Modernity vs postmodernity in sociology
Modernity: belief in progress, grand narratives, rationality, stable identities, meta-narratives. Postmodernity: scepticism of progress, fragmented identities, local knowledge, irony, multiple truths.
Real World
TikTok culture — where teens curate multiple ironic personas, consume fragmented content, and distrust single authoritative narratives — embodies postmodern identity: fluid, media-saturated, and resistant to fixed meaning.
Exam Focus
Avoid treating postmodernism as simply 'modern but later'; explicitly contrast it with Enlightenment assumptions about progress and truth for higher marks.
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