Introduction
The advancement of sociological theory and philosophy into modernism and postmodernism has been a truly self-reflexive era of inspection of practices. A key intellectual here is Michel Foucault with his archeological analysis of punitive practices. More contemporary and darker sides of modernity have a similar methodological strife with positivist thought. A major question that modernists and postmodernists face is about legitimacy of discourse and practice. Specifically in academia as Foucault makes clear academia is intertwined with power. To understand legitimate power, we must view it through the lens of its practice. Postmodernists and some modernists moved away from a mystified critique of structures and actors and instead focused its discourses on practices, ideas, and conceptualizations.
The modernist project is defined by its discourse in reason and progress specifically the ideas of rationalism and liberalism. It asks itself if people are truly free and rational. Are people and science the master of its own fate or are they controlled by a power outside of itself yet within everyone? Modernity is characterized by domination of man by man through informal and formal social controls. Formal controls come from a continual politicization of life, with the power over mortality given to political states. Informal social controls can be seen as existing practice through social agents enforcing normativity through shaming.
Norbert Elias in his piece Shame and Repugnance explains an element that major theorists such as Bourdieu (with symbolic power) and Goffman (with losing face) have used in their analysis. Elias, in his more contemporary modern theory, states that shame and repugnance are just as characteristic t...
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...ers states that not only has modernity controlled the populace through social action but also controls its minds through controlling knowledge construction and scientific exploration. Maybe rationalists have asked too much of science by separating nonhumans and humans rather than understanding knowledge creation in a relativist way that examines hybrid networks that connect nonhumans and humans. According to Latour the task of a modern scientist is to attempt to make connections through this network and piece together an objective knowledge. This intellectual discourse have been a major challenge to sociology in raising fundamental questions about positivist and anti-positivist, amodernity versus modernity and postmodernity, and the way that sociology has conceptualized and categorized groups with a constant demand for solid group boundaries that might not exist.
In the early 20th century, modernist writers broke free of the consistent pattern on the themes of religion, marriage, and family values, branching out with their actual opinions and observations on society, making more readers aware of the corruption of the traditional morality in America. It became evident that the American people were placing lust, wealth, and material prosperity over their marital vows and traditional values. This idea of amorality is noticeably identified in the literary works, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Major characters in both novels show signs of demoralization, in regards to Tom Buchanan, for example, whom openly cheated on his wife, broke the nose of his mistress, and sold Gatsby’s fate down the river, and Abigail, whom slept with a married man and killed an entire village in spite of the deteriorated affair. In this new, cutting-edge society the concept of materialism is prevalent. Materialistic power became a goal for many Americans in modern America, which is identifiable in The Great Gatsby. People of East and West Egg indulged themselves with parties, pricey automobiles and the latest fashions, meanwhile, the people in the Valley of Ashes merely scraped by. Jay Gatsby out of his desire to 'own' Daisy went to great lengths to appear as a man of great fortune.
The Enlightenment sparked many modern ideas that set the French Revolution into action. In the eighteenth century, the various thinkers of the Enlightenment emerged, sharing their individual ideas. Enlightenment ideas were an opportunity for growth, change and re-birth in France. Enlightenment thinkers fueled the start of the French Revolution by challenging the social structure and political powers of their society. Because of the writings and ideas of enlightened thinkers, France was catapulted into the beginning of the end of the French monarchy. Some historians have concluded that the philosophes undoubtedly provided the ideas. It may well be that the collapse of the old regime was the consequence of other factors - economic problems,
Problems with Foucault: Historical accuracy (empiricism vs. Structuralism)-- Thought and discourse as reality? Can we derive intentions from the consequences of behavior? Is a society without social control possible?
Modernism is defined in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary as "a self-conscious break with the past and a search for new forms of expression." While this explanation does relate what modernism means, the intricacies of the term go much deeper. Modernism began around 1890 and waned around 1922. Virginia Wolf once wrote, "In or about December, 1910, human character changed." (Hurt and Wilkie 1443). D.H. Lawrence wrote a similar statement about 1915: "It was 1915 the old world ended." (Hurt and Wilkie 1444). The importance of the exact dates of the Modernist period are not so relevant as the fact that new ideas were implemented in the era. Ideas that had never before been approached in the world of literature suddenly began emerging in the works of many great authors. Two of the pioneer Modernist writers were Joseph Conrad and T.S. Eliot. The tendencies to question the incontestable beliefs embedded in all thinking and to focus on the inner self dominated. Old viewpoints were tossed aside to make way for the discovery of modern man's personal spirituality. Two works that are considered important forbears in the Modern period are T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
French sociologist, Emile Durkheim, was born in 1858 and was a part of an inseparable and relatively old-fashioned Jewish family. Emile believed that science was a method that could keep the framework of humanity together. He established the enlightening idea of ‘Anomie’ or the lack of normal ethical or societal norms that might cause chaos and instability. The most important of Durkheim’s declarations is that society is intricate and a reality unique to itself. Soceity is conceived when singular consciences network and blend together to create an artificial reality that is entirely new. Durkheim believed that this reality can only be grasped in sociological expressions, and cannot be relegated to psychological or biological rationalizations.
