Social Theory in a Changing World Conceptions of Modernity

by Delanty, Gerard

• ISBN13: 9780745619187
• ISBN10: 0745619185
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-08-25
• Publisher: Polity

Summary

This book provides a critical assessment of contemporary social theory for students in the social sciences. Delanty examines the writings of a number of key contemporary thinkers, including Habermas, Foucault, Bauman, Touraine, Giddens and Beck, and provides a clear account of the strengths and limitations of their work.The central theme of the book concerns the nature of modernity and the ways in which contemporary thinkers have understood it. Delanty argues that modernity involves a tension between autonomy and fragmentation. On the one hand, the cultural project of modernity refers to self-assertion and creativity. On the other hand, modernity as a social project tends to destroy its own cultural foundations, as institutional structures become increasingly diffuse and fragmented.Against this backcloth, Delanty explores the work of a range of contemporary social theorists and assesses their contributions to the understanding of modernity. Habermas's work offers a valuable perspective on social change, but Delanty argues that his theory lacks a satisfactory account of the creativity of action. He traces a shift from the post-structuralist theories of Foucault and Lyotard to the concern with social action which is present in different ways in the work of Bauman, Touraine and Melucci. The text concludes by examining the nature of knowledge and reflexivity in the work of Beck and Giddens, and outlines a framework for a new theory of modernity.This book will appeal to second- and third-year undergraduates, graduates and academics in sociology and social theory, politics, cultural studies and other social sciences.

Author Biography

Gerald Delanty is a Reader in Sociology at the University of Liverpool.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Introduction	1	(178)
The Central Conflict of Modernity	5	(4)
Knowledge and Culture	9	(4)
Towards a Cognitive Approach	13	(4)
Defining Modernity: The Quest for Autonomy	17	(25)
Introduction	17	(2)
Modernity's Three Logics of Development	19	(8)
Integration and Differentiation	27	(11)
Conclusion: The Time-Consciousness of Modernity	38	(4)
The Limits of Modernity: From Autonomy to Fragmentation	42	(31)
Introduction	42	(3)
Rethinking Modernity	45	(5)
Autonomy versus Fragmentation: The Loss of Unity	50	(11)
Beyond the Classical Tradition: Contemporary Theories of the Social	61	(9)
Conclusion: Towards a New Time-Consciousness	70	(3)
Discourse and Democracy: Habermas's Theory of Modernity	73	(27)
Introduction	73	(1)
The Problem of Democracy	74	(5)
The Formation of Habermas's Social Theory	79	(8)
Rescuing Discourse: The Mediation of Democracy and Law	87	(6)
Discursive Democracy in the Global Public Sphere	93	(2)
The Question of Culture and Identity	95	(3)
Conclusion: Culture and Discourse	98	(2)
Creativity and the Rise of Social Postmodernism: Foucault, Lyotard and Bauman	100	(22)
Introduction	100	(2)
From Deconstructionism to Constructivism	102	(13)
Bauman: Ethics and Postmodernity	115	(5)
Conclusion: Beyond Postmodernism	120	(2)
The Return of Agency: Touraine and Melucci	122	(26)
Introduction	122	(1)
Touraine: From Historicity to the End of the Social	123	(17)
Melucci: Culture, Identity and Change	140	(6)
Conclusion: Reflexivity and Democracy	146	(2)
Reflexive Modernization: Beck and Giddens	148	(31)
Introduction	148	(1)
Beck and the Risk Society	149	(11)
Giddens: Modernity, Reflexivity and Trust	160	(10)
Assessing Reflexive Modernization: The Question of Culture	170	(7)
Conclusion: Reflexivity and Discourse	177	(2)
Conclusion: Knowledge, Democracy and Discursive Institutionalization	179	(9)
Notes	188	(6)
Bibliography	194	(15)
Index	209