V. Schmidt 
Global Modernity 
A Conceptual Sketch

This book introduces the concept of global modernity as a paradigm for the analysis of the contemporary era. Building on Parson’s distinction between social, cultural, personal and organismic systems, it presents a four-dimensional scheme that aims to identify modernity’s key structural components.

Table of Content

1. Introduction 2. Phases of Modernity 3. Epistemological and Methodological Challenges 4. A Four-dimensional Scheme of Modernization 5. Global Modernization in Context 6. Two Aspects of Polycentric Modernity 7. Conclusion

About the author

Volker H. Schmidt is Associate Professor of Sociology at the National University of Singapore. He was formerly a Kennedy Memorial Fellow at Harvard University, USA, and he has held several fellowships at the University of Münster, Germany. Most recently, he was a Fellow at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Bielefeld, Germany.