Intellectual Migration and Cultural Transformation

Book excerpt: The volume presents a unique cross-section of contemporary research in the broad field of migration and exile studies. Its particular focus is on the manner in which ideas, methodologies, scholarship and innovation, developed in German-speaking Europe, were transferred to Britain and the USA after 1933. The transformative effect of this exodus of talent upon the host cultures, and the corresponding impact of the host cultures upon the refugees, helped produce the groundbreaking work of German-speaking refugees in diverse areas. The essays include surveys of the contributions of exiles to academic disciplines and to art and design, and fresh examinations of the work of prominent refugees like Wittgenstein, as well as less well known figures such as Nina Rubinstein and Gaby Schreiber.