The Sociology Of Modernization

"David Harrison writes very well, and presents a good, well-balanced and perceptive appraisal of current perspectives."--"Times Higher Education Supplement" This title available in eBook format. Click here for more information. Visit our eBookstore at: www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk.

"David Harrison writes very well, and presents a good, well-balanced and perceptive appraisal of current perspectives."--"Times Higher Education Supplement" This title available in eBook format. Click here for more information. Visit our eBookstore at: www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk.

This work places in historical and theoretical contexts the work Germani in the area of modernization, especially as it relates to Latin America. Germani views modernization as the touchstone of the twentieth century. His notion of modernization has to do with how a society can harness technology for distinctly political ends and link science to distinctly economic ends.

With particular attention to his work on modernization and modernity as construed by a sociologist of knowledge, this book offers a sympathetic exposition and evaluation of Peter Berger’s work as one of the world’s most accomplished and influential sociologists. In the context of an examination of Berger’s ongoing work on the social construction of reality, styles of consciousness, the role of science-based technology, pluralism, and other pertinent topics, the author also considers Berger’s unique and thoughtful approach to research and theorizing. Berger’s method of ‘sociological tourism’, which departs sharply from the current emphasis in the social sciences on ever more complex and ostensibly rigorous statistical procedures, provides a refreshing move away from the increasingly esoteric and sometimes alienating methodological self-consciousness that characterizes contemporary sociology. With this distinctive approach, this book will appeal to scholars and students of sociology who share Berger’s interest. The importance of modernization and modernity on a world scale is undeniable, and a deeper understanding of their nature and consequences, will also benefit members of the intelligent laity who are not sociological specialists but are open to new ideas that are clearly explained.

After a period of relative confidence about the future of modernizing societies, scholars are now questioning with renewed urgency the directions of the modernization trend. This book, the result of nearly a decade of collaborative efforts by scholars in twelve countries, examines the modernization process with particular attention to how it is affected by cultural–and especially socioeconomic–variables. The authors describe major theoretical approaches to the idea of modernity and point to the sociological issues interlinked with modernization. They also consider specific factors such as nationalism, ethnicity, and traditional institutions and show how they can determine differing modernization trajectories. The concluding section of the book focuses on nation- and culture-specific examples of modernization, presenting case studies that illustrate the range of modernization attempts. The authors also explore the extent to which modernization may in fact be a generalization of the American way of life.

In Modernization and the Structure of Societies, Marion Levy shows the interdependencies of societies as a systematic whole in matters that are relevant for international affairs. He distinguishes different types of societies while simultaneously showing elements common to all societies. In a new epilogue being added to this edition, titled "Modernization Exhumed," the author alleges that criticism of modernization theory has generally been ideological or otherwise nonscientific. He provides a strong defense of his hypothesis. In his new introduction, he concentrates on the concept of interdependency. Modernization and the Structure of Societies is crucial to the understanding of contemporary international problems. It is a necessary addition to the personal libraries of sociologists, political scientists, and scholars of international affairs., Levy writes so as to produce strong reactions, but this does not obscure his real contribution. Because of his ambitious effort to synthesize a tremendous amount of available scholarship, the study is certain to last for a long time as a standard reference in the field of comparative sociology."—Morris Janowitz, American Journal of Sociology, "A giant book raising innumerable problems, often an exasperating book, yet important and likely to be much referred to by writers on comparative politics and administration."—Fred W. Riggs, American Political Science Review.

Modernity is back on sociology's agenda. From the beginnings of sociology as an academic discipline, questions surrounding the meaning and consequences of modernity have fascinated generations of sociologists. The initial interest in the concept was inspired by a sense of a deep rupture (and crisis) afflicting European society, a sense that society was approaching something fundamentally different from the past, an entirely new form of societal organization that bore little resemblance to anything known before. Where exactly this transformation was headed was by no means clear, but around the 18th century a growing number of European intellectuals and scholars realized that the changes that had been in the making since the late 15th century were irreversible and could not be contained in any particular region or confined to particular sectors of society, but would ultimately transform all spheres of life. Like other thinkers, sociologists observed this transformation with awe, and their attitude towards it has always been ambivalent. The 20th century, during which modernity gradually began to break through globally, was also a century during which many sociologists became increasingly disillusioned with the promises of "the modern project". But with the exhaustion of the energies of "postmodernism", the intellectual movement that wanted to bury modernity, the interest in modernity began to resurface again; not least because it became increasingly clear that the world is far from approaching a societal condition pointing systematically beyond modernity. Instead, we are witnessing an intensification of modernization processes around the world. But what is modernity, anyway? The aim of the present volume is to contribute to the ongoing discussion about the meaning of modernity and about the significance of modernization processes in non-Western societies. As befits a subject matter as controversial and complex at this one, the book's chapters offer no conclusive answers to the questions they raise and address. The debate about modernity must and will continue, and one hopes that it will be conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect despite sometimes fierce disagreement between the participants. For only if we listen to each other can we make genuine intellectual progress.

During the past four decades, the field of development has been dominated by three schools of research. The 1950s saw the modernization school, the 1960s experienced the dependency school, the 1970s developed the new world-system school, and the 1980s is a convergence of all three schools. Alvin Y. So examines the dynamic nature of these schools of development--what each of them represents, their contributions, how they have criticized each other, how they have defended themselves, and how they were transformed. He reviews a variety of empirical studies, focusing on the "classical" and the "new" models, to show how each of the perspectives affects the study of development. In addition, this book features a unique emphasis on the research implications of the three perspectives, involving changes in orientation, agenda, methodology, and findings.