Here are the notes that I used in my short video.
Modernization
One definition: the transformation from a traditional, rural, agrarian society to a secular, urban, industrial society
Period of time from 1600 to 1900 in Western Europe and America; slightly later elsewhere in the Western world
Creation and development of a middle class
Political modernization and some form of representative democracy
Economic shift
Religious influence decreases
City/suburban life
Education
Focus on individual
Value laden and adoption of western cultures
Let's see, what would I add to my video remarks?
1st, I would emphasize that the idea of modernization was originally developed in an American/West European context to explain development in the world. This, there was a heavy connotation that the path followed by these countries was the developmental path to be followed by all countries.
2nd, naturally, as part of the decolonization wave of the post-1945 period, it was natural that many non-Western intellectuals developed alternate narratives that explained how development (modernization) was to occur. Some of there thinkers/politicians became leaders of the non-aligned movement, but the critique of modernization involved more than just a discussion of how to fit between Soviet and American spheres of influence or alliance.
3rd, and I have warned of this in the video, there is a negative connotation to naming a society a "pre-modern" society or a "not yet modern" society or a culture with "vestiges of the pre-modern," as if being modern is having achieved perfection in socio-economic development. There is so much of an idea of "good" wound up tightly in "modern."
4th, I frankly do not have a strong enough sociological, anthropological or economic theory background to critique modernization on a scientific basis, but I am sure that has been done.
5th, finally, at the same time, there is something useful about the idea of characterizing the socio-economic development of a society even if we apply the term modernization to that process.
Some recommended online lectures and websites
- Wikipedia entries on modernization and modernization theory (always a great place to start); note that I am not using the term westernization
- Eisenstadt, Shmuel N.: The Basic Characteristics of Modernization (1966) (as good a resource as you can possibly find on the web)
- Media and Long-term Social Change: the Puzzle of Modernization (interesting)
- For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a relevant website for this unit of the course. Send the title of the site, the URL and a brief explanation why you find the information interesting and applicable to the material being studied in this unit.