The spirit of revolution, Berman says, causes modernity to be an inverse relationship between modernization and modernism. Modern life is deeply attracted to the prospect of development. In the 18 century European societies were set on the idea that mankind was set on a positive trajectory away from savagery and ignorance towards prosperity and civilization but another philosopher Jean- Jacques Rousseau violently disagreed and had very provocative things to say to our own times. A childhood marked by deep instability and isolation due to economic disparities, Jean- Jacques Rousseau went to Paris and began contemplating the subject of recent advances in art, trademark of the enlightenment movement, and whether they had contributed
When I had enrolled in sociology this past summer, I didn’t imagine I would learn so much! I’ve learned more than just how people interact; I’ve learned why. This has been a challenging class as there are many aspects involved, and it can be difficult to remember how they are all connected. However, the four things that have stood out to me are C. Wright Mills’ the power elite, the cultural transmission theory, symbolic interactionism, as well as the tie between medicine and sociology.
Throughout the development of sociology as a discipline, the main backdrop to both sociological field-work and theory has been the distinction between Self and Other – or subject and object – expressed more broadly through the study of the interplay between individuals and institutions. With the advent of poststructuralist thinking, also known as postmodernism, the preference toward this distinction has come under suspicion by some contemporary sociologists and philosophers. Critics typically charge postmodernism with holding subjectivity to higher ground than objectivity, that postmodernism is exclusively relativist in that it questions the unity of an objective reality. That is only partially the case; Jacques Derrida, one of the more influential writers on contemporary postmodernist thinkers, suggests that even the unity of a Subject is suspect. Historically, many sociologists have seen society as derived from Subject with the implication of axiomatic inalienable rights. This also implies a sort of contract between individuals where Subject defines the shape and structure of societies. This notion is turned upside down by the postmodernist suggestion that the Subject is a creation of society. This mirrors Foucault’s idea of the “discursive production of the subject,” or that the discourses of power relations create an imposed self-identity. This is not a new idea to sociology – and Foucault was more of a structuralist than a postmodernist—but Derrida’s main work centers around “deconstruction” pivoting around the idea of “différance,” essentially declaring that “there is nowhere to begin” when it comes to tracing the universality or truth status of individual “narratives,” whether scientific or political. This is just as applic...
This was an intriguing discussion of the sociological perspective because it discussed how ordinary people might go about debunking the truths of their societies. Examples of researching newspapers, talking to authorities, and questioning preset customs and definitions, much in the way we can redefine the concept of "love", makes sense when superimposed upon a living society like ours. Berger identified the methodological nature of the sociological perspective in that it is not a distinct way of seeing others, but a means to examine others through a multifaceted scope.
First key assumptions, this refuses that power is a possession or that the power is centered by pointing out that power is something that cannot be possessed or shared. The Power is what is expressed or treated rather than what is owned. The power is everywhere in every area, every circle, and is an integral part of any organisation in society. The power is the process that will cause change, support, or setbacks in a power relationship through combat and face in different ways. Second key assumptions, this rejects the ideals of modernism that claim the universality of science and rationality including citing universal reality and seek the only best way to practice. Also, this indicate that the fact that the society is understood to be just a discourse or system and process of producing identity, and the meaning to all things in society including both knowledge and truth. Third key assumptions, this challenges perception and empirical way of seeking empathy by arguing that sensory perception may be less reliable than other methods of seeking knowledge, such as intuition or aesthetic experience (Hatch,
In literary essays, students are exploring meaning and construction of a piece of literature. In a review students are discussing overall effect and validity of written work, while in a literary essay students are paying more attention to specifics. Students are taking a piece of writing and trying to discover how and why it is put together way it is. Students must adopt a viewpoint on work in question and show how details of work support their viewpoint.
Explain how different version of the sublime can be found in various Romantic paintings and literature.
Bauman & May (2001. p.1) describe a visual image of the output of sociology, as being a “collection of books in a library”. The discussion within this collection broadly follows main concepts and perspectives, with many authors, but also of key peer tested Authors.
Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. In the world today there are many artists and many styles of art, but there is something about art that has been done in the yester years that catches one eyes and puts them in wonder. Many years ago or even centuries ago art that was created changed the era, it was like the artist were rebelling against the norm through their art and putting forward their own thoughts and ideas for people to see and talk about. One type of art that changes many views, whose artists did something very different, changed the way we see art, is Western art. Western art largely describes the art of Western Europe. Painters like Édouard Manet, Gustav Klimt, Henri Matisse, and Joan Miro have beautifully captured their art work, their thoughts on paper so that we can get to know what was happening during that era and how Europe was changing.
I’m convinced that what happens in my plays could happen anywhere, at any time, in any place, although the events may seem unfamiliar at first glance. (Pinter, Harold Pinter: Plays, 2 ix)