Wolfgang Schivelbusch was born on 26 November 1941 in Berlin. He studied literature, sociology, and philosophy. He has lived in New York since 1973.
Career
Schivelbusch is an independent scholar, not affiliated to any academic institution. He is known for using the method of history of mentalities. Schivelbusch works also on the history of perception and cultural history. In 2003 he was awarded the Heinrich Mann prize of the Academie of Arts in Berlin. He has cited Norbert Elias as one of his main influences and inspirations.
Works
Three New Deals: Reflections on Roosevelt's America, Mussolini's Italy, and Hitler's Germany, 1933–1939 (2006)
Entfernte Verwandtschaft : Faschismus, Nationalsozialismus, New Deal 1933 - 1939 (Distant Relationship: Fascism, National Socialism, New Deal 1933-1939). Carl Hanser Verlag, München (2005)
Die Kultur der Niederlage : der amerikanische Süden 1865, Frankreich 1871, Deutschland 1918. (The Culture of Defeat: The American South 1865, France 1871, Germany 1918) Fest, Berlin (2001)
Eine Ruine im Krieg der Geister. (A Ruin in the War of Ghosts) Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verl., Frankfurt (1993)
Licht, Schein und Wahn : Auftritte der elektrischen Beleuchtung im 20. Jahrhundert. (Light, Shine and Delusion: Scenes of Electric Illumination in the 20th Century) Ernst, Berlin (1992)
Die Bibliothek von Löwen. Eine Episode aus der Zeit der Weltkriege. (The Library of Leuven : an episode from the time of the World Wars) München 1988
Eine wilhelminische Oper. (A Wilhelmine Opera) Insel, Frankfurt (1985)
Lichtblicke : Zur Geschichte der künstlichen Helligkeit im 19. Jahrhundert. (English translation published as Disenchanted Night: The Industrialization of Light in the Nineteenth Century by University of California Press 1995) Hanser, München/Wien (1983)
Das Paradies, der Geschmack und die Vernunft : eine Geschichte der Genussmittel. (English translation published as Tastes of Paradise by Pantheon 1992) Hanser, München/Wien (1980)
Geschichte der Eisenbahnreise : Zur Industrialisierung von Raum und Zeit im 19. Jahrhundert. (English translation published as The Railway Journey by Urizen 1979 and University of California Press 1986) Hanser
"The Industrialized Traveller". Telos 21 (Fall 1974). New York: Telos Press.
