This is the first single-authored critical engagement with the major works of Zygmunt Bauman. Where previous books on Bauman have been exegetical, here an unwavering light is shone on key themes in the sociologist’s work, exposing serious weaknesses in Bauman’s interpretations of the Holocaust, Western modernity, consumerism, globalisation and the nature of sociology. The book shows how Eurocentrism, the neglect of issues of gender and a lack of awareness of the racism faced by Europe’s non-white ethnic minorities seriously limit Bauman’s analyses of Western societies. At the same time, it points to Bauman’s repeated insistence on the need for sociologists to take a moral stance in favour of the world’s poor and downtrodden as being his most valuable legacy. The book will be of great interest to sociologists. Its readability will be valued by undergraduates and postgraduates and it will attract a readership well beyond the discipline.
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This book offers an incisive and original perspective on the works of Zygmunt Bauman, perhaps the greatest sociologist of the late twentieth century. It examines the limitations of his approach while recognising the importance of his legacy as a theorist who insisted on the need for moral engagement.
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IntroductionPart I: The dark side of modernity The question of modernityModernity and the EnlightenmentBauman on the Enlightenment and modernityThe Holocaust’s modernityThe ambivalences of modernity: a preliminary interrogation of Bauman’s Eurocentric, white, male gazePart II: Living with postmodernityModernism and postmodernismLegislators and Interpreters: extending the critique of Bauman’s first exposition of postmodernity and postmodernismSociology and postmodernityAspects of Bauman’s sociology of postmodernity: a critical commentaryPostmodern ethics: Bauman’s Levinasian turnPart III: Floating, slipping, sliding, drowning, boiling and freezing: the perils of liquid lifeWhy had Bauman become a postmodernist?The whys and wherefores of the demise of postmodernism‘Liquid’ modernity vs ‘reflexive’ modernity: Bauman’s problem of agency, again‘Metaphoricity’ in Bauman’s sociologyOn the liquid metaphor: what is this liquid in ‘liquid modernity’?‘Solid’ modernity‘Liquid’ writing and liquid modernity: some ethical considerationsLiquid modernity: the bare essentialsAspects of liquid modernity: critical reflectionsConclusion: a sociologist of hope or a prophet of gloom?Index
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The late Zygmunt Bauman is regarded by many as the greatest sociologist of the late twentieth century. This book is the first single-authored critical engagement with Bauman’s most important work.Previous books on Bauman have been exegetical, but Ali Rattansi shines an unwavering critical light on key themes in Bauman’s writing. He provides a compelling critique of Bauman’s interpretation of the Holocaust, contemporary Western modernity, consumerism and globalisation, calling into question the cogency of Bauman’s critique of conventional academic sociology. Rattansi sees Bauman’s enduring legacy in his repeated insistence on the need for sociologists to take a moral stance in favour of the world’s poor and downtrodden.Bauman and contemporary sociology offers an incisive and original perspective on the man and his legacy to fellow sociologists and a lucid and compelling introduction to his work for students, for academics beyond sociology and for general readers.
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‘This is really the first sustained, comprehensive, critical engagement with Bauman’s work and as such it stands alone. The book will be valued for showing how Bauman’s work serves as a powerful lens through which to make sense of the times in which we live, as well as take stock of important aspects of sociology’s development from the late twentieth century and the discipline’s potential to contribute to the possibility of progressive alternatives to contemporary forms of social life.’Barry Smart, Professor of Sociology, University of Portsmouth ‘Zygmunt Bauman was one of the sharpest and most insightful critics of our liquid modern times. This major new work extends many of Bauman’s core arguments while at the same time addressing their underlying limits. It is a must-read for anyone interested in what social science can be and do in the current post-crisis situation.’Nicholas Gane, Professor of Sociology, University of Warwick‘This book will prove to be one of the best critical evaluations of Bauman’s important work. In his usual insightful and nuanced analysis, Rattansi illuminates Bauman’s great contributions to our understanding of twentieth- and twenty-first-century social realities, while at the same time pointing out some of the basic limitations of his approach. A must-read for every sociologist seeking to understand contemporary global reality.’Nira Yuval-Davis, Director of the Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging, University of East London‘Rattansi offers a remarkably comprehensive survey… readers come tounderstand what Bauman was: not a systematic theorist, not an empiricalsociologist, but a social philosopher who left enduring insights.’P. Kivisto, AugustanaCollege (IL), Choice,May 2018‘Rattansi’s discussion is a model of clarity and erudition’Michael Strand, Brandeis University, Social Forces‘Rattansi has written a well-informed assessment of Bauman’s writings that provides an excellent critical introduction to this author. Bauman and Con-temporary Sociology is therefore recommended not despite, but rather because of, its judgmental slant.’Sandro Segre, University of Genoa, Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781526105875
Publisert
2017-07-19
Utgiver
Vendor
Manchester University Press
Vekt
404 gr
Høyde
216 mm
Bredde
138 mm
Dybde
18 mm
Aldersnivå
U, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet

Forfatter

Biographical note

Ali Rattansi was Professor and is now Visiting Professor of Sociology at City, University of London. His many books include Marx and the Division of Labour, Postmodernism and Society and the Oxford University Press Very Short Introductions to Racism and Multiculturalism.