ABSTRACT
Introduction Sociological analysis of the relationship between intimacy, “detraditionalization,” reflexivity and late modernity has occupied a central place in contemporary theoretical debates since the 1990s. Some of the key interrelationships between intimacy, social change and late modernity are outlined in Chapter 1. As shown in Chapter 1, key figures in the discipline have contributed significantly to the debates including: Bauman (2000), Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (1996), Giddens (1992) and Illouz (1997) among others. Chapter 1 also sets out the theoretical fields within the broader epistemological framework covering areas such as: intimacy and globalisation (Giddens 1992); intimacy and individualisation (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim 1996); the commercialisation of intimacy (Hochschild 2003, Illouz 1997, 1999); intimacy and “reflexive modernization” (Alexander 1996, Beck et al. 1994, Giddens 1992, 1994). This chapter amplifies some of these debates focusing further on these theoretical debates as well as on the work of Illouz (1997) and Jamieson (1998, 1999).
