A Public in Process: The Frankfurt School, The Allensbach Institute, and The Pursuit of "Public Opinion" in 1950s West Germany

A Public in Process: The Frankfurt School, The Allensbach Institute, and The Pursuit of "Public Opinion" in 1950s West Germany

This project examines attempts to study and define public opinion in postwar Germany by two institutions: the Frankfurt School and the Allensbach Institute. I show how opinion researchers responded to theoretical frameworks developed during World War II and the empirical work begun by occupation aut...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ostrow, Sonja Gammeltoft
Other Authors: Helmut Walser Smith
Format: Others
Language:en
Published: VANDERBILT 2012
Subjects:
History
Online Access:http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-12262012-134406/
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spelling ndltd-VANDERBILT-oai-VANDERBILTETD-etd-12262012-1344062013-01-08T17:17:06Z A Public in Process: The Frankfurt School, The Allensbach Institute, and The Pursuit of "Public Opinion" in 1950s West Germany Ostrow, Sonja Gammeltoft History This project examines attempts to study and define public opinion in postwar Germany by two institutions: the Frankfurt School and the Allensbach Institute. I show how opinion researchers responded to theoretical frameworks developed during World War II and the empirical work begun by occupation authorities in Germany in order to quantify and study the lives of their countrymen. These researchers also linked their findings to the political and economic process in new ways, helping to envision and make sense of the West German transition to democracy from dictatorship. The Frankfurt School researchers attempted to problematize the notion of public opinion itself, while the Allensbach Institute claimed to offer an unbiased, scientific view of the German public. By the 1970s, the concept of public opinion had become indispensable to any attempt to address the past, present, and future of the German nation. Helmut Walser Smith Sarah Igo VANDERBILT 2012-12-26 text application/pdf http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-12262012-134406/ http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-12262012-134406/ en restricted I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report.
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language en
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topic History
spellingShingle History
Ostrow, Sonja Gammeltoft
A Public in Process: The Frankfurt School, The Allensbach Institute, and The Pursuit of "Public Opinion" in 1950s West Germany
description This project examines attempts to study and define public opinion in postwar Germany by two institutions: the Frankfurt School and the Allensbach Institute. I show how opinion researchers responded to theoretical frameworks developed during World War II and the empirical work begun by occupation authorities in Germany in order to quantify and study the lives of their countrymen. These researchers also linked their findings to the political and economic process in new ways, helping to envision and make sense of the West German transition to democracy from dictatorship. The Frankfurt School researchers attempted to problematize the notion of public opinion itself, while the Allensbach Institute claimed to offer an unbiased, scientific view of the German public. By the 1970s, the concept of public opinion had become indispensable to any attempt to address the past, present, and future of the German nation.
author2 Helmut Walser Smith
author_facet Helmut Walser Smith
Ostrow, Sonja Gammeltoft
author Ostrow, Sonja Gammeltoft
author_sort Ostrow, Sonja Gammeltoft
title A Public in Process: The Frankfurt School, The Allensbach Institute, and The Pursuit of "Public Opinion" in 1950s West Germany
title_short A Public in Process: The Frankfurt School, The Allensbach Institute, and The Pursuit of "Public Opinion" in 1950s West Germany
title_full A Public in Process: The Frankfurt School, The Allensbach Institute, and The Pursuit of "Public Opinion" in 1950s West Germany
title_fullStr A Public in Process: The Frankfurt School, The Allensbach Institute, and The Pursuit of "Public Opinion" in 1950s West Germany
title_full_unstemmed A Public in Process: The Frankfurt School, The Allensbach Institute, and The Pursuit of "Public Opinion" in 1950s West Germany
title_sort public in process: the frankfurt school, the allensbach institute, and the pursuit of "public opinion" in 1950s west germany
publisher VANDERBILT
publishDate 2012
url http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-12262012-134406/
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