Order and Agency in Modernity: Talcott Parsons, Erving Goffman, and Harold Garfinkel

197 Pages·2002·1.31 MB·English

by  Kwang-Ki Kim

O A
RDER AND GENCY
M
IN ODERNITY

O A M
RDER AND GENCY IN ODERNITY
T P , E G ,
ALCOTT ARSONS RVING OFFMAN AND
H G
AROLD ARFINKEL
Kwang-Ki Kim
State University of New York Press
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2003 State University of New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kim, Kwang-ki, 1963–
Order and agency in modernity : Talcott Parsons, Erving Goffman, