Modernity and Postmodernism (AQA A-Level Sociology): Flashcards

Era from industrial revolution: urbanisation, capitalism, nation-states

Reason, science & progress as path to human advancement (17th-18th C)

Late 1970s onwards

Mass production to service sectors & flexible workforces

From social class to consumption patterns & global brands

Society can't be understood through grand theories/metanarratives

Grand explanatory theories like Marxism & functionalism

Media images lacking connection to reality

Cannot distinguish between media representations & actual reality

Recent changes are continuations of modernity, not new era

People both create society & are influenced by it

Constantly monitoring situations & adapting to changing circumstances

Awareness of late-modern threats like global warming & instability

Overlooks structural factors like class, gender & ethnicity