Starting the Twenty-first Century
Subtitle: Sociological Reflections and Challenges
By: Gitta Tulea
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2017
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 231
ISBN-13: 9781351325202
Subjects: Social values; Social problems; Social planning; Jews; Identity; Jewish diaspora; Valeurs sociales; Problèmes sociaux; Planification sociale; Juifs; Identité; Diaspora juive; Social issues
Description: "Jrgen Habermas, speaking of postmodern society, remarked that extension of the means of communication not only allows a wide range of information, but it also encourages permanent connections between different peoples, cultures, and social discourses. It thus facilitates better general understanding, a clarifying of real or apparent contradictions. But this process becomes truly positive only when it is performed between equal members. Globalization of information does not minimize the possibility of conflict or terrorism, if fundamental social problems are not resolved or at least approached in an active way. This volume examines the major upheavals of the twentieth century and views within the framework of these events and challenges implications for the future. "Values and Cultural Changes in the Postmodern World," by Zygmunt Bauman explores the changing meaning of space in the globalizing environment; S.N. Eisenstadt analyzes the destructive components of modernity; and Irving Louis Horowitz draws attention to the classical values of the common universal culture. "Social Development and Policies in Contemporary Society," by Michael M. Cernea, examines the importance of the applied and policy-orientated research, especially in the developing countries, and David Marsland stresses the positive role of sociology in pointing to the possibilities of improving healthcare in modern society. "Societies in Transition-Eastern Europe," emphasizes transitions that have occurred in Eastern Europe. Rozalina Rjyvkina and Leonid Kosals provide an incisive study of the situation in Russia, while Jerzy J. Wiatr presents a comparative analysis of postcommunist societies, with special reference to Poland. "The Jewish World: Pre- and Post-Holocaust," by Regina Azria, discusses the identity problems in the Diaspora confronting modernity; Eva Etzioni-Halevi considers the newly developed Israeli society from the point of view of the exercise and distribution of power; and a most interesting contribution by Annette Wieviorka concerns the material and spiritual effects of the Holocaust on the Jews of France. Social historians and students of Judaica, as well as a general public interested in cultural pluralism will find this well-developed volume essential reading."--Provided by publisher.
Table of contents: title: Part 1 Values and Cultural Changes in the Postmodern World  -- Ernest Krausz; title: chapter 1 Space in the Globalizing World  -- Zygmunt Bauman; title: chapter 2 Barbarism and Modernity --; title: The Destructive Components of Modernity--The Perennial Challenge  -- S.N. Eisenstadt; title: chapter 3 Social Science as Cultural Formation --; title: A View from America  -- Irving Louis Horowitz; title: part 2 Social Development and Policies in Contemporary Society  -- Ernest Krausz; title: chapter 4 Development of Applied Social Science--The World Bank Experience  -- Michael M. Cernea; title: chapter 5 Progressing Health and Healthcare --; title: A Positive Role for Sociology?  -- David Marsland; title: part 3 Societies in Transition--Eastern Europe  -- Ernest Krausz; title: chapter 6 Socialist and Capitalist Experiments in the Twentieth Century--The Case of Russia  -- Rozalina Ryvkina; title: chapter 7 Post-Communist Societies --; title: Ten Years After  -- Jerzy J. Wiatr; title: part 4 The Jewish World --; title: Pre- and Post-Holocaust  -- Ernest Krausz; title: chapter 8 Jewish Identities and the Diaspora--The Diaspora Paradigm Confronting Modernity  -- Régine Azria; title: chapter 9 The Jews of Independent Poland--Linguistic and Cultural Changes  -- Nathan Cohen; title: chapter 10 Who Rules Israel?  -- Eva Etzioni-Halevy; title: chapter 11 Despoliation, Reparation, Compensation --; title: The Case of the Jews in France -- Annette Wieviorka.