Introduction

Contrary to how “modernity” is generally understood as some threshold of experience that institutes a neat polarity in how we understand the past and present, can be considered change as a reflection of important moments in which human beings are conjoined to misleadingly common structures and experiences while responding to the consequences of this relationship in quite distinct ways. Rather than offering a theoretical map with which we can pinpoint the structural sources of the kinds of change this creates (or the more complicated “representation” of change), Foundations theorizes processes of transformation. By looking at processes, I am not providing a clearer picture of the emergence of the nation-state, nor am I seeking to explain why the “British” emerged as a global power or why the Ottoman or Austro-Hungarian empires crumbled. Instead, I want to explore some of the possibilities that are inherently present to human beings as they interact with each other in varying degrees of intimacy.