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" Provides a new and quite engaging perspective on the nature of modernity and its peculiar relationships to traditional social forms. Giddens is outstanding in the way that he is able to absorb the whole tradition of social thought since the time of the classical sociologists and to play various theorists off against one another as a means of defining his own argument. He builds not only upon the whole tradition, but upon his own earlier work." -- "Herbert Lindenberger, Stanford University"
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In this major theoretical statement, the author offers a new and provocative interpretation of the institutional transformations associated with modernity. We do not as yet, he argues, live in a post–modern world. Rather the distinctive characteristics of our major social institutions in the closing period of the twentieth century express the emergence of a period of ′high modernity,′ in which prior trends are radicalised rather than undermined. A post–modern social universe may eventually come into being, but this as yet lies ′on the other side′ of the forms of social and cultural organization which currently dominate world history.
In developing an account of the nature of modernity, Giddens concentrates upon analyzing the intersections between trust and risk, and security and danger, in the modern world. Both the trust mechanisms associated with modernity and the distinctive ′risk profile′ it produces, he argues, are distinctively different from those characteristic of pre–modern social orders.
This book build upon the author′s previous theoretical writings, and will be of fundamental interest to anyone concerned with Gidden′s overall project. However, the work covers issues which the author has not previously analyzed and extends the scope of his work into areas of pressing practical concern. This book will be essential reading for second year undergraduates and above in sociology, politics, philosophy, and cultural studies.
In developing an account of the nature of modernity, Giddens concentrates upon analyzing the intersections between trust and risk, and security and danger, in the modern world. Both the trust mechanisms associated with modernity and the distinctive ′risk profile′ it produces, he argues, are distinctively different from those characteristic of pre–modern social orders.
This book build upon the author′s previous theoretical writings, and will be of fundamental interest to anyone concerned with Gidden′s overall project. However, the work covers issues which the author has not previously analyzed and extends the scope of his work into areas of pressing practical concern. This book will be essential reading for second year undergraduates and above in sociology, politics, philosophy, and cultural studies.
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In what follows I shall develop an institutional analysis of modernity with cultural and epistemological overtones. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
In what follows I shall develop an institutional analysis of modernity with cultural and epistemological overtones. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of the best things about Giddens is his optimism and basic belief that human is actively thinking and doing and all though the systems influence people, people also influence the systems.
Giddens divides modernity into more levels focusing on radicalised modernity which is characterized by 'embedding' that is the fact that our usual conceptualization of life is embedded from the meaning hitherto: Time and place are separated. Until about late 1700 the family would work the land in spring during daytime and sleep at night. Today watches, not nature decide the division of time and the social relations might be a long distance issue (via Facebook or Twitter). Information and knowledge on the other hand travel as fast as ever and so do communication, trade and transport. Which is why we become very dependent on `expert systems' - systems based on expert knowledge that you may want to trust: We do not all know a lot about architecture. We do, however, mostly have confidence that the roof doesn't fall on our heads. And not every one of us has the knowledge and skills of an electrician, but we do expect the traffic lights to be reliable.
One of the points being that modernity is taking over the power of nature and humanity. According to Giddens this radicalised modernity is a kind of juggernaut - untouchable and destructive - quite opposite to the confidence in the human brain and power to act that Giddens normally emphasizes as demonstrated for instance in his book The Politics of Climate Change from 2009.
The modernity explanation is interesting but it would have been nice if more tools for operating in this new globalised world had been suggested - as in the aforementioned book from 2009.
Giddens divides modernity into more levels focusing on radicalised modernity which is characterized by 'embedding' that is the fact that our usual conceptualization of life is embedded from the meaning hitherto: Time and place are separated. Until about late 1700 the family would work the land in spring during daytime and sleep at night. Today watches, not nature decide the division of time and the social relations might be a long distance issue (via Facebook or Twitter). Information and knowledge on the other hand travel as fast as ever and so do communication, trade and transport. Which is why we become very dependent on `expert systems' - systems based on expert knowledge that you may want to trust: We do not all know a lot about architecture. We do, however, mostly have confidence that the roof doesn't fall on our heads. And not every one of us has the knowledge and skills of an electrician, but we do expect the traffic lights to be reliable.
One of the points being that modernity is taking over the power of nature and humanity. According to Giddens this radicalised modernity is a kind of juggernaut - untouchable and destructive - quite opposite to the confidence in the human brain and power to act that Giddens normally emphasizes as demonstrated for instance in his book The Politics of Climate Change from 2009.
The modernity explanation is interesting but it would have been nice if more tools for operating in this new globalised world had been suggested - as in the aforementioned book from 2009.
Format:Paperback
I bought the book for my media course and bought it "used-like new" - I was unaware before hand that this meant with annotations but they were mostly in pencil so rubbed off after a while.
7 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In this book, Giddens takes an institutional based review of modernity, asserting that modernity has never left us.
The book is easy to follow, and he makes some convincing arguments; showing how ideas of such theorists as Durkheim and Marx can be complementary.
Recommonded for all sociology students.
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