Social Theory in a Changing World provides a critical assessment of contemporary social theory for students in the social sciences. The central theme of the book concerns the nature of modernity and the ways in which contemporary thinkers shave understood it. Delanty argues that modernity involves a tension between autonomy and fragmentation On the one hand, the cultural project of modernity refers to self-assertion and creativity. On the other, modernity as a social project tends to destroy its own cultural foundations, as institutional structures become increasingly diffuse and fragmented. Against this backcloth, 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.

Acknowledgements. Introduction. The central Conflict of Modernity. Knowledge and Culture. Towards a Cognitive Approach. . 1. Defining Modernity: The Quest for Autonomy. Introduction. Modernitya 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: Habermasa s Theory of Modernity. . Introduction. The Problem of Democracy. The Formation of Habermasa 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.