Faculty of Law

B.A.LL.B (HONS) REGULAR

ENGLISH LITERATURE
AMIT RAWLANI
MISS APARAJITA

MODERNITY TO POST-MODERNITY
In order to understand what post-modernity is, one has to understand
what modern society was. ‘Modern Society’ refers to European society
between (1650-1950) and post-modern society refers to European and
many other ‘advanced’ ‘post-industrial’ societies from around 1950
onwards.

Post-Modernists argue that post-modern society is different to modern

society, so much so that it requires new methods of study and new
theoretical frameworks. What is different, according to Post-Modernists,
is that those stable institutions which used to bind us together have much
less influence now, and with the rise of globalisation and New Media
technologies, individuals are much more free to construct their culture
and identity that they once were. Sociologists disagree as to exactly when
post-modernism started. For some, the roots of it lie in early modernity,
for others, post-modernism does not properly begin until the 1970s, still
others argue that we don’t even live in a post-modern society at all.

Now it’s important for you to get your head around what post-modern
society is, because theorists of post-modernity argue that the traditional
structuralist theories of Marxism and feminism are no longer relevant and
suggest new ways of ‘doing sociology’.

In order to understand what post-modern society is, one has to understand

what modern society was.

WHAT IS MODERNITY?

Modernity is the term used by sociologists to describe the “modern”

period which began in Europe several hundred years ago. Some of the
key features of modern societies are:

1. Economic production is industrial and capitalist, with social

class as the main form of social division = Social classes are
based on people’s social and economic position. Marx’s view for
instance, was that industrial society people were divided into two
main classes, those who owned businesses and those who sold their
labour to them.
2. The growth of cities, or urbanization = During the 18th, 19th,
and 20th centuries thousands of people moved to cities to find
work and make their homes.
3. A powerful central government and administration, known as
a bureaucratic state = Local and central government have played
an ever increasing part in our lives, the development of compulsory
education, public housing and the welfare state for example.
4. People’s knowledge is derived from scientific and rational
thinking rather than religious faith, magic or
superstition. During this period people have looked to science and
logical thinking to explain the world. Natural disasters such as
earthquakes have tended to be explained scientifically rather than
as an “act of god”.
 5. A widely held faith in scientifically based progress. We believe
that the more we trust in science and technological progress, the
better our society will be.

Most of the “great” sociologists have attempted to find ways of

understanding “modernity” and the “great transformation” which created
it. Writers such as Marx and Durkheim attempted to create theories and
concepts which could help explain the workings of societies and answer
basic questions such as “what holds societies together” and “what makes
societies change”

WHAT IS POST-MODERNITY?

Post-Modernity refers to the view that the institutions and ways of living
characteristic of Modernity have been replaced to such a profound extent
that our society is fundamentally different to the ‘modern’ society. In
contrast post-modernism is a term that refers to new ways of thinking
about thought. Post-modernists believe that knowledge itself needs to be
understood in a different way to modernists sociologists such as
Functionalists and Marxists. It follows that not all theorists of post-
modernity are post-modernists.

Five Key features of the post-modern society

Globalisation

A simple definition of Globalisation is the increasing connectedness

between societies across the globe. Globalisation means there are more
flows of information and ideas, money, and people moving across
national boundaries.
The increasing importance of the mass media

The post-modern era has witnessed a huge expansion in media

technology. The rise of digital media, especially the internet, has lead to a
massive and unprecedented increase in the number of people using the
media; a huge increase in the diversity of media products both factual and
fictional; an increase in the number of people creating their own music,
videos, profile sites and uploading them for public consumption, greater
interactivity, more flexibility. All of this results in much more complex
patterns of media usage, more picking and mixing.

One consequence of this is that our society has an increased reliance on

the media to tell us what is going on in the world. Some sociologists
argue that the media creates something called ‘hyper reality’ where what
we see in the media is different yet more real than reality. Baudrillard
argues that the media coverage of war for example is different to reality,
yet is the only reality most of us know.

New networks also emerge through the use of media, most obviously
through profile sites such as Facebook. One consequence of this is the
breakdown of local communities, as people increasingly network online
in the privacy of their own homes, and don’t communicate with their next
door neighbours.

A world in fragments

In post-modern society, the pace of change is much more rapid than in

modern society. Post-modern society is thus more dynamic, more fluid if
you like. The post-modern society does not sit still, as a result, it lacks
any coherent, stable social structure. This can be seen in these areas.
Work: Gone are the days of a ‘Job for Life’, today is the era of
the ‘portfolio worker’ who is much more likely to move jobs and change
career several times throughout his or her working life. Working life is
also characterised by much more uncertainty as businesses are quick to
move to other regions or countries if they can find cheaper labour abroad.
One very good illustrative example of this is Dyson, which recently
closed down a factory in South Wales to seek cheaper labour in China.
From the perspective of the South Wales workers, Dyson came and went
in a very short time frame. Also, companies are now increasingly likely to
employ workers through recruitment agencies which can fire at short
notice, and much work is temporary, part time and characterised by
flexible working hours. There are of course good sides and bad sides to
all of this, but the upshot is that working life is much less stable than it
used to be.

Fashion and Music: Two of the most visible examples of the fast pace of
change lies in the fashion and music industries, which are constantly
evolving with new styles and musical forms constantly emerging, and
with many artists having to continually reinvent themselves to stay in the
spotlight. At the extreme end of this, the pop-idol genre of shows
demonstrates how individuals are made stars for a month and then
forgotten.

The breakdown of local communities: The increased flexibility of

labour associated with the world of work means people move more often
in their lifetimes, meaning that people are much less able to put down
sable roots in their local communities. This has lead to a decline in ‘social
capital’. Do something different instead of wasting time surfing for
information on…
The Consumer society

According to post-modernists one Fundamental difference between the

post-modern society and modern society is that our society is consumer
oriented, rather than work oriented. This means that consuming things,
and leisure activities are more important today than work. The image of
the post-modern society is thus one of a shopping mall, rather than a
factory.

Post modernists argue that we live in a ‘Pick and mix’ society.

Individuals today are free to pick their lifestyle and life course, from a
wider range of options than ever before, just as if they were picking and
choosing products in a super market.Importantly, post modernists argue
that individuals are much less shaped by their class, gender and ethnic
backgrounds today. Women are not expected to become housewives and
mothers, just because they are women and work is much less gendered
than it used to be. Society is no longer divided along class lines, or gender
lines, or even ethnic lines. Being born working class, being born a
woman, or being born black, does not, according to post-modernists, pre-
determine one’s future, or shape one’s consciousness (identity) as it did in
modernity (and the extent to which it did was often exaggerated by the
classical sociologists).

Cultural diversity and hybridity

The ever increasing pace of globalisation has lead to an increase in

cultural diversity and ‘hybridity’, which refers to the mixing of different
cultural traditions. If we compare society today to that of 100 or even 50
years ago we see a bewildering increase in the diversity of social and
cultural forms. Some of the more obvious examples include:
 Goods and services: A simple trip to the supermarket or shopping mall
reveals a huge range of products one can buy, and the same is true of
services.

 Fashion and Music: Once again, one can spend several hours in a week
simply choosing what to buy or wear, or sorting MP3s on one’s MP3
player (once you’ve chosen one of those course!)

 Pretty much every other sphere of life is more diverse than it was 50
years ago: Education, work, family life….

WITH REGARDS

AMIT RAWLANI