This study examines British television situation comedy over the last fifteen years and analyses the genre as part of a discourse about the nature of modernity. In this period globalisation, technology and the rapid reassessment of formerly established social structures have created new modes of everyday existence that represent significant changes to people’s lives. The thesis argues that contemporary sitcoms address these shifts in social understanding and anxieties about contemporary British life. A wide range of texts are discussed, four in particular detail; Peep Show, Love Soup, Saxondale and Home Time; which explicitly try to form a dialogue with their audience about living in modernity. The thesis largely takes a methodological approach from Television Studies, referencing scholars from the discipline, in particular John Ellis’s concepts of “working through” and employing a significant amount of textual analysis. Chapter two looks at the context of television in this changing world and chapter three analyses how sitcom as a genre has redefined its forms. Chapter four identifies the importance of ‘tone’ in comedy and analyses how modernity demands new modes of address for comedy to meet the expectations of its audience. The study demonstrates how texts balance new approaches with continuities drawn from the existing sitcom tradition. In order to interrogate the nature of social change and its effects, chapter one engages with the work of a number of social theorists. In particular it analyses the recent writings of Richard Sennett and Zygmunt Bauman, who identify contemporary life as “the culture of the new capitalism” and “liquid modernity” respectively. They consider how such change might affect how individuals feel about themselves and their place in society. Throughout, the thesis demonstrates how this work might be applied to the study of sitcom and combines social theory with a detailed analysis of this television form in transformation, arguing that sitcom remains a resonant site for audiences to participate in a productive discourse about how we live today.

<p>In this dissertation I address the question of why some social groups classify some people and groups as strangers. To answer the question I focus the stranger in the writings of the Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman.</p><p>According to Bauman, the social construction of the stranger cannot be compared with the asymmetrical relation between an in-group and an out-group. An in-group stands for friends and proximity. It considers the out-group as the enemy at a distance. The hierarchical and a reciprocal relationship that exists between the in-group and the out-group is a part of the social order. The stranger, on the other hand, is constructed in the ambivalent position between the in-group and the out-group. Since there is no room for the stranger in an orderly world she has to be dealt with in a way that keeps the world free from incongruity.</p><p>Since Bauman considers the moral consequence of cultural classification, his work is also relevant for the question of living with the stranger. Leaving the Occidental rational tradition in favour of a phenomenological tradition, Bauman offers a view that considers the encounter with the stranger as a moral meeting. Highlighting responsibility, instead of social arrangements, law or tradition, Bauman visualises the stranger as a moral subject and not as aparticular social type, one who is constantly out of place</p><p>The theoretical considerations of the social making of the stranger, and the moral understanding of living <i>for</i> the stranger, contribute to a deeper understanding about the institutional origins of social marginalisation and cultural exclusion.</p>

