Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

transfergeschichtlich

English translation:

[perspectives from] transfer history

Added to glossary by Helen Shiner
Jan 20, 2009 15:10
15 yrs ago
German term

transfergeschichtlich

German to English Social Sciences Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
From "transfergeschichtliche Perspektiven", part of the title of a sociology paper. Is this simply transhistorical perspectives, or could there be another possibility? I cannot give any further context as doing so would reveal the title of the paper.

Thanks in advance.
Change log

Jan 27, 2009 11:41: Helen Shiner Created KOG entry

Discussion

Casey Butterfield (asker) Jan 20, 2009:
Sorry guys. I appreciate your eagerness, but all I have is the title, and if I give any more of that away, I would be doing a disservice to my client. I will post any more information I can.
Kim Metzger Jan 20, 2009:
I always like to see as much relevant SOURCE text as possible.
Charles Rothwell (X) Jan 20, 2009:
Not enough for me to go on at any rate, I am afraid, Casey. I should just be guessing without some further information/examples. Sorry. Perhaps someone else has translated the actual phrase (unlike me).

Proposed translations

+2
4 hrs
Selected

[perspectives from] transfer history

I can find no references to transfer-historical being used in EN, but 'transfer history' seems to be a new methodology in Germany for approaching comparative historical studies. Hence I do not give it as an adjective, but suggest you render it in the way I suggest or something like it.

It seems that it is used ascertain whether certain socio-political, socio-economic or social structures occurring in one country in a given set of circumstances - say under fascism, whence the term seems to have come (see my links), occur in another country, when a similar set of circumstances pertain.

"War der Mechanismus der Privilegierung der „Volksgenossen“ und der Ausplünderung, Aushungerung und Ausmerze der Ausgeschlossenen ein allgemeines Kennzeichen faschistischer Regime? Transfergeschichtlich ist zu fragen, inwiefern entsprechende Konzeptionen der Sozial- und Wirtschaftspolitik zirkulierten und welche Austauschprozesse zwischen den einzelnen Regierungen oder Einheitsparteien bestanden.
http://www.beitraege-ns.com/band21.htm


Dennis Wrong (1961) has also highlighted Mills as a representative of a
historicist stance, and therefore also of diachronic, and dialectical thinking
against achronic and so-called eristical thinking of structural functionalism.
Whereas the former takes into consideration historical transformation and tries
to capture a conflict perspective where questions lead to ever new questions to
be asked, the latter, on the contrary, is locked in a model of society where
conflict is toned down and where questions asked by the social scientist are
becoming oblivious with the arrival of an answer. To Mills it is the job of the
sociologist to make historical comparisons (Mills 1959a) and to look to new
horizons in the quest for knowledge and understanding. His sociology was
clearly informed by the Weberian idea of trans-historical studies and
comparisons. A sociology worth its name is never satisfied with the initial
answers popping up occasionally but keeps looking ever harder in order to find
either forgotten, neglected or hidden connections. Therefore Mills is also a
bigwig and an exponent of a conflict perspective in sociology (Strandbakken
http://www.socsci.aau.dk/sociologi/castor/Arbejdspapirer/nr-...

Fascism, thus understood, can serve as the category through which to apply the methodological innovations of Transfergeschichte to the study of the German and Italian dictatorships. As the name suggests, "transfer history" is concerned with the concrete processes by which "transfers"--of "concepts, norms, images, and representations" (p. 17) and, I might add, people, money, and diseases--actually take place. Enriching historical comparisons with an approach that examines "reciprocal influences and processes of change" is urgently to be demanded, "for otherwise possibly important explanations for divergences and convergences of the units of comparison will be overlooked" (p. 18). In the case of fascism, then, it is well known that the young Adolf Hitler admired Benito Mussolini and that crucial aspects of the National Socialist movement and party were modeled on the Italian example. But little work exists on the specific individuals and institutions through which this process happened, or on what effects it had on developments in the two countries.

Two contributions here are specifically interested in the idea of "transfer." Wolfgang Schieder's detailed study, "Faschismus im politischen Transfer. Giuseppe Renzetti als faschistischer Propagandist und Geheimagent in Berlin 1922-1941," chronicles the propaganda activity on behalf of Italian fascist ideology that this "shadow ambassador" (p. 29) carried out in Weimar Germany. Demonstrating the extraordinary access that Renzetti had to Hitler and other Nazi leaders, as well as to powerful German industrialists, Schieder argues that Renzetti was a main conduit for the transmission of fascist ideological concepts, in particular ideas about corporatist social policy, from Italy to Germany, as well as the most important middle-man between Hitler and Mussolini. This exhaustive study, which includes a chart detailing all of Renzetti's frequent meetings with Hitler, shows that Renzetti played an important role in bringing together German conservatives, from the Stahlhelm, the DNVP, and the NSDAP, through institutions such as the "Society for the Study of Fascism," or through evenings at his apartment on the Kurfürstendamm, hosted by his glamorous German-Jewish wife Susanne. Schieder does not show directly what Renzetti succeeded in teaching Nazis about fascism, nor is it clear that Renzetti, who had more access to Hitler than any other non-German
http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=13257




--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 days (2009-01-27 11:43:16 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Well, I'll be watching out for those transfer historians - a very rarified bunch by the sounds of it - from now on. Glad to have helped and thanks for the points, Casey.
Peer comment(s):

agree Veronika McLaren
5 hrs
Thank you, Veronika
agree Deborah Shannon : That final reference couldn't be bettered
22 hrs
Thanks, Deborah!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Helen, this sort of field-specific context was exactly what I was looking for! Thank you."
+1
17 mins

transnational

transnational perspectives
Peer comment(s):

agree Timothy Leonido (X)
16 mins
neutral Helen Shiner : After some research, I don't think this can be right, though it was also my first hunch, that or trans-historical, but it seems 'transfer history' is a new methodology.
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 hr

The history of Transference

As you refer to s sociology paper could perhaps this refer to Freudian theory of tranference? Just an idea as has been said - not much to go on:-)
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search