Georg Simmel’s The Metropolis and Mental Life

In this episode, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss introduce listeners to a noteworthy work in early classical sociology that often gets oversimplified for what it argues and observes about a key aspect of the process of modernisation. Georg Simmel’s noted essay on The Metropolis and Mental Life, originally published in 1903, provides varied insights about what effect living in an urban/metropolitan environment has on individuals and their psychologies, which includes the blasé attitude exhibited by many urban dwellers. Unpacking this text leads Eric and Louis to talk about the Will Ferrell classic Christmas film, Elf and what it means to do a ‘mainy’ in rural Australia. Eric and Louis also take sides in a hypothetical ‘punch-up’ in  a country Australian town (Eric is Team Joe, while Louis is Team Frank), alongside other musings and reflections about the ideas Simmel puts forward.

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