Ulrich Beck: Pioneer in Cosmopolitan Sociology and Risk Society (SpringerBriefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice (18))

This book presents Ulrich Beck, one of the world’s leading sociologists and social thinkers, as a Pioneer in Cosmopolitan Sociology and Risk Society. His world risk society theory has been confirmed by recent disasters – events that have shaken modern society to the core, signaling the end of an era in which comprehensive insurance could keep us safe. Due to its own successes, modern society now faces failure: while in the past experiments were conducted in a lab, now the whole world is a test bed. Whether nuclear plants, genetically modified organisms, nanotechnology – if any of these experiments went wrong, the consequences would have a global impact and would be irreversible. Beck recommends ignoring the mathematical morality of expert opinions, which seek to identify the level of a given risk by calculating the probability of its occurrence. Instead, man’s fear of collapse should offer an opportunity for international cooperation and a cosmopolitan turn in the social sciences. Preface Contents Part I Ulrich Beck 1 Ulrich Beck’s Scientific Leadership Profile 2 Ulrich Beck: An Introduction to the Theory of Second Modernity and the Risk Society 2.1...Introduction and a Short Biography 2.2...From Slupsk to Sociological World Fame: A Short Biography 3 Bibliography 3.1...Books (in Chronological Order) 3.2...Book Chapters (in Reverse Chronological Order) 3.3...Journal Articles (in Reverse Chronological Order) Part II Ulrich Beck’s Work in the Perspective of Colleagues 4 The Risk Society Thesis in Environmental Politics and Management: A Global Perspective Epilogue References 5 Reflexive Modernization References 6 The Reality of Cosmopolitanism 7 Jerusalem Versus Athens Revisited References Part III Selected Key Texts by Ulrich Beck 8 Incalculable Futures: World Risk Society and Its Social and Political Implications 8.1...Old Dangers, New Risks: Conceptual Differentiation, Historical Localization 8.1.1 Conceptual Distinctions 8.1.2 Historical Contextualization 8.2...What is Meant by the ‘Cosmopolitan Moment’? Bibliography and References 9 Individualization is Eroding Traditions Worldwide: A Comparison Between Europe and China 9.1...On the Distinction Between Individualism and Individualization 9.2...Individualization and Social Morality 9.3...Chinese Individualization References 10 Beyond Class and Nation: Reframing Social Inequalities in a Globalizing World 10.1...Introduction 10.2...‘‘What Exactly Constitutes Individualization and to What Extent has it Really Displaced Class?’’ 10.2.1 What Does Individualization Mean Empirically? 10.2.2 Beyond the Normal Family and Normal Class 10.3...The Transnationalization of Social Inequalities 10.3.1 Critique of Methodological Nationalism 10.3.2 Politics of Framing 10.4...The Inequality of Global Risks 10.5...Pan-European Inequalities 10.6...Border Artistes: Agency, Legitimacy and Immigrant Dynamics 10.7...Prospect: The ‘Modernity Dispute’ in International Sociology References 11 The Two Faces of Religion References 12 The Global Chaos of Love: Towards a Cosmopolitan Turn in the Sociology of Love and Families 12.1...Cosmopolitan Families: Characteristics and Constellations 12.2...Cosmopolitan Theory 12.3...The Rise of a Transnational Shadow Economy 12.3.1 The Stalled Revolution 12.3.2 From Mother’s Task to Migrants’ Job 12.3.3 By Silent Agreement 12.4...Transnational Motherhood and Global Care Chains 12.4.1 A Global Hierarchy of Care 12.5...Loss and Gain: Cosmopolitan Comparisons 12.5.1 Seeing with the Eyes of the Respective ‘Other’ 12.6...Conclusions References 13 Reframing Power in the Globalized World References 14 We Do Not Live in an Age of Cosmopolitanism but in an Age of Cosmopolitization: The ‘Global Other’ is in Our Midst 14.1...Critique of Methodological Nationalism 14.2...How to Research ‘Really Existing Cosmopolitization’? 14.2.1 Cuisine 14.2.2 Migration 14.2.3 Work and Workers 14.2.4 Love 14.2.5 Kidneys 14.2.6 Villages 14.2.7 Nation 14.2.8 Cooperate or Fail! 14.2.9 Reflexivity and Normativity 14.3...Re-mapping Social Inequality Beyond Methodological Nationalism 14.4...World Risk Society and Its Political Dynamics 14.5...A ‘Cosmopolitan Vision’ for the Social Sciences References About the Contributors About the Author About the Book