Modernity and Postmodernity

Question 1

modernity began roughly around the 1700s

Answer 1

and postmodernity roughly around the 1980s

Question 2

Features of modernity

Answer 2

• industrialisation and the manufacture of standardised goods for a mass market
• work and social class are the main forms of social division and identity, with culture and politics both social class-related
• life is orderly and predictable and people have a stable and clear idea of their position in society
• societies are based on independent nation-states, national economies and national identities
• one-way mass media more or less reflects social reality
• an optimistic view that the application of rational thought, science and technology could provide a means of controlling and improving the world
• a view that sociological theory and research could provide insight into and explanations of the social world, and could be used to improve it

Question 3

The move from modernity to postmodernity

Answer 3

• emerged around the 1980s
• postmodernists argued that society was changing so much that modernist theories (eg functionalism, marxism, etc) could no longer explain society
• factors like new media, technology etc mean that traditional sources of identity like class, gender and ethnicity are no longer relevant
• social change means lives are now insecure and unpredictable
• people no longer associate with political parties which are rooted in class, economy and community, preferring single issues reflecting culture, identity, lifestyle and quality of life (eg LGBTQ rights, human rights etc)

Question 4

Difference between modernity and postmodernity - technology

Answer 4

• modernism - industrialisation and technology used to manufacture standardised goods for a mass market, usually produced by manual workers in full-time jobs
• postmodernism - rapid and continuous introduction of new goods and services, with wide consumer choice, and manual work replaced by service economy (like finance, telecommunications etc) with more job changes, job-sharing, more flexible/part-time work

Question 5

Difference between modernity and postmodernity - identity

Answer 5

• modernity - Bradley (1996) saw identity as predictable, unchanging and stable, formed by social structures like family, work, class, gender or ethnicity
• postmodernity - Bradley suggests identities are more fluid and fragmented and now based on choice - pick n’ mix identities. Bauman (1996) suggested lives now gain meaning through consumption choices

Question 6

Difference between modernity and postmodernity - culture

Answer 6

• modernism - culture reflects the class structure, with clear distinctions between high and low culture
• postmodernism - culture is more diverse and fragmented, with distinctions between class and high/low culture dissolving

Question 7

Difference between modernity and postmodernity - politics

Answer 7

• modernism - politics centre around social class interests focused on political parties and government (macro politics)
• postmodernism - politics are more personalised and diverse, with party politics replaced by identity politics and new social movements (micro politics)

Question 8

Difference between modernity and postmodernity - national identity

Answer 8

• modernism - nation-states, national economies and national identities predominate
• postmodernism - nation-states and national identities are displaced by globalisation, with supernational bodies (EU, UN etc) and transnational corporations (Google, Apple, McDonald’s) eclipsing national identities - global media in a media-saturated society turn the world into a global supermarket

Question 9

Difference between modernity and postmodernity - media

Answer 9

• modernism - mass media concerned with one-way communication, reflecting reality through media like terrestrial TV, newspapers and magazines
• postmodernism - society dominated by global interactive digital media, with Strinati (1995) suggesting media becomes a source of identity with the media dominating our sense of reality (Baudrillard - media-saturated society)

Question 10

Difference between modernity and postmodernity - truth

Answer 10

• modernism - rational thought and scientific theories replace tradition, religion etc and are seen as superior forms of knowledge for discovering truth and understanding the world, therefore improving it
• postmodernism - Lyotard (1984) - objective truth is undiscoverable and metanarratives are myths, with rational thought being replaced by risk, doubt, uncertainty and anxiety

Question 11

Difference between modernity and postmodernity - science

Answer 11

• modernism - science is a force for good and provides a means to understand and solve the world’s problems
• postmodernism - science and technology cause problems rather than solving them (climate change, nuclear weapons etc) with science no longer a source of truth but a failed metanarrative

Question 12

Difference between modernity and postmodernity - society

Answer 12

• modernism - sociology developed to try to understand society in a scientific way, with the development of positivist structural theories (functionalism, marxism) reflected modernist concern with using the same scientific methods
• postmodernism - society is in a permanent state of flux, changing constantly with social structures breaking down so metanarratives are now unable to explain society

Question 13

Postmodernity - chaos, uncertainty and the collapse of social structure

Answer 13

• Bauman - society is now unpredictable and in a state of ‘liquid modernity’ (constant change with social structures breaking down)
• eg the structure of family no longer exists as people live in a wide range of ever-changing personal relationships

