Social Theory and Later Modernities: The Turkish Experience (Liverpool University Press - Studies in European Regional Cultures) (Volume 9)

The debate on varieties of modernity is central to current social theory and research, and this book explores the theme in relation to the culture and society of Turkey. The book focuses on the Kemalist project to create a modern Turkish nation-state, analyzing its historical background, the role of concepts of ethnicity and nation, and the configurations of state, society and economy in the new Turkish republic. The author then moves on to examine the relations between Islam and modernity, arguing that both must be understood as open to multiple interpretations rather than seen as monolithic and as diametrically opposed. He considers the rise of Islamism in Turkey and looks in particular at the paradoxical role of women activists within the Islamist movement. Ultimately, Kaya argues that Islamism must be understood as a modern movement, albeit a paradoxical one, rather than simply as a return to tradition. The debate on varieties of modernity is central to current social theory and research, and this book explores the theme in relation to the culture and society of Turkey. The book focuses on the Kemalist project to create a modern Turkish nation-state, analysing its historical background, the role of concepts of ethnicity and nation, and the configurations of state, society and economy in the new Turkish republic. The author then moves on to examine the relations between Islam and modernity, arguing that both must be understood as open to multiple interpretations rather than seen as monolithic and as diametrically opposed. He considers the rise of Islamism in Turkey and looks in particular at the paradoxical role of women activists within the Islamist movement. Ultimately, Kaya argues that Islamism must be understood as a modern movement, albeit a paradoxical one, rather than simply as a return to ‘tradition'. Title Page......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 Introduction: The Theme of Varieties of Modernity......Page 14 1: Modernity as a Field of Tensions......Page 28 2: Social Theory and Later Modernities......Page 42 3: Ethnicity, Nation and Civilization......Page 61 4: State, Society and Economy: Tensions between Liberty and Discipline......Page 87 5: Islam and Modernity: Radical Openness to Interpretation......Page 120 6: Kemalism and Islamism on the ‘Female Question’......Page 136 7: A Theory of Modernity in the Light of the Turkish Experience......Page 150 Notes......Page 169 References......Page 175 Index......Page 183 "This book is set in the conceptual context of the current debate, in social theory, around the existence of varieties of modernity. Ibrahim Kaya argues that, rather than understanding the contemporary social world in terms of a shift from modernity to postmodernity, we should read the plurality of cultural worlds in terms of multiple modernities. He also argues that, crucially, the process of modernization cannot be simply understood as 'Westernization'; rather, social theorists should analyse the ways in which specific historical, cultural and civilizational contexts create particular versions of modernity."--BOOK JACKET

kaya (sociology, Dumlupinar U., Turkey) Uses The Example Of Turkey To Defend His Theory Of Multiple And Non-converging Modernities, Not Reducible To Westernization. After Describing His Theory On The Variety Of Modernity, He Uses It To Criticize Both Francis Fukuyama's End Of History Thesis And Samuel Huntington's Clash Of Civilizations Idea. He Rejects The Idea That Turkish Modernity Is An Extension Of Western Models, Instead Seeing Kemalist Turkey As Opposing West And East And Adopting Its Own Approach To Cultural Singularization. Distributed In The Us By Isbs. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, Or