Download Modernity and its Discontents - Introduction to Sociology - Lecture Notes and more Study notes Introduction to Sociology in PDF only on Docsity! Introductory Sociology 1 Lecture 11 Modernity and its Discontents 1. Last week focussed on the topic of how social context and cultural norms organise and make predictable our biologically based emotions. Particularly through reference to the Civilising Process it was argued that within modern Western societies this has seen an increasing regulation and control of the emotions. This implies that a social and cultural order has been imposed on an unruly human nature. 2. Therefore it is appropriate to ask what are the distinctive features of this modern social order and how does it affect our everyday lives. In particular, despite the emphasis on ‘order’, I wish to explore the idea that modernity is fragile and that that this fragility is expressed in the normal ‘discontents’ that we may experience. This lecture develops themes first raised in lecture 6 3. The distinctive trends of modern social order: Occupational complexity. The drive to the efficient use of human resources has led to an extensive division of labour and specialisation of the roles we play. A consequence of this is that we typically lead fragmented lives. Marx believed that this creates the condition of alienation, that is we experience an enforced separation from the purpose of the work that we do and from those around us who are engaged in different and apparently unrelated activities. 4. High Rates of Mobility The social standing (‘status’) of members of modern societies is likely to change through e.g. education (social mobility). Also members of modern societies are not settled, they move around from one place to another (geographical mobility). This enables them to change their identity. As a consequence members of modern societies have exceptional personal freedom, compared to members of premodern societies. However, according to Durkheim, they are also more likely to experience anomie, that is confusion over how we should behave in unfamiliar situations, an inability to understand the behaviour of others, a feeling of social dislocation (they are in the wrong place). This can be destructive for both individuals and societies. 5. Urbanisation This may seem strange because in strictly physical terms members of modern societies live in closer proximity to more people than has ever been the case. That is, in modern societies people typically live in large population centres, rather than, as used to be the case, in relatively small and isolated villages and small towns. However, interaction in modern societies is typically short and superficial; we live in the company of strangers. This is often presented to us as a source of danger, encouraging social isolation, avoidance and what Goffman called civil inattention. 6. Impersonality The previously noted processes mean that members of modern societies typically know little of those with whom they interact, making them vulnerable to deception. We typically interact with others (and they with us) as an instance of a general type of person e.g. customer, docsity.com
