when did modern society emerge
western europe 1900s
what is the focal point of modern society
nation state
what four changes are creating a ‘global village’
changes:
technological
cultural
economic
political
5 characteristics of modern society
- nation state
- capitalism
- mass production
-scientific thinking - technology
examples of economic and tech changes causing globalisation
economic - global networks enocurage economic activity - eg growth in transnational companies
tech - internet and air travel collapse time and space barriers
examples of political and cultural changes causing globalisation
political - fall of communism and rise in transnational bodies created global capitalism
cultural - westernised global culture is making it harder for any culture to exist in isolation so it undermines traditional sources of identity
- usa is very culturally homogenous
- maccies in every country etc
postmodernists on knowledge and views on a society
should celebrate diversity of views rather than seek to impose one version of truth (marxism)
- reject a theory claiming to know how to create better society - its a meta narrative because no objective way to prove it is true
what is the enlightenment project
media creates hyper reality in post modern world that makes which makes medias signs appear more real than reality
- so unable to distinguish what is real - losing grasp of reality - lose power to improve societyy - undermines englightenment project
an example of people responding to media rather than reality
princess diana’s death
- diana existed for most people through mass media so her death was portrayed as a soap opera
- meant people were not grieving a real person but this ‘hyperreality’
there is no longer reality and media there is
a hyperreality - confusion of signs and symbols and what is real
why do some say we are in late modernity
feautures of modernity have been intensified - rapid change and globalisation
giddens two key features of late modernity
- disembedding
- reflexivity
what does giddens mean by ‘disembedding’
refers to our ability to interact with another without face to face contact
- eg. skype , facebook - breaks down geographical barriers
what does giddens mean by ‘reflective’
- our behaviour is no longer defined by traditional values (less chivalry for example) which means we have to be reflective
- constantly have to re evaluate our ideas and actions (in light of risks) now since nothing is permanent
- much more indecision because our culture is unstable
what does Foucault say (postmodern society)
- no foundation for society
- reject meta narratives that impose monopoly of truth
- should focus on individual /multiple truths
there is no centralised govt in a post modern society - what is it controlled by
consumers/ people
Baulliard and ‘Simulacra’
Baulliard called society being so saturated with imagery ‘Simulacra’
- globalisation contributed to free flowing info
- boundaries blurred due to hyper reality state
impact:harder to recognise reality
impact of society reaching a post fordism state (post modernists)
globalisations changed capitalist productions so its no longer mass production but small niche market
- more commodofied version of capitalism
