Modernity and Postmodernity - Theory (and Methods) Unit 4
Taken from class notes and a revision booklet created by my teacher.
- Created by: Ray22
- Created on: 29-05-13 18:14
View mindmap
- Modernity and Postmodernity
- Modernity
- Enlightenment ideas of the 18th century influencing social thinkers of the 19th century
- Hold strong beliefs in progress of society: application of science, rationality and technology inevitably produce social progress
- They could apply apply scientific methodology to the study of society in order to understand it and bring about desired changes.
- Was an optimistic view of society
- Postmodernism
- Do not accept the ideas of enlightenment
- They believe that science and technology can be blamed for destroying the enviroment rather than solving the problems
- Time and space have been compressed through communication e.g. airplanes, skype etc.
- They believe that science and technology can be blamed for destroying the enviroment rather than solving the problems
- It is a pessimistic approach that sees the future of society as dystopic
- The metanarrative or 'big stories' of the past such as Marxism and Functionalism are insufficient in making sense of our changing world
- Knowledge is not absolute but dependant and relative
- Development of mass media and global communications
- Encouragded people to define ourselves through cultural and media images
- Cultures have been hybridised
- Encouragded people to define ourselves through cultural and media images
- Do not accept the ideas of enlightenment
- Theories of Late Modernity (TLM)
- Subsctibe also to the 'enlightenment' belief
- The change in our modern society has now gone into overdrive
- These rapid changes are not the dawn of postmodernity a continuation of modern society
- Giddens reflexivity and high modernity
- Tradition and customs no longer guide how we act
- Cultures become increasingly unstable within these conditions
- Disembedding is the systematic removal of social relations from local context of interraction
- This has led to reflexive evaluation of our own actions: modifying our acts in the light of info about about risks
- Tradition and customs no longer guide how we act
- Risks
- Environmental consequences Beck calls 'manufactured risks' e.g. China's smog problem
- Contrary to postmodernism Giddens and Beck believe we can make rational plans to reduce these risks and achieve progress
- Modernity
Comments
No comments have yet been made