This new collection of Rosa’s essays provides an overview of his work and explores key topics and concepts in depth. Among the subjects discussed are Charles Taylor’s account of alienation, self-interpretation and social critique; the theory of acceleration and the challenges for identity formation and democratic politics in the high-speed society; the theory of resonance and its relation to alienation and uncontrollability; and the relation between social theory and moral philosophy. Among other things, this volume highlights the influence of Taylor’s social philosophy on Rosa’s work and brings out the architecture of Rosa’s social theory, in particular the opposition between the concepts of resonance and alienation.

This book by one of the most creative and influential social theorists writing today will be essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary social theory, critical theory and the sociology of late modernity.

“The foremost German social theorist of his generation, Hartmut Rosa is increasingly famous in translation but his work is not well integrated into either English-language sociology or interdisciplinary social theory. This book will help. It includes key essays that show not only the development of Rosa’s thought but also enduring orientations that clarify it. Frédéric Vandenberghe’s introduction is helpful. Students who want to grasp the arguments, not just the one-word labels, of Rosa’s big books like Social Acceleration and Resonance, would do well to start here.”
Craig Calhoun, Arizona State University and Princeton University

Hartmut Rosa is Professor of Sociology at the Institute of Sociology at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, and Director of the Max Weber Center for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt, Germany.