In this dissertation I address the question of why some social groups classify some people and groups as strangers. To answer the question I focus the stranger in the writings of the Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman. According to Bauman, the social construction of the stranger cannot be compared with the asymmetrical relation between an in-group and an out-group. An in-group stands for friends and proximity. It considers the out-group as the enemy at a distance. The hierarchical and a reciprocal relationship that exists between the in-group and the out-group is a part of the social order. The stranger, on the other hand, is constructed in the ambivalent position between the in-group and the out-group. Since there is no room for the stranger in an orderly world she has to be dealt with in a way that keeps the world free from incongruity. Since Bauman considers the moral consequence of cultural classification, his work is also relevant for the question of living with the stranger. Leaving the Occidental rational tradition in favour of a phenomenological tradition, Bauman offers a view that considers the encounter with the stranger as a moral meeting. Highlighting responsibility, instead of social arrangements, law or tradition, Bauman visualises the stranger as a moral subject and not as aparticular social type, one who is constantly out of place The theoretical considerations of the social making of the stranger, and the moral understanding of living for the stranger, contribute to a deeper understanding about the institutional origins of social marginalisation and cultural exclusion.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T23:14:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo4211_1.pdf: 1472666 bytes, checksum: 1b7fb2d1cb0b5564e9752ddf0c7f2d17 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar uma discussão do conceito de confiança nas relações amorosas, que possa ser útil às novas inquietações e indagações sobre as relações afetivas da contemporaneidade, considerando-se os atuais padrões de relacionamentos adotados. Para tanto, partiu-se de alguns autores que contribuíram na elucidação do tema no âmbito das Ciências Sociais: Georg Simmel, Michel Foucault, Niklas Luhmann, Zygmunt Bauman e Anthony Giddens. Em Georg Simmel, podem-se apontar três possibilidades para pensar o problema da confiança nas relações amorosas: 1. o surgimento de uma moral geral-particular resultaria no reconhecimento mútuo entre homens e mulheres, viabilizando a confiança entre eles, 2. as mulheres conquistariam a liberdade social , através da repetição da objetividade criada pelo homem. Neste caso, a confiança seria restrita ao âmbito público e 3. as mulheres seriam capazes de combinar os elementos subjetivos e objetivos, sendo a confiança no amor possível apenas entre elas. Os homens viveriam então, num estado solipsista. A confiança nas relações amorosas, em Michel Foucault, poderia ser extraída de uma determinada formação discursiva, e criada pelas subjetividades dos objetos do mundo, e, portanto, variante e envolvido tanto pelas práticas de sujeição quanto pelas de liberação. Segundo Niklas Luhmann, a confiança é importante porque reduz a complexidade social. Nas relações amorosas, esse conceito deve ser visto a partir de sua teoria dos sistemas ou perspectiva neo-funcionalista. A fragilidade das relações amorosas no mundo contemporâneo é refletida na sensação de perigo que depende da ação de terceiros ou de fatores sociais o que pode levar o indivíduo a correr o risco resultado da decisão do agente e envolver-se menos. Superando-se esta possibilidade da relação entre risco e perigo, o amor seria transformado em confiança, esvaziando-se. Para Zygmunt Bauman, o amor líquido é definido por relações de interesse e de extremo egoísmo. As relações afetivas são comparadas às bolsas de valores, e a confiança costuma ser transformada em desconfiança, em um curto período de tempo. A durabilidade e a estabilidade das relações são trocadas pela preocupação do indivíduo em conectar-se à rede narcísica do mundo contemporâneo. Com uma visão mais otimista acerca do amor, e pode-se dizer aqui, da confiança nas relações amorosas, Anthony Giddens parte da democratização da vida pessoal, enfatizando as conquistas das mulheres e a combinação entre equidade, liberdade e autonomia. Ao final da análise deste trabalho, a fidelidade evidenciou-se como um elemento central da confiança nas relações amorosas. Tentou-se, portanto, apresentar algumas categorias que pudessem refletir as motivações dos indivíduos relativas à infidelidade: 1. Desejo (necessidades biológicas e psico-sociais), subdivido em: a) Desejo sexual e b) Desejo-paixão; 2. Reconhecimento social/não reconhecimento social; 3. Manutenção da relação; 4. Combustível da relação; 5. Teste; 6. Auto-encorajamento para terminar a relação; 7. Forma de encorajar a(o) parceira(o) para terminar a relação; 8. Razão instrumental; 9. Vingança e 10. Sistema Social. Essas categorias foram criadas para iluminar o debate sobre a contraditória valorização da fidelidade e sua negativa empírica no mundo hodierno, e enfatizar a necessidade de re-pactuar o vínculo amoroso, admitindo que o amor possa ser suplantado, considerando as elevadas chances do esvaziamento do sentimento, mas preservando os sentidos de amizade e de humanidade

In this thesis theoretical meaning of the concept of individualization is examined. Compilation and comparison of the concepts of individualization as they are understood by Ulrich Beck, Zygmunt Bauman and Anthony Giddens are put forward. Critiques of the concept of individualization are analyzed with focus on controversial issues of the concept of individualization. The analysis shows four types of objections: 1. Concepts of theorists of individualization are not based on empirical research, therefore they do not match the reality correctly. 2. In the conceptions of theorists of individualization, the individuals seem to be independent on the culture and on other people. 3. Social classes and gender status to some extent still affect the life of the individuals. 4. Individualization does not have the same effect on everybody. The analysis also shows that the controversial issues are the result of different meaning which give to the individualization creators of the concept and its critics. Theorists of individualization understand the individualization as macro-social phenomenon, whereas critics of individualization understand the individualization as the change of life and behaviour of the individuals due to the effect of various ambivalent processes. The question, how to connect those meanings...

