La sociología española y el antisemitismo

Entre prejuicios pasados y clave civilizatoria

Bibliographic Data

ID5145173
AuthorsBenno Herzog (0000-0003-3685-2881, Universitat de València, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume51
Issue3
Publication date2014-12-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolítica y Sociedad (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1130-8001 • E-ISSN: 1988-3129
PublisherUniversidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5209/rev_poso.2014.v51.n3.43677
OpenAlexW2060353902
LanguageES
References cited15

There is a significant lack of sociological research in Spain about anti-Semitism. At the same time there are alarming anti-Semitic tendencies and anti-Jewish stereotypes which are above the European average. This article aims to explain this lack of sociological research about anti-Semitism in Spain. Therefore two types of explications are offered: on the one hand side some structural problems will be shown which sociology in general had since its beginnings and which complicate the understanding of anti-Semitism. Furthermore explications regarding the specific social and historic situation in Spain and of Spanish sociology in particular will be exposed. It will be shown that for its rationalistic character and with the exception of very few authors – who are considered marginalized for practical research – sociology in general has had enormous problems in understanding anti-Semitism. The specific historic situation, Francoism, the dispute about the historic memory and the delayed institutionalisation of sociology could also explain the lack of sociological interest in the topic especially in Spain. The article shows that the study of anti-Semitism is not only relevant for struggling against this burden of society in many of its variants. Furthermore, thinking about anti-Semitism can help sociology to recognise its own epistemological problems. It can serve to criticise and improve instruments of sociological research by showing the limitations of the sociological approach and to uncover the importance of interdisciplinary research for understanding specific social phenomena. In that sense, anti-Semitism, far from being a marginal subject, can be considered a key topic in the process of civilisation and it can help us to decipher the contemporary Spanish society

Epistemology · Institutionalisation · Political science · Politics · Social science · Social thought · Sociological imagination · Sociological research · Sociological theory · Sociology · Sociology of law · Subject (documents · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law · Memory, violence, and history · Philosophy · Spanish History and Politics

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