S1313 Modernity in Europe, America & East Asia

Modernity is generally understood to be the inheritance of the Enlightenment that was brought about in Europe and America by the modern scientific revolution, the industrial revolution, the development of capitalism and free market economics, parliamentary democracy and civil society, an inheritance considered to be universal by its inheritors. An integral part of the process of modernity that brought unprecedented wealth and power to the Euroamerican ambit was imperialism, whose impact on the colonised world  was very different from its impact on the metropolis(as it was on the underclasses of the colonising world). The rights that were meant to be guaranteed by Les Droits de l’Homme at home were thwarted by laissez faire abroad. The paradigms of political science and international relations theory that have evolved in the developed world (Realism, Liberalism, and Social Constructivism), where they are still perceived to be universal, have been severely questioned by societies that had been colonised. Developing nations view these paradigms from a postcolonial perspective and question their validity. The catastrophic worldwide environmental and social impact of industrialisation and consumer driven models of economic development have raised serious concerns about the difference between sustained economic growth and sustainable economic growth. Postcolonialist and postmodernist paradigms question the validity of the “universal” Euroamerican paradigms and postulate alternative visions of a new world order. During the 1990s there was an important debate about “universal values” and “Asian values” in an attempt to explain the differences between Euroamerican capitalism (driven by the Protestant ethic according to Max Weber) and Asian capitalism (especially East Asian capitalism, driven by Confucian ethics). The “Beijing Consensus”, which stresses the need for each country to develop in accordance with its own historical, social and political characteristics, competes with the “Washington Consensus”, which proposes a uniform model for all. If as a result of these debates the value of modernity as a model has been put in doubt, the question then arises as to what kind of model or models could be an alternative. Is modernity a unique, absolute and universal process, a “singular” modernity? Are there “multiple” or “alternative” modernities? Are there alternative paths to modernity? Should we reject modernity and build a “postmodern” world order? By means of a comparative study of modern and contemporary social, political and economic thought in Asia (especially East Asia) and Euroamerica this course will offer a variety of answers to the questions raised.

Teaching and Evaluation Methods

The approach adopted in this course is cross-disciplinary but it does not require any preliminary knowledge of any of the disciplines that will come into play. Classroom lectures will be combined with brief compulsory reading assignments to promote interactive debates and discussions and to foment the preparation of classroom presentations by students. The evaluation will be based on a short critical analysis of at least one of the compulsory readings, on an oral presentation, and on a term paper.