Modernity and Self-Identity : Self and Society in the Late Modern Age

by Anthony Giddens (London School of Economics and Political Science)

• ISBN13: 9780745609324
• ISBN10: 0745609325
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1991-09-01
• Publisher: Polity

Summary

This major study develops a new account of modernity and its relation to the self. Building upon the ideas set out in The Consequences of Modernity, Giddens argues that 'high' or 'late' modernity is a post traditional order characterised by a developed institutional reflexivity. In the current period, the globalising tendencies of modern institutions are accompanied by a transformation of day-to-day social life having profound implications for personal activities. The self becomes a 'reflexive project', sustained through a revisable narrative of self identity. The reflexive project of the self, the author seeks to show, is a form of control or mastery which parallels the overall orientation of modern institutions towards 'colonising the future'. Yet it also helps promote tendencies which place that orientation radically in question - and which provide the substance of a new political agenda for late modernity. In this book Giddens concerns himself with themes he has often been accused of unduly neglecting, including especially the psychology of self and self-identity. The volumes are a decisive step in the development of his thinking, and will be essential reading for students and professionals in the areas of social and political theory, sociology, human geography and social psychology.

Author Biography

Anthony Giddens is Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and also Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge.

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Contours of High Modernity

The Self: Ontological Security and Existential Anxiety

The Trajectory of the Self

Fate, Risk and Security

The Sequestration of Experience

Tribulations of the Self

The Emergence of Life Politics

Notes

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.