Early on Erich Auerbach's researches were viewed by his contemporaries as contri-butions to the sociology of literature. However, that aspect was always considered as secondary, obfuscated by the gigantic undertaking of his very special literary history and by his "philological" studies. This article intends to point out Auerbach as soci-ologist, showing to what extent his work opens up to a sociology of literature and remains a challenge for sociologists.
Sociology of literature; Erich Auerbach; Philology; Intellectuals; Weimar Republic