The Institute of Social Sciences at Seoul National University is pleased to host the Classical Lecture Seminar each semester, offering an opportunity to revisit the classics of social sciences through the perspectives of distinguished scholars. We invite you to participate in the first seminar of the 2024 Fall semester, which will be held as follows:

Lecture Title: Beyond Ulrich Beck: Reflexive Modern, Cosmopolitan, Postcolonial Compressed Modern

Overview:
Reflexivity, as a characteristic of modern society, generates the intrinsic dynamics of social change both cognitively and politically. Ulrich Beck presents reflexivity as a structural condition of the risk society. His collaborator, Scott Lash, distinguishes between "reflexive" and "reflective," noting that reflective implies a subject's definitive knowledge of an object. In contrast, Beck critiques objective knowledge, emphasizing that reflexivity entails unintentionality, indeterminacy, and side effects. Reflexive modernization thus ties human and social actions to uncertain outcomes, framing modern society as a risk society. In the era of "second modernity," characterized by radical dissemination of knowledge and social complexities, individuals and institutions face weakened reflexive potential, leading to a global risk society. The concept of compressed modernity, exemplified by Korea, highlights the structural implications and the necessity of adapting Beck's theories to non-Western contexts.

Speaker: Professor Kyung Seop Jang (Department of Sociology)  
Date: Friday, November 8, 12:00 - 1:30 PM  
Venue: Faculty Meeting Room, College of Social Sciences (Building 16, Room 312)

Light refreshments will be provided during the lecture.*

Inquiries: css@snu.ac.kr / 02-880-5475