Stephen Mitchell

As part of our ProDoc module, we are exploring the idea of liquid modernity.  This was the start of my ‘liquid modernity’ searching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u06BXgWbGvA.  The idea of constant advancement, happening in a state of liquidity… go with it. Liquidity is the state of change, building on from society’s state of solid which precedes it.  The metaphor of a liquid form constitutes the present.

The concept is genuinely abstract, but at the same time relatable when it is put into a context.  Much of the literature surrounding it is very schoalarly and academic, so I need to spend more time understanding it… but:

A simple definition of liquid modernity is:
“Liquid Modernity is sociologist Zygmunt Bauman’s term for the present condition of the world as contrasted with the “solid” modernity that preceded it. According to Bauman, the passage from “solid” to “liquid” modernity created a new and unprecedented setting for individual life pursuits, confronting individuals with a series of challenges never before encountered. Social forms and institutions no longer have enough time to solidify and cannot serve as frames of reference for human actions and long-term life plans, so individuals have to find other ways to organize their lives.”(http://cyborganthropology.com/Liquid_Modernity)

When considering this theory, I can quite easily see how it sits along with theories of identity construction.  The idea that when adapting and moving from one solid-state to another, the reinvention happens in the ‘liquid’.  Not all identities are conducive to this fluidity and I’m quite intrigued that some liquidity forms have a shelf life.  I can think of examples where people I know have stopped adapting their skill set when working with technology, for example.

When working through my essay, I am going to try and touch on this idea in line with the concept of temporary liminality; transition in relation to the ethical dilemma I am writing about.

Not much to write about tonight… much more thought required.