Late-modernity

From Geography

Late modernity is a reaction on 'modernity'. Theorists divided 'modernity' into radical/high modernity and late modernity. Radical modernity refers to the epoch of the classical theorists (Marx, Weber and Durkheim)(modernsocieties.com , 2007). Athony Giddens is one of the founders of late-modernity other theorists labelled him as a post-modernist. Late modernity is a approach which rejects the claims of grand theories or metanarratives. Instead it recognizes that all knowledge is partial, fluid and contingent and emphasizes a sensivity to difference and openness to a range of voices ( Aitiken & Valentine, 2006, p. 341). 'Post-modern theorists argue that ‘modernity’ or the processes that made up such a stage have been surpassed, we live beyond the old ‘meta-narratives’ and the certainties of the past and the grand claims of ‘modernity’. Instead what we have is the ‘decentered subject’. We’ll return to such theories in the future' (modernsocieties.com, 2007).

Literature

Aitken, S. & Valentine, G. (2006). Approaches to human geography. SAGE publications Ldt, London.

Seminar Two: Classical modernity & late modernity. (2007). Founded on 19 september 2012, on http://modernsocieties.wordpress.com/2007/10/29/seminar-two-classical-modernity-late-modernity/

Contributors

Published by Lotte den Boogert, 19 september 2012