| Abstrakt: |
There is currently a crisis in culture theory. The traditional models of culture which emerged from anthropological research are no longer adequate. They fail to adequately explicate the nature of social and cultural change which are currently taking place in numerous modern industrial societies; and, they are unable to clearly define and to differentiate the differences between anthropological and sociological models of cultural theory. So the question remains as to whether this crisis can be resolved. The solution to this dilemma is a surprising one. It can be found in those academic areas of research which are not normally associated with culture theory. One of the newest frameworks on modern culture can be found in the research and writings of Jürgen Habermas, a neo-Hegelian philosopher, who has labored for years on developing a rational model of modern society. He refers to his approach to the social construction of modern culture as Modernity (Cascardi, 1992; Bernstein, 1985). Another emerging framework on modern culture can be found in the research of futurists such as Alvin Toffler (1980), who has documented contemporary social and cultural shifts and has focused his interest on the emergence of a postindustrial society which is currently replacing the old industrial revolution which dominated Europe for the last four to five centuries. These works are interesting because they provide informative resolutions to the crisis which is currently crippling anthropological and sociological models of culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