Question 14

Postmodernism - globalisation

Answer 14

• nation-state and national differences are becoming less significant
• people’s lives are no longer embedded in local contexts but are now unlimited by place and time
• Giddens (1990), from a late modernist perspective calls this disembedding
• national cultures are diluted due to globalisation and replaced with global cultures - same goods, music, fashion etc found in most countries
• people form identities from global culture
• modernist sociology needs to be rejected or reformulated to take into account globalisation

Question 15

Disembedding definition

Answer 15

refers to the way social relations are lifted out of local contexts, and are no longer confined by space or time

Question 16

Postmodernity - metanarratives and the ‘myth of truth’

Answer 16

• Lyotard (1984) described postmodernism as “an incredulity towards metanarratives” and argued that people no longer believe in the “myth of truth”
• metanarratives no longer apply as society is fragmented and constantly changing
• loss of faith in the superiority of rational thought and science (science now causes problems eg pollution)

Question 17

Postmodernism - choice, identity and consumption

Answer 17

• Lyotard - societies are characterised by growing individualism with few social bonds
• Baudrillard called this ‘the end of the social’
• people form their own identities from consumer culture where people can pick n’ mix their identities and lifestyles

Question 18

Simulacra definition (Baudrillard)

Answer 18

images or reproductions and copies which appear to reflect things in the real world but have no basis in reality

Question 19

Hyperreality (Baudrillard) definition

Answer 19

a view of the world which is created and defined by the media, with the image of an event more real than the event it is meant to be depicting

Question 20

Postmodernism - A media-saturated society

Answer 20

• Baudrillard (2001) sees life as ‘media-saturated’
• mass media dominates and distorts the way we see the world
• media presents simulacra (eg edited footage of wars to remove the blood so the war doesn’t feel real)
• Baudrillard says this distorted view of the world is defined by the media hyperreality
• Giddens (2006) - “much of our world has become a sort of make-believe universe in which we are responding to media images rather than real people or places”
• eg campaign to free Coronation street character even involved the prime minister in 1998

Question 21

Postmodernism - pick ‘n’ mix identities

Answer 21

• Baudrillard - life involves the search for satisfaction of media created desires with identity formed by information, images and signs (like designer labels)
• globalised media presents a massive choice of lifestyles, images and identities
• Bradley (1996) - new identities are created by globalisation bringing together culture

Question 22

Postmodernism - you are what you buy

Answer 22

• Bauman (1996) - life in postmodern society resembles a shopping mall where people choose the aspects of their identity
• people buy goods for their usefulness but also as identity symbols
• people can be whoever they want to be

Question 23

Strengths of postmodernism

Answer 23

• highlighted important cultural changes, particularly in media, culture and identity
• emphasises the construction of identity has become a more fluid and complex process with people having more choices and identity no longer a response to social structural factors
• provides insight into the most contemporary social changes such as growing risk and uncertainty and growing power of the media
• in challenging metanarratives it has encouraged sociologists to reflect on their assumptions

Question 24

Critical view of postmodernism - Giddens: late modernity and reflexivity

Answer 24

• Giddens (1991) accepts the changes that postmodernists suggest have happened, however he says that they’re a continuation of modern society in an intensified form and have not brought us into an era of postmodernity
• instead he suggests that we live in the era of late modernism
• late modernism is characterised by social reflexivity - the knowledge we gain from society affects how we act in it
• as society is unstable and ever changing, reflexivity grows in importance
• in late modernity, individuals focus on personal freedom and fulfilment in their ‘life projects’

Question 25

Critical view of postmodernism: Beck - ‘risk society’ and reflexive modernity

Answer 25

• also late modernist
• calls the new stage of modernity ‘reflexive modernity’ in which their are high levels of risk in ‘risk society’
• different kinds of risks - risks from social institutions like family (rising divorce rates, domestic abuse) or risks from technology and science (pollution, nuclear issues, superbugs etc)
• in late modernity risks have bigger chances of getting out of control - eg climate change
• Beck shares the idea of reflexivity and suggests that it carries within it the modernist hope of improving society

Question 26

Critical view of postmodernism: Harvey and marxism

Answer 26

• Harvey (1990) from a marxist perspective suggests that many of the changes given as evidence of postmodernism can be explained by modernist theories like marxism (eg globalisation and consumerism reflect capitalism)

Question 27

Other criticisms of postmodernism

Answer 27

• it only criticises other theories rather than suggesting ways to progress
• ignores lots of social problems
• overemphasises the influence of the media (presumes people are passive consumers)
• exaggerates the extent of social change
• cultural tastes are still strongly influenced by class, gender and ethnicity, and national cultures are still strong
• too voluntaristic - suggests everyone has the same freedom to pick and choose identities
• postmodernism itself is a metanarrative so it has essentially dismissed itself from being valid