Dr. Manuel Vallée University of Auckland Semester 2 - 2016 SOC 102 – BECOMING MODERN: The Social Origins & Consequences of Modernity Dr. Manuel Vallée University of Auckland Semester 2 - 2016

OUTLINE FOR LECTURE 2A • Announcements • Recap • The Ruling Orders - Power - Who were the nobility? - What privileges did they have? - Becoming Noble - Larger Sociological Lessons

Announcements 1) Tutorials start this week   2) Quiz #1 Answers are available 3) Blank Quiz #1 4) Instructions for assignment #1 this afternoon (due in two weeks) 5) Targeted Learning Session next Wednesday

RECAP

RECAP What is sociology?

RECAP What is sociology? The four course goals a) What is modernity? b) Problematizing the association between modernity & “progress” c) Unearthing the social origins of modernity d) Analyzing the social consequences of modernity

RECAP What is sociology? The four course goals a) What is modernity? b) Problematizing the association between modernity & “progress” c) Unearthing the social origins of modernity d) Analyzing the social consequences of modernity

What is Modernity? Reason over superstition Individualism (as opposed to collectivism) Democracy Industrialization Rapid Technological change Urbanization Development of culture & institutions for unprecedented group incorporation The rise of the surveillance state Nationalism Genocides Rapid social change Environmental destruction Janus-faced… a double-edged sword

RECAP What is sociology? The four course goals a) What is modernity? b) Problematizing the association between modernity & “progress” c) Unearthing the social origins of modernity d) Analyzing the social consequences of modernity

RECAP What is sociology? The four course goals a) What is modernity? b) Problematizing the association between modernity & “progress” c) Unearthing the social origins of modernity d) Analyzing the social consequences of modernity

RECAP What is sociology? The four course goals a) What is modernity? b) Problematizing the association between modernity & “progress” c) Unearthing the social origins of modernity d) Analyzing the social consequences of modernity 3) This week: Examining Pre-Modernity

THE RULING ORDERS

POWER Who has it? Who does not? What does power consist of? Why do some have it and others don’t? How do some people with power use it? What strategies do they use to strengthen their hold on power? Who has power in contemporary times? Are there any differences with pre-modern times?

Who Were the Nobility? What characterized them?

Who Were the Nobility? What characterized them? If you were a Martian sociologist, what characteristics would you key on to distinguish the nobility from the rest of the population?

Who Were the Nobility? What characterized them? If you were a Martian sociologist, what characteristics would you key on to distinguish the nobility from the rest of the population? What activities did they partake in? Why?

Who Were the Nobility? What characterized them? If you were a Martian sociologist, what characteristics would you key on to distinguish the nobility from the rest of the population? What activities did they partake in? Why? What were the similarities and differences between contemporary and pre-modern times?

Who were the Nobility?

Who were the Nobility?

Who were the Nobility?

Having Coat of Arms

Having Titles

Living in Ostentatious Homes

Living in Ostentatious Homes

What activities did the nobility pursue?

Keeping up with newest fashions

Acquiring Titles

Throwing Lavish Banquets

Throwing Lavish Banquets

Organizing Luxurious Balls

Why Pursue these activities?

How does that compare to today?

Why would someone want to be noble? What were the privileges?

Privileges of the Elite   % of the population Monopoly on right to bear arms in public Exempted from Manual Labour Exemption from corporal punishment Tax privileges Unequal share of financial wealth Monopoly on land ownership Near monopoly on military leadership Near monopoly on political power Near monopoly on gov. positions Pre-Modern times

How do the privileges of the Pre-Modern nobility compare with the elite of today?

Elite Privileges Pre-Modern times Today % of the pop.   % of the pop. Monopoly on right to bear arms in public Exempted from Manual Labour Exemption from corporal punishment Tax privileges Unequal share of financial wealth Monopoly on land ownership Near monopoly on military leadership Near monopoly on political power Near monopoly on gov. positions Level of Social Mobility Pre-Modern times Today

Comparing Elite Privileges   % of the pop. Monopoly on right to bear arms in public Exempted from Manual Labour Exemption from corporal punishment Tax privileges Unequal share of financial wealth Monopoly on land ownership Near monopoly on military leadership Near monopoly on political power Near monopoly on gov. positions Level of Social Mobility Pre-Modern times Today What accounts for the differences?

Comparing Elite Privileges   % of the pop. Monopoly on right to bear arms in public Exempted from Manual Labour Exemption from corporal punishment Tax privileges Unequal share of financial wealth Monopoly on land ownership Near monopoly on military leadership Near monopoly on political power Near monopoly on gov. positions Level of Social Mobility Pre-Modern times Today What accounts for the differences? How are we trending for the future?

What % of Population did the Nobility Represent?

How do elites justify the unequal distribution of resources?

Lacking a Sociological Imagination “Men (and women!) do not usually define the troubles they endure (and successes they enjoy) in terms of historical change… The wellbeing they enjoy, they do not usually impute to the big ups and downs of the society in which they live. Seldom aware of the intricate connection between the patterns of their own lives and the course of world history, ordinary men do not usually know what this connection means for the kind of men they are becoming and for the kind of history-making in which they might take part. They do not possess the qualify of mind essential to grasp the interplay of men and society, of biography and history, of self and world…” (C. Wright Mills, 1959, p. 3-4)

How could one become noble?

How could one become noble? How does that compare with today?