Zygmunt Bauman has devoted considerable amount of attention to the discussion of the educational challenges in liquid modernity. While a good deal of professional attention has been given to Bauman’s concept in various fields and disciplines, his views on education have received relatively little response by educational theorists and practitioners. The aim of this article is to assess Bauman’s prognosis and diagnosis for education in liquid modernity and argue that even if one generally accepts Bauman’s portrayal of current society, his (...) educational view must presuppose ‘solid’ elements if it is to remain consistent. The article offers some critical reflections with regard to these themes by appealing in particular to the notion of self-critical appropriation, as it is employed in the work of Jurgen Habermas. It is with this notion that it is possible to overcome inconsistencies in Bauman’s educational views and form the basis for understanding how to account for the development of authentic personhood in the social climate of liquid modernity. (shrink)

Modernity has not collapsed under the weight of postmodern criticisms. On the contrary, it has rebounded with greater vigour as witnessed by the emergence of new terms such as reflexive modernization, liquid modernity and multiple modernities. These terms suggest that modernity can no longer be conceptualized in the singular. Yet the pluralization of modernity does not necessarily imply that there is a new consensus about the meaning of modernity. The appearance of these terms can be regarded as specific attempts to (...) transcend postmodern critiques. Comparison of these new terms provides an understanding of their usage in the context of the decline of postmodernism and the direction of contests over the meaning of modernity. (shrink)

After having promoted and then tacitly abandoned the rhetoric of postmodernism, Zygmunt Bauman settled on the metaphor of a modernity that was growing more ‘liquid’ and ‘lighter’ than before. This essay explores the strengths and weaknesses of these metaphors, and attempts to contextualize Bauman’s insights in what has been called by the historian Yuri Slezkine the ‘Mercurian’ culture of diasporic Jewish life.

This article explores how working mothers negotiate the often competing spheres of paid work and unpaid domestic and care work. Drawing upon qualitative data from a varied sample of women, it discusses the impact of workplace demands on home life, women’s attempts to contain the domestic sphere so as not to disrupt paid work, and the emotional conflicts inherent to combining dual roles. In addition, the article applies Bauman’s concepts of order and disorder to women’s experiences of work–care negotiation. Whilst (...) it is recognized that Bauman’s work largely ignores gender, his discussion of solid modernity with its emphasis on order and the transition to liquid modernity with its emphasis on disorder provide a useful theoretical lens through which to illuminate women’s accounts of managing dual roles. (shrink)