Globalisation

• Modernity


  A period which began in the late 18th century in western Europe
• Modernity

  • The nation state - countries were especially important in this period, as they were powerful, and different from each other
  • Capitalism - this period saw economies change completely, with industrialisation leading to increasing wealth for those who owned the means of production
  • Rationality and science - the enlightenment period saw religion become less important, with science replacing it as the provider of the truth
  • Individualism - people had more freedom to choose their course in life
• Globalisation

  Globalisation is the increasing interconnectedness of the world due to new technology and better, more accessible travel and a global economy.

  •Globalisation started in the 1980s with the invention of the internet being a major driving force behind it.•The economy now becoming electronic and constantly active has changed the way the world is.•
• Postmodernity

  •Postmodernists believe we are in a period of postmodernity, where scientific knowledge is no longer the truth and therefore cannot be used for making society better.•They believe that science is one of many possible truths. So someone who believes that the earth is flat, is equally as right as someone who believes it is round.•They also believe metanarratives (grand theories) also do not provide the truth, so also cannot improve society.
• Postmodernists believe in hyper-reality where nothing is ‘real’.

  An endless stream of images and information has made culture fragmented and unstable.
• Postmodernists believe hyper-reality has also change our identity.

  Identity used to be defined by our social class, however we can now choose who we are through a variety of lifestyle choices presented in the media. We can change what we consume to change who we are.
• Simulacra

  Baudrillard believes in simulacra, which is the idea that:

  •Previous societies were based on the production of material goods.•Where as postmodern societies are based on buying and selling knowledge in the form of images and signs.

  These signs have no relation to physical reality, making it difficult for people to distinguish between image and reality.
• Eval

  •People can tell the difference between what is real and what isn’t•Assuming all beliefs are true can be dangerous and offensive. Is someone really entitled to think that ‘black people are genetically inferior’ or that ‘the holocaust didn’t happen’?!•Grand theories have been used to solve many problems
• Late Modernity


  •Late modernists believe that, since globalisation, we are in a new phase of modernity.•In this new phase, certain elements have been intensified.•They also still believe the enlightenment project is still continuing. In other words, science is still providing the truth.•
• Late Modernity- Giddens


  •Giddens believed that there were two main features of late modernity:1.The process of disembedding, in which social relations are being lifted out of local contexts of interactions.2.Also, reflexivity is occuring, which means that tradition and custom no longer guide to how we behave.•We are therefore constantly re-evaluating our actions in light of new information.•Culture is becoming increasingly unstable.
• Late Modernity- Beck

  •Beck believed that late modernity has been made by humans in a way that means we are all exposed to huge risks (such as global warming). He calls this risk society.••However, he believes that science can provide us with plans to reduce these risks and protect us from them.
• Marxist And Postmodernity

  •Marxists partly agree with late modernists, in that the enlightenment project can achieve objective knowledge. They believe that this could be used to lead a revolution.•However, Marxists also believe we have moved from modernity to postmodernity.•Marxist believe that postmodernity is a new phase of capitalism, which is a new way of making profits.•Marxists believe that postmodernity has meant that all aspects of our lives are now commodified (being used to create profit).