Late Modernity And Social Change

Sometimes social theory can seem dry and intimidating – as if it is something completely apart from everyday life. But in this incisive new text, Brian Heaphy show exactly how the arguments of the great contemporary theorists play out against extended examples from real life. Introducing the ideas of founding social thinkers including Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Simmel and Freud, and the work of key contemporary theorists, among them Lacan, Foucault, Lyotrad, Baudrillard, Bauman, Giddens and Beck, the book begins by examining the merits of the 'late modernity' thesis against those of the proponents of 'post-modernity'. The authors show the wide swoop of influence of 'post-modern' thought and how it has changed the way even its opponents think. It also discusses feminist, queer and post-colonial ideas about studying modern and post-modern experience. With examples from personal life (including self and identity, relational and intimate life, death, dying and life-politics) to bring theory to life, this clear and concise new text on contemporary social theory and social change is ideal for students of sociology, cultural studies and social theory.

Recent social changes have had an enormous impact on the lives of young people. The authors ask whether traditional parameters are still relevant, and examine the extent to which 'risk' and 'individualisation' convey an accurate picture of young lives.

Sometimes social theory can seem dry and intimidating – as if it is something completely apart from everyday life. But in this incisive new text, Brian Heaphy show exactly how the arguments of the great contemporary theorists play out against extended examples from real life. Introducing the ideas of founding social thinkers including Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Simmel and Freud, and the work of key contemporary theorists, among them Lacan, Foucault, Lyotrad, Baudrillard, Bauman, Giddens and Beck, the book begins by examining the merits of the 'late modernity' thesis against those of the proponents of 'post-modernity'. The authors show the wide swoop of influence of 'post-modern' thought and how it has changed the way even its opponents think. It also discusses feminist, queer and post-colonial ideas about studying modern and post-modern experience. With examples from personal life (including self and identity, relational and intimate life, death, dying and life-politics) to bring theory to life, this clear and concise new text on contemporary social theory and social change is ideal for students of sociology, cultural studies and social theory.

Recent social changes have had an enormous impact on the lives of young people. The authors ask whether traditional parameters are still relevant, and examine the extent to which 'risk' and 'individualisation' convey an accurate picture of young lives.

Om den enkeltes rolle i dagens højtekniske, bureaukratiske samfund

We live in a time of great uncertainty about the future. Those heady days of the late twentieth century, when the end of the Cold War seemed to be ushering in a new and more optimistic age, now seem like a distant memory. During the last couple of decades, we’ve been battered by one crisis after another and the idea that humanity is on a progressive path to a better future seems like an illusion. It is only now that we can see clearly the real scope and structure of the profound shifts that Western societies have undergone over the last 30 years. Classical industrial society has been transformed into a late-modern society that is molded by polarization and paradoxes. The pervasive singularization of the social, the orientation toward the unique and exceptional, generates systematic asymmetries and disparities, and hence progress and unease go hand in hand. Reckwitz examines this dual structure of singularization and polarization as it plays itself out in the different sectors of our societies and, in so doing, he outlines the central structural features of the present: the new class society, the characteristics of a postindustrial economy, the conflict about culture and identity, the exhaustion of the self resulting from the imperative to seek authentic fulfillment, and the political crisis of liberalism. Building on his path-breaking work The Society of Singularities, this new book will be of great interest to students and scholars in sociology, politics, and the social sciences generally, and to anyone concerned with the great social and political issues of our time.

"Understanding Youth in Late Modernity is a highly readable book which lends itself bothas a solid introduction and a reference point to the historical developments and theoreticaldebates taking place within the discipline of youth studies. This book provides a highly accessible text for anybody interested in the subject of youth and its changing role in late modernity. I thoroughly recommend it." Journal of Contemporary European Studies This illuminating new book embeds our understanding of the youth question within a historical context. It shows how the ideas of past political action, in conjunction with the diverse paradigms of social science disciplines, have shaped modern conceptions of the youth question. This relationship between the political and the academic is then explored through a detailed examination of contemporary debates about youth, in areas such as; transitions, education, crime policy and criminology, consumption and youth culture. From this analysis the book is able to show how the youth question in late modernity is being shaped. This important text includes: A historical overview of the making of modern youth, identifying major changes that took place over three centuries Examples of how political and academic responses construct youth as a social problem An evaluation of the impact of social change in late modernity on our understanding of the youth question and the everyday lives of the young. The book concludes by suggesting that in contemporary understandings of the youth question significant differences exist between the political and the academic. Major challenges exist if this gap is to be addressed and a new public social science needs to emerge that reconstitutes debates about youth within a form of communicative democracy. Understanding Youth in Late Modernity is key reading for students and academics interested in the historical conception of the youth problem, its evolution throughout modernity and endeavours to find a solution.