The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Review essay: personal identity and social change: some theoretical considerations

Review essay: personal identity and social change: some theoretical considerations
Review essay: personal identity and social change: some theoretical considerations
In this paper, we explore some of the points of contact between Giddens' theory of self- identity and late modernity, and the broader constituency of post-modem theories of subjectivity. We take as our focus some recent work by Anthony Giddens, who has set out an account of what it means to live in 'late modernity'. This account, we argue, resonates with a parallel 'post-modern' account of subjectivity. We express reservations about the way in which both late- and post-modern subjects appear in these theoretical accounts to be disconnected from their 'real' social and political contexts. Similarly, we point to the way in which social action is increasingly seen as having broken free from material and political interests. We point to the dangers of losing sight of material conditions and political circumstances in theoretical debates about modernity and post- modernity. Moreover, we set out some broad critical propositions intended to counter this tendency.
0001-6993
75-85
May, Carl
17697f8d-98f6-40d3-9cc0-022f04009ae4
Cooper, Andrew
a2b52dcb-6d7c-425a-a158-73ecd1938d17
May, Carl
17697f8d-98f6-40d3-9cc0-022f04009ae4
Cooper, Andrew
a2b52dcb-6d7c-425a-a158-73ecd1938d17

May, Carl and Cooper, Andrew (1995) Review essay: personal identity and social change: some theoretical considerations. Acta Sociologica, 38 (1), 75-85. (doi:10.1177/000169939503800106).

Record type: Article

Abstract

In this paper, we explore some of the points of contact between Giddens' theory of self- identity and late modernity, and the broader constituency of post-modem theories of subjectivity. We take as our focus some recent work by Anthony Giddens, who has set out an account of what it means to live in 'late modernity'. This account, we argue, resonates with a parallel 'post-modern' account of subjectivity. We express reservations about the way in which both late- and post-modern subjects appear in these theoretical accounts to be disconnected from their 'real' social and political contexts. Similarly, we point to the way in which social action is increasingly seen as having broken free from material and political interests. We point to the dangers of losing sight of material conditions and political circumstances in theoretical debates about modernity and post- modernity. Moreover, we set out some broad critical propositions intended to counter this tendency.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: January 1995

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 163363
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/163363
ISSN: 0001-6993
PURE UUID: 8c93b077-5399-48af-bc7b-974f67b8af86
ORCID for Carl May: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0451-2690

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 20 Sep 2010 13:59
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:04

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Carl May ORCID iD
Author: Andrew Cooper

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×