ABSTRACT
The idea of modernity is an important one in contemporary social theory, and has been influential in debates about the direction sociology should take in the twenty-first century. The history of sociology itself is closely bound up with that of the modern, and some argue that sociology’s destiny is intrinsically intertwined with that of modern society. These interconnections have been articulated and debated since sociology’s inception in the nineteenth century, but with heightened intensity more recently. Since the latter quarter of the twentieth century the interrelated fate of modernity and sociology has been the subject of social theoretical debates about ‘post’ and ‘late’ modernity. These debates, in turn, have profoundly impacted on all areas of sociological study, and influence the ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ of sociology at all levels.
