Sociology: Modernity Or Postmodernity?

Sociology: modernity or postmodernity?

A textbook definition of sociology states that ‘sociology is the systematic (planned and organised) study of human groups and social life in modern societies’, but the focus is very much on the relationship between people and social institutions (such as families, religion, media, and the criminal justice system) and how they interact with each other. Sociology is also concerned with research investigating the patterns of inequality, deprivation and conflict that characterise nearly all societies, and suggesting evidence-based solutions to social problems.

Sociology dates back to the nineteenth century when there was general concern about the transformation from stable traditional communities - where most people worked on the land - to a novel modern lifestyle in rapidly growing, seemingly impersonal cities. This new urban existence was embodied by the creation of factories and workshops that utilised new inventions such as steam power and railways, and the creation of both great wealth and appalling squalor.

Early sociologists were fascinated and concerned by the developments in science and technology that were transforming the way people lived. Today some sociologists believe this modern society has been replaced by postmodern society. This refers, in part, to developments in communication, globalisation and the accelerating pace of technological change. Postmodernists believe there is now much more flexibility in the way people construct identities (for example through social media) and that the old social class inequalities that so preoccupied sociology’s founding fathers, Marx, Durkheim and Weber (modern society remained patriarchal even in sociology) and also inequalities relating to gender and ethnicity have diminished considerably. At the same time, postmodern society is characterized by scepticism about the truth of any particular theory, the views of &so-called experts (for example, evidence of the harmful economic consequences of Brexit did not convince the majority of voters in the UK’s EU referendum) and, indeed, the very idea of ‘progress’ through science, that was central to modernity.

However, the view that we have entered a new postmodern period remains controversial and has some obvious flaws: postmodernists tell us we need to be sceptical about any over-arching explanations (which they refer to as ‘metanarratives’ or big stories), yet if that is so why should we believe postmodernists own big story.

Critics of postmodernism point out that inequalities relating to class, gender and ethnicity are still substantial constraints on the identities we construct. They believe we are simply in a new phase of modernity which Anthony Giddens, one of Britain’s leading sociologists, calls ‘late modernity’.

The essential skill of the A* A-level sociology student is to demonstrate the ability to identify and apply the relevant sociological knowledge required by the exam question and evaluate the strengths of the competing views, ideally using some examples that are more up-to-date than those in textbooks. This is where expert sociology tuition can give you an advantage, as well as an awareness that your parents’ economic and cultural capital is contributing to the ‘social reproduction’ of inequality from their generation to your generation.