In this thesis I reframe theories of love-relationships in late modernity (by Anthony Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman and Ulrich Beck &amp; Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim) in relation to a general framework of discursive theory (inspired by Michel Foucault). I suggest that current developments and contradictions in the field of love-relationships with advantage can be understood in terms of discourse and discursive conflict. Utilizing the discursive framework, I conceptualize two conflicting discursive regimes (as romantic love and individualized freedom), and their components. With these components in mind, I explore how contradicting discursive components are problematized in established risk-discourse, using cases of popular culture as illustrative reference. Risk-discourses force short-term practical solutions, and put pressure on further discursive change by inducing anxiety and cognitive dissonance. Future discourse will have to adapt to several conditions, including the (in)compatibility of discursive components, how well practical strategies work out, how social interaction is organized, and how discursive deconstruction unavoidably have consequences for the fundaments of love itself. / I uppsatsen omtolkar jag senmodernitetsteorier om kärleksrelationer (av Anthony Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman och Ulrich Beck &amp; Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim) till ett generellt diskurs­teoretiskt ramverk (inspirerat av Michel Foucualt). Uppsatsen redogör för hur samtida utvecklingar och motsättningar inom fältet kärleksrelationer med fördel kan förstås i diskursteoretiska termer. Med hjälp av detta ramverk utvecklar jag två diskursiva regimer och deras respektive komponenter (konceptualiserade som romantisk kärlek och individualiserad frihet). Med dessa komponenter i åtanke granskar jag hur konflikterande komponenter problematiseras genom etablerade riskdiskurser, med fallstudier av populärkultur som illustrativa exempel. Jag menar att att dessa riskdiskurser driver fram kortsiktiga praktiska lösningar, och orsakar ångest och kognitiv dissonans vilka motiverar ytterligare diskursiva förändringar. Kommande diskursiva förändringar måste förhålla sig till flertalet omständig­heter inklusive diskurskomponenternas (in)kompabilitet, huruvida praktiska lösningar är hållbara, hur social interaktion organiseras i allmänhet och hur diskursiv dekonstruktion oundvikligen får konsekvenser för kärlekens fundament.

Den här uppsatsen analyserar och jämför skildringar av konsumtion i Karin Boyes Astarte (1931) och Denise Rudbergs storlek 37 (2002). Detta görs utifrån teoretiska utgångspunkter i Zygmunt Baumans tankar om konsumtionssamhället, samt texter av Max Weber, Walter Benjamin och Giorgio Agamben som diskuterar kapitalismens förhållande till religionen. I Astarte är religionen framträdande som tematik och metaforik i relation till konsumtionen, och det som skildras är ofta hur konsumtionen ersätter religionen, men också hur dessa liknar varandra. I storlek 37 är konsumtionen starkt kopplad till identiteten, och fungerar både som en trygghet och ett måste. Skillnaderna i romanernas skildringar återspeglar konsumtionens roller under två olika tidsperioder: i Astarte är konsumtionen ett relativt nytt fenomen i sin moderna bemärkelse, och i storlek 37 är den i högre grad central för tillvaron, och som sådan mer oreflekterad och självklar. I Astarte finns en tydlig kritik mot konsumtionen, som förs fram genom skildringar av den som ett ändlöst begär eller en illusion. I storlek 37 kan konsumtionen stundtals problematiseras, men framstår som oundviklig. / This essay analyzes and compares depictions of consumption in Karin Boye’s Astarte (1931) and Denise Rudberg’s storlek 37 (2002). The theoretical framework consists primarily of Zygmunt Bauman’s thoughts on the consumer society, as well as texts by Max Weber, Walter Benjamin and Giorgio Agamben discussing capitalism’s relationship to religion. In Astarte, religion is a prominent theme, and often used metaphorically in relation to consumption. Consumption is often depicted as replacing religion, in a way that emphasizes a resemblance between them. In storlek 37, consumption is strongly connected to identity, and functions both as a certainty and a must. The differences between the depictions in the two novels reflect the roles of consumption in two different eras: in Astarte, it is a relatively new phenomenon in its modern sense, and in storlek 37 it has become more central to human life, often occuring without reflection and perceived as a matter of course. Astarte sets out a visible critique of consumption, depicting it as an endless desire or an illusion. In storlek 37, consumption is sometimes questioned, but portrayed nevertheless as inevitable.

