Press release of May 2001

Norbert Elias Prize for Dutch sociologist Wilbert van Vree

The Norbert Elias Prize of 2001 has been awarded to Dr Wilbert van Vree for his book Meetings, Manners and Civillization: The Development of Modern Meeting Behaviour.
The prize is named in honour of Norbert Elias, one of the greatest sociologists of the twentieth century, whose work has influenced the whole range of other disciplines from history, literary theory, and philosophy to psychology.

Read the foreword written by prof Stephen Mennell.

If you want to receive a pdf-version of the book for free: mail to Wilbert van Vree.
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This is the first account of how meeting rules and behaviour have deloped. It takes an historical approach, from medieval meetings to meetings of the future, and provides a volume of comparative research on the development of meeting behaviour; that is, human behaviour during councils, assemblies, parliaments, business conferences, and other meetings (both formal and informal), held to discuss and arrange a common future.

Contents:
Part I: Introduction
1 Meeting Behaviour and Civilization
2 The Development of the Concept of Meeting
Part II: Meetings in Military-Agrarian Societies
3 The Militarization and Demilitarization of Meetings
4 The Courtization of Meetings
PART III: Meetings During the Transition from an Agrarian to an Industrial Society
5 The Emergence of a Protestant Meeting Order
6 The Formation of the First Meeting Class in Europe
PART IV: Meetings in Industrializing and Industrialized Societies
7 Development and Spread of Parliamentary Manners
8 The Professionalization of Meeting Manners
Epilogue: Changing Meeting Behaviour as an Aspect of Civilizing Processes

This book is beeing published by Continuum London and New York. It is available at Amazon.com. Also available as paperback now. Only £ 16,99.