Gerard Delanty 
Social Theory in a Changing World 
Conceptions of Modernity

This book provides a critical assessment of contemporary social theory for students in the social sciences. Delanty examines the writings of a number of key contemporary thinkers, including Habermas, Foucault, Bauman, Touraine, Giddens and Beck, and provides a clear account of the strengths and limitations of their work.

Table of Content

Acknowledgements.

Introduction.

The central Conflict of Modernity.

Knowledge and Culture.

Towards a Cognitive Approach.

.

1. Defining Modernity: The Quest for Autonomy.

Introduction.

Modernity’s Three Logics of Development.

Integration and Differentiation.

Conclusion: The Time-Consciousness of Modernity.

2. The Limits of Modernity: From Autonomy to
Fragmentation.

Introduction.

Rethinking Modernity.

Autonomy versus Fragmentation: The Loss of Unity.

Beyond the Classical Tradition: Contemporary Theories of the
Social. Conclusion: Towards a New Time-Consciousness.

3. Discourse and Democracy: Habermas’s Theory of
Modernity. .

Introduction.

The Problem of Democracy.

The Formation of Habermas’s Social Theory.

Rescuing Discourse: The Mediation of Democracy and Law.

Discursive Democracy in the Global Public Sphere.

The Question of Culture and Identity. Conclusion: Culture and
Discourse.

4. Creativity and the Rise of Social Postmodernism: Foucault,
Lyotard and Bauman. .

Introduction.

From Deconstructionism to Constructivism. Bauman: Ethics and
Postmodernity.

Conclusion: Beyond Postmodernism.

5. The Return of Agency: Touraine and Melucci.

Introduction.

Touraine: From Historicity to the End of the Social. Melucci:
Culture, Identity and Change.

Conclusion: Reflexivity and Democracy.

6. Reflexive Modernization: Beck and Giddens. .

Introduction.

Beck and the Risk Society. Giddens: Modernity, Reflexivity and
Trust.

Assessing Reflexive Modernization: The Question of Culture.

Conclusion: Reflexivity and Discourse.

Conclusion: Knowledge, Democracy and Discursive
Institutionalization.

Notes.

Bibliography.

Index.

About the author

Gerald Delanty is a Reader in Sociology at the University of Liverpool.