Modernity: An Introduction to Modern Societies

by Stuart Hall

Understanding Modern Societies is a new sociology textbook which provides a comprehensive and stimulating introduction to the history, sociology and ideas of modern society. It has been written for students and readers who have no prior knowledge of sociology, and is designed to be used in a variety of social science courses in universities and colleges, The book is divided into three parts, corresponding to the formation, consolidation and prospects of modernity. From the start, four major social processes are the social, the cultural, the political, and the economic. These form the basis of the four chapters in Part 1, and organize the narrative or 'story-line' of the rest of the text. In Part 2, they provide the framework for an analyis of what developed industrial societies look like and how they work. And in Part 3,they provide the basis for identifying the emergent social forces and contradictory processes which are radically re-shaping modern societies today.

Genres: Sociology

Paperback Bunko

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Stuart Hall was an influential Jamaican-born British sociologist and cultural theorist. He was Professor of Sociology at the Open University, the founding editor of New Left Review, and Director of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham.