Sociology at Tel Aviv University. His current research interest is Nativism in immigrant societies from a comparative perspective. He has co-edited Identity, Culture and Globalization (Brill, 2001).