Contemporary Forms of Individualization

general courses

Proficiency in English sufficient to comprehend assigned readings, prepare their short summaries and participate in group discussion.

Classroom

The course overviews the phenomenon of modern individualism, its socio-cultural roots and consequences.

Modern societies have often been described as 'individualist' or 'individualized'. In the mid-to-late 20th century in developed countries people became less dependent on their social millieux and acquired more freedom to shape their identiities, biographies and social commitments. But individualization, thus understood, is a mixed blessing - with more autonomy comes more responsability for one's own fate, and uprooting individuals from the solid network of social relationships may result in alienation and loneliness.

In the course we will trace social and cultural roots of modern individualism and discuss its most prominent expressions and consequences - both for individuals and their communities. Througout the semester, we will also address two general issues: 1) Is contemporary individualism more a question of free choice, or social pressure? 2) If some individualizing tendencies bring about negative outcomes, should we try to reverse them, and how coud it be done?

0) Introductory class – what is individualism?

1) Individualistic vs collectivist cultures

Marcus Hazel Rose, Kitayama Shinobu (1990) “Culture and Self: Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation”, Psychology Review 98 (2), pp. 224-30 (to Table 1).

(additional reading) Bochner Stephan (1994) “Cross-cultural differences in the self concept: a test of Hofstede’s Individualism/Collectivism distinction”, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 25(2), pp. 273-83.

2) Cultural individualism – utilitarian vs. expressive

Bellah Robert et al. (1985) Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life, Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press, chap. 2: “Culture and Character: The Historical Conversation”, fragment: “Utilitarian and expressive individualism”, p. 32-35.

Elliot Anthony, Lemert Charles (2006) The New Individualism. The Emotional Costs of Globalization, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 43-53.

3) Individualism and urban life

Simmel Georg (1950) The Metropolis and the Mental Life, in: The Sociology of Georg Simmel, New York: Free Press, p. 409-424.

4) New individualism and its discontents

Honneth Axel (2004) “Organized Self-Realization: Some Paradoxes of Individualization”, European Journal of Social Theory, 7(4), fragments: “Socio-Cultural Change and New Forms of Individualism”, pp. 468-71; “Self-Realization and Institutional Demands”, pp. 471-74; “Pathologies of Individualism Today”, pp. 474-75.

5) Individualization and (post)modern capitalism

Sennett Richard (1998) Corrosion of Character: the Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism, New York: W. W. Norton, chap. 1: “Drift: How personal character is attacked by the new capitalism”, p. 15-31.

6) Individualization and lifestyles

Featherstone Mike (2007) Consumer Culture and Postmodernism, London: Sage, chapter 6: “Lifestyle and Consumer Culture”, pp. 81-92.

7) Individualization and the body

Giddens Anthony (1991) Modernity and Self-Identity, Stanford: Stanford University Press, “The body and self-actualisation”, p. 99-108.

8) Individualization and intimate relationships

Giddens Anthony (1992) The Transformation of Intimacy: Sexuality, Love and Eroticism in Modern Societies, Cambridge: Polity, chap. 4: “Love, Commitment and Pure Relationship”, p. 49-64 .

9) Individualization and the family

Beck Ulrich, Beck-Gernsheim Elizabeth (2001) Individualization: Institutionalized Individualism and its Social and Political Consequences, London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage, chapter 6: “On the Way to a Post-Familial Family: From Community of Needs to Elective Affinities”, p. 85-98.

10) Individualization and the therapeutic culture

Illouz Eva (2008) Saving the Modern Soul: Therapy, Emotions, and the Culture of Self-Help, Berkeley: University of California Press, fragments: “The therapeutic narrative of selfhood”, p. 171-178; “Performing the self through therapy”, p. 178-186.

11) Individualization and religion

Beck Ulrich, Livingstone Rodney (2010) A God of One’s Own: Religion’s Capacity for Peace and Potential for Violence, Cambridge: Polity Press, fragments: “The individualization of religion”, pp. 79-82; “Ten core theses”, pp. 85-92; “Beyond normal religion: The motley assortment of New Religious Movements”, pp. 125-132.

12) Individualization and de-traditionalization

Walter Tony (1996) Facing Death without Tradition, in: Glennys Howarth, Peter C. Jupp (ed.), Contemporary Issues in Sociology of Death and Dying, New York: St Martin’s Press, pp. 193-204.

13) Individualization and the decline of civic engagement

Turkel Gerald (1980) "Privatism and orientations toward political action", Urban Life, 9(2), pp. 217-35.

(additional reading) Putnam Robert (2000) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, New York: Simon & Schuster, chap. 2: “Political Participation”, pp. 29-47.

Participants are able to:

a) discuss the most influential accounts of individualism and individualization;

b) assess the accounts in terms of their strengths and weaknesses;

c) interpret additional data pertaining to those accounts.

For every class participants will bring a printed summary of the discussed reading, answering the guiding questions provided by the instructor. The summary should be written in full sentences and it cannot exceed one page. The summaries will be graded and returned next class. Failing to submit the summary is allowed twice during the semester – the third time will result in failing to pass the course.

The final grade for the course will be based on:

50% – a mean average of all the grades for the summaries;

50% – an overall grade for the participant’s performance during group discussion.