The sociologial discourse on "modernization" and "modernity"
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In: Revue Internationale de Philosophie, Vol. 281, No. 3, 21.08.2017, p. 311-329.
Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The sociologial discourse on "modernization" and "modernity"
AU - Knöbl, Wolfgang
PY - 2017/8/21
Y1 - 2017/8/21
N2 - The paper questions the assumption widely held within the social sciences that “modernity” has always been a topic central to the founders of sociology. It claims that it was not before the late 1960s and early 1970s when this term caused an oftentimes heated debate. It is also remarkable that from the very beginning the discourse on modernity was accompanied by the talk of a crisis of this epoch. Since the late 1990s attempts could be seen to pluralize the term when authors referred to “multiple”, “entangled” or “colonial modernities” in order to overcome the ethnocentric bias of the early discourses on modernity and modernization. But all that could not hide the fact that these terminological shifts did not solve the most important problems of the original concept which raises the question whether “modernity” in general (whether the term is pluralized or not) can and should be regarded as a useful tool for sociological analysis.
AB - The paper questions the assumption widely held within the social sciences that “modernity” has always been a topic central to the founders of sociology. It claims that it was not before the late 1960s and early 1970s when this term caused an oftentimes heated debate. It is also remarkable that from the very beginning the discourse on modernity was accompanied by the talk of a crisis of this epoch. Since the late 1990s attempts could be seen to pluralize the term when authors referred to “multiple”, “entangled” or “colonial modernities” in order to overcome the ethnocentric bias of the early discourses on modernity and modernization. But all that could not hide the fact that these terminological shifts did not solve the most important problems of the original concept which raises the question whether “modernity” in general (whether the term is pluralized or not) can and should be regarded as a useful tool for sociological analysis.
KW - Sociology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85029113326&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Scientific review articles
AN - SCOPUS:85029113326
VL - 281
SP - 311
EP - 329
JO - Revue Internationale de Philosophie
JF - Revue Internationale de Philosophie
SN - 0048-8143
IS - 3
ER -