Postmodernism

 Do you think we are living in a modernist or a postmodernist world (or maybe something else entirely)?

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  1. Modernity and postmodernity are relatively recent terms used primarily in academic subjects such as sociology to describe the time or state of a society. However, these are areas of vast debate in sociology in terms of meaning and placement, modernity can be argued to have begun from the enlightenment period (1600’s) or the beginning of the industrial revolution (1700’s). Postmodernity has an even more uncoordinated time frame with some sociologist placing its starting point post-WW2, others spanning from 1970’s – 1990’s and some sociologist either disregarding the term completely or stating social thought has never left postmodernism. Before discussing which period we live in now, it’s important to understand both terms as best as possible.

    Modernity is the term used by sociologists to describe the ‘modern’ period which itself, as discussed, is debatable in terms of time frame but is generally comprised of several distinct factors. The rise of industrialism and capitalism are two important aspects generally argued by Marxist as being key to modernity (Thompson, 2016). Some Marxists argue that modernism is identifiable by the socio-economic divide caused by industrialism and a capitalist economy i.e., splitting the populous into those with the means of production and those selling their labour. Another aspect of modernity is the rise in scientific thinking over superstition. This is not to say, however, that religion is replaced by science but rather that explanations for events such as natural disasters are thought about in a scientific way. The thought that man has the ability to understand the world around them; postmodernism could be described as a change in though and understanding of the world. Giddens and Sutton (2017) describe postmodernity as the idea that society isn’t controlled by a grand narrative of continuing innovation and progression, but rather that our way of thinking should be more diverse. It questions the extent to which humans can understand the world and re-examines the way academics treat subjects based around biases such as culture or personal opinion.

    Whether we are now living in a modernist or postmodernist world isn’t something I’d be able to agree on either way due to the fact that both terms seem to focus almost entirely on European or Western societies. Industrialism as a part of modernism has yet to reach many parts of the world even in the 21st century, and so, the notion that the world as a whole is living in a modernist society (let alone postmodernist or something else entirely) wouldn’t be an accurate reflection. Countries could be divided in terms of their development into modernist, postmodernist and whatever term we many now be said to be in (post-postmodernism?). But then, in a very postmodernist mindset, who would decide the criteria and who would do the dividing. Such division would also imply that one social state is superior to the others which, of course, would be a different discussion entirely.


    Bibliography
    Giddens, A. and Sutton, P., 2017. Sociology. 8th ed. Polity, pp.781, 1010.
    Tipps, D., 1973. Modernization Theory and the Comparative Study of Societies: A Critical Perspective. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 15(2), pp.199 - 2001.
    Tompson, K., 2016. From Modernity to Post-Modernity. [online] ReviseSociology. Available at: https://revisesociology.com/2016/04/09/from-modernity-to-post-modernity/ [Accessed 10 December 2021].


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