This thesis is about border politics, in more than one sense. It looks at the recent period of anxiety about the control of Australian national borders (approximately, from the late 1990s until the 2007 Federal election), and attempts to understand how certain assumptions about women as potential reproductive bodies permeated biopolitical discourses in Australian national culture during this period. I employ the term ‘containment’ in order to make sense of this cultural moment. With reference to the work of theorists of modernity such as Michel Foucault and Zygmunt Bauman, I argue that containment is a key discourse in modern cultures—a way of thinking and speaking about confinement, control, management and order. It structures how we think about the management of populations and is a central part of the justification for the confinement of problem populations by modern political authorities. As such, then, it describes the ways in which the use of immigration detention for unlawful non-citizen asylum seekers has been thought about and accepted as reasonable in Australian national culture. / However, a discourse of containment has also been central to the thinking about gendered bodies in modernity, in particular to assumptions about the control of women’s bodies. The assumptions about the containment of women in the modern gender order are directly linked to ideas about political status, citizenship and sovereignty in modern nation-states. Drawing on Giorgio Agamben’s notion of ‘bare life’—the life that is excluded from the protections of citizenship and thus left unprotected from violence—I attempt to make sense of the connections between the immigration detention camp as a site where the modern state exerts control over the life of the nation, and that modern state’s attempts to control reproductive and reproducing bodies. The reducing of certain people to the status of bare life is, then, a gendered process. Women and men are stripped of political status in different ways because they are assumed to have, or potentially have, different kinds of political status. / I therefore consider how ideas about women as reproductive bodies were integral to the discourse and practices of containment which underpinned the use of immigration detention in Australia. These ideas were important at a number of levels. Firstly, ideas about women as reproductive bodies infused the thinking about national borders, border control and the management of national reproduction. Secondly, a racially inflected discourse about ‘women and children’ was of central importance in shaping the ways in which male and female asylum seekers in immigration detention were treated. In the techniques used to control and manage gendered asylum-seeking bodies, key modern assumptions about women as reproductive bodies, the family, sovereignty and violence are revealed. Furthermore, I argue that many popular culture texts which attempt to make sense of, or critique, Australian national border politics have reinforced the same gendered ideas about containment, the same naturalised assumptions about the reproduction of the nation, which underpinned exclusionist border politics and the use of immigration detention. Examining the intersection of gendered and national discourses of containment in national border politics reveals the gendered violence which infuses the modern social order.

The diploma thesis called ?Globalization ? sociological reflection. Conception of globalization by Anthony Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman and Ulrich Beck? reflects the question, how sociological thinking deals with the phenomenon of globalization. In the introduction part of the Thesis is a basic outline of sociological perspective on globalization issues and this historical roots. The main part is devoted to comparing the concept of globalization of the three major sociological theorists, Anthony Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman and Ulrich Beck, which includes a detailed analysis of the works related to the theme of globalization. The relevant sections of the Thesis pays attention to the key topics that are discussed in the context of globalization in the field of contemporary social theory (globalization, localization and glocalization, denacionalization, the convergence of global culture, etc.). This Thesis is based on the key works of these authors, their reaction in the scientific community and my own critical analysis.

This work that called How to orientate social relationships in the crisis period? is concerned with works of three chosen authors of European philosophical phenomenological tradition in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. They are Zygmunt Bauman (Pole), Byung-Chul Han (Korean living in Europe for longer time) and Anna Hogenová (Czech). This work has built according to uniform scheme for all three authors. It presents their life and work shortly then presents their ideas and conceptions in a longer face. It also presents response of their works by chosen authors from The Czech Republic and foreigners. Important ideas and conceptions have to serve as a possible way in a help for social work and also for description, analysis, possible development and solution of problems that arise in the crisis period or - as well as told with Bauman - in liquid times. This work has written i terms of Christian Crisis and Pastoral Work - Diaconia so it contents also reference to this subject of study. This work derives from works of three main authors and from works of next ones, too. An important part is a work with Holy Scripture.