5. Modernity, Globalisation, Postmodernity and Late Modernity

Question 1

Modernity

Answer 1

The era in which modern ways of thinking were/are dominant.
Modern ways of thinking originated during the 18th century in the Enlightenment Project, where science became the basis of knowledge rather than religion/tradition

Question 2

What key process portrayed the effectiveness of the enlightenment project? (modernity)

Answer 2

Industrialisation demonstrated the productive power that could be unleashed when science was applied to manufacturing

Question 3

Most influential sociological analyst of modernity

Answer 3

Weber

Question 4

What did Weber believe modernity involved?

Answer 4

Weber believed that modernity involved:
- A move towards scientific rationality
- Secularisation
- Bureaucratisation (large hierarchal organisations increasingly used to organise society)

Question 5

Late modernity

Answer 5

Society has changed and developed new aspects since establishment of modernity
Aims to adapt more traditional theories of sociology to suit current society

Question 6

Who developed the sociology of risk?

Answer 6

Beck

Question 7

3 elements of Beck’s sociology of risk

Answer 7

Risk society
Reflexive modernisation
Individualism

Question 8

Beck’s risk society

Answer 8

Modernity introduced a range of ‘risks’ that no other period had ever faced
Throughout history, societies have been faced by ‘hazards’ (like famine and plague) that were seen as being beyond human control, and ‘risks’ (E.g. war and invasion) that were seen as controllable
The ‘risks’ in late modern society (E.g. global warming) are seen as spiralling away from human control

Question 9

Impact of globalisation on risk according to Beck

Answer 9

Globalisation means that the ‘risks’ are no longer confined to one country

Question 10

Risk society and class according to Beck

Answer 10

Class differences are no longer important in shaping people’s chances in life

Question 11

Reflexivity (Beck) in modern society

Answer 11

Reflexivity - Ability of people to reflect upon their lives and to consider different ways to act/live
Late modernity involves people becoming more reflexive

Question 12

Impact of people becoming more reflexive (Beck)

Answer 12

People now question the political and technological assumptions of modernity
People become more aware of the risk and seek ways of minimising it in all aspects of their lives

Question 13

People are becoming more aware of the risk and seek ways of minimising it. What’s the outcome of this? (Beck)

Answer 13

Risk and risk avoidance are now controlling the culture of society (E.g. more control over children such as not letting them walk to school in primary)

Question 14

Individualism (Beck)

Answer 14

People now make individual choices regarding identity and lifestyle
Move towards individualism linked to move away from tradition

Question 15

Criticisms of Beck’s society of risk (3)

Answer 15

Turner disagrees with risk, saying there has always been risk p[resent in society and an awareness of the need to prevent it
People do believe its possible to control the risks indicated by political movements aimed at preventing risks
Elliot suggests that rich are able to limit risk

Question 16

What’s is crucial to understanding society according to postmodernism?

Answer 16

Having a deep awareness of the role of the media in creating an image of society we seek to live out

Question 17

2 elements of postmodernism

Answer 17

Globalisation
Hybridity

Question 18

Hybridity

Answer 18

The mixing of different cultures to create something new

Question 19

Factors of globalisation

Answer 19

Involves decline in significance of time and space
Involves speed up of communications
People can communicate with one another very easily with digital media
Sense of being grounded in a particular place and time is lost due to the digital media

Question 20

Impact of globalisation on identity

Answer 20

Difficult for individuals to develop and sustain a single sense of identity
People can change their identity easily

Question 21

Key postmodernist of this topic

Answer 21

Baudrillard

Question 22

What does Baudrillard emphasise regarding the shift to postmodernity?

Answer 22

Places emphasis on the role of the mass media in the shift to postmodernity

Question 23

3 elements of Baudrillard’s postmodernism

Answer 23

The media and death of the social
Sign-objects and the consumer society
Hyperreality and simulacra

Question 24

Baudrillard’s the media and death of the social: what is there a lack of interest in in contemporary society?

Answer 24

A lack of interest in social solidarity and politics

Question 25

Baudrillard’s the media and death of the social: key feature of today’s society

Answer 25

Consumption of superficial culture

Question 26

Baudrillard’s the media and death of the social: the death of the social

Answer 26

People experience the world through the consumption of the media, living isolated lives

Question 27

Baudrillard’s the media and death of the social: behaviour and influence

Answer 27

Uncertainty over what’s real and fake in society as instead of the media reflecting how people behave, people reflect the media images of how to behave

Question 28

Baudrillard’s sign-objects and consumer society: relationship changes due to increase in wealth in western societies

Answer 28

People are moved even further away from social relationships and even closer to relationships with their consumer lives

Question 29

Baudrillard’s sign-objects and consumer society: what makes people buy items?

Answer 29

We don’t only buy items because their functionality is useful, but because they signify success

Question 30

Baudrillard’s sign-objects and consumer society: “sign-objects”

Answer 30

Consumer goods and leisure activities are sign-objects as we consume the image they provide instead of what they actually are

Question 31

Baudrillard’s hyperreality and simulacra: simulacra

Answer 31

A sign (E.g. a title) that represents something that doesn’t exist (E.g. Disneyland)

Question 32

Baudrillard’s hyperreality and simulacra: how do we now live in a world of hyperreality?

Answer 32

We live in a world of hyperreality (a world of image) because most of our lives are based upon things that have no reality. Power is an illusion

Question 33

Evaluation of Baudrillard: research

Answer 33

Baudrillard uses little research to back up his claims

Question 34

Evaluation of Baudrillard: Philo and Miller

Answer 34

Argue that the emphasis on the media is dangerous because it can lead to denial of very real issues
Suggest that audiences are capable of thinking about reality behind TV images