modernism & post modernity

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A2 Theory and Methods Modernity and Post- Modernity

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Page 1: Modernism & Post Modernity

A2 Theory and Methods

Modernity and Post-Modernity

Page 2: Modernism & Post Modernity

Modernity

Structure/security/place/stabilityYOU KNEW WHO YOU WERE

Science aided progress and

finding the truth

Nationhood

Overt social control

A one-way media

A role for education

A belief in continuity and

situation

Social class

Family

Mass Production

Community life

Page 3: Modernism & Post Modernity

Postmodernism

Modern age has lost the enlightenment

Search for truth

People less likely to

follow rigid ideology

Greater pluralism in modern life

No absolutes

Culture and structures are fragmented

Less predictable

Traditional labels and categories loose relevance

Consumerism is all

Globalisation has

narrowed time and

space

Transformation of the self

(‘pick ‘n’ mix’)

Fragmentation of social life

The impact of ICT on social life

Confusion/lack of structure/incessant choice

YOU CREATE WHO YOU WANT TO BE

Page 4: Modernism & Post Modernity

Post-modernism illustrated – ‘reality TV’ & ‘Disneyland’

Reality TV illustrates the interchange

between the consumer and the media

They are ‘real people’ who can be observed and scrutinised.

They do not entertain – rather than exist…they are a mish-mash of cctv surveillance and game show

In the real world they are talentless nobody's who are treated as stars

Disneyland is a simulacra. It is simulated reality. It is artificial –

yet ‘real’.

It is a place that exists and is accepted because our imagination makes it so.

The fine line between reality and fantasy is ‘greyer’. The power of

the symbol over substance

Page 5: Modernism & Post Modernity

Modernity & Globalisation

The Enlightenment Project

• Modernist theories e.g. Marxism are part of the project- the idea that through reason and science, we can discover true knowledge and progress to a better society

Page 6: Modernism & Post Modernity

Find evidence of your own contact with globalisation:

1. Look at the labels in your clothes/shoes and find four different countries in which they have been produced.

2. Identify four events in distant parts of the world that you have seen on TV in the last month.

3. Identify four global brand names you have seen advertised in this country or, if possible, seen in other countries.

Page 7: Modernism & Post Modernity

Globalisation- growing interconnectedness of societies

Occurring for several reasons:1.Technological changes e.g. Internet/ air

travel

2.Economic changes e.g. Growth of transnational companies (TNC’s)

3.Political changes e.g. Fall of communism & growth of transnational bodies have created opportunities for global capitalism

4.Changes in culture and identity

Page 8: Modernism & Post Modernity

Rapid changes linked to globalisation have led to new questions:

• What kind of society do we now live in- modern/ new postmodern society?

• What kind of theory can explain today’s society?- postmodernism/new version of modernism?

• The Enlightenment project- can we achieve true knowledge to improve society?

Three theories offer answers: PM, theories of Late modernity, Marxist theories of PM

Page 9: Modernism & Post Modernity

What is PM?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqsP0vQJJ44&feature=related

Page 10: Modernism & Post Modernity

Postmodernism

• We now live in a new era• There are no objective criteria to prove

whether a theory is true therefore any theory claiming to have the truth about how to create a better society e.g. Marxism is a meta narrative- someone’s version of reality. They are no longer sufficient to make sense of our changing world

• We should celebrate the diversity of views rather than seek to impose one version of the truth

Page 11: Modernism & Post Modernity

• They do not accept the ideas of the Enlightenment project- do not believe in the power of Science to solve all social and environmental problems.

• Media produces an endless stream of images, making culture unstable and fragmented; there is no longer a coherent set of shared values. People cease to believe any one version of the truth

• Identity becomes destabilised: we can change it simply by changing our consumption patterns, picking and mixing media-produced images to define ourselves

Page 12: Modernism & Post Modernity

What criticisms of PM are there?

Page 255

Page 13: Modernism & Post Modernity

Theories of Late Modernity

• Unlike Postmodernism, theories of late modernity (TLM) argue that today’s rapid changes are not the dawn of a new postmodern era, but a continuation of modern society.

• We are now in late or high modernity. Key features of modernity have now become intensified; e.g. change has always been typical of modern society, but now it has gone into overdrive.

• TLM subscribe to the Enlightenment project.

Page 14: Modernism & Post Modernity

Giddens reflexivity and high modernity

• High modernity has two key features that encourage globalisation and rapid change:

• Disembedding – no longer need face to face contact in order to interact. Disembedding breaks down geographical barriers and make interaction more impersonal.

• Reflexivity: Tradition and custom no longer serve as a guide to how we should act.

• We are thus forced to become reflexive – to reflect on and modify our actions in the light of information about risks.

• This means we are continually re-evaluating our ideas. Under these conditions, cultures becomes increasingly unstable.

Page 15: Modernism & Post Modernity

• Disembedding and Reflexivity account for rapid and widespread nature of social change in high modernity

• By enabling social interaction to spread rapidly across the globe, they help to drive the process of globalisation

Page 16: Modernism & Post Modernity

Beck: risk society

• We now face new high consequence risks, e.g. environmental harm. Beck calls these ‘manufactured risks’ as they result from technology, not nature.

• Like Giddens Beck sees late modernity as a period of growing individualisation, in which we become increasingly reflexive. Tradition no longer governs how we act. As a result we have to think for ourselves and reflect on the possible consequences of our choice of action

Page 17: Modernism & Post Modernity

Evaluate TLM pg 257

Page 18: Modernism & Post Modernity

Marxist Theories of Post modernity

• Like Beck & Giddens (& unlike PM’s) they believe in the Enlightenment project for achieving objective knowledge and using it to improve society

• However they agree with PM’s that we have moved from modernity to postmodernity

• But do not see it as a new society but merely the most recent stage of capitalism

• To understand modernity we must examine its relationship with capitalism

Page 19: Modernism & Post Modernity

Flexible accumulation

• Postmodernity arose out of the capitalist crisis of the 1970’s (end of the economic boom) which gave rise to a new way of achieving profitability (Flexible accumulation)

• It involves the use of ICT, an expanded service and finance sector, job insecurity and working ‘flexibility’ to fit employers needs.

• It involves production of customised products for ‘niche’ markets (rather than mass markets) and brings many of the features of postmodernity

Page 20: Modernism & Post Modernity

The features include:

• Customised products promote cultural diversity

• Easy switching of production from one product to another

• Leisure, culture and identity become commodities produced for profit

• Global finance markets and ICT produce compression of time and space

• It brings about political changes, especially the weakening of the WC movement. In its place, a variety of oppositional movements emerge e.g. feminism, environmentalism

Page 21: Modernism & Post Modernity

Summary

• We have moved from modernity to postmodernity however Marxist views differ in two ways:

1.They retain a faith in Marxist theory as a means of explaining these changes

2.They argue that the goal of Enlightenment project- to change society for better- can still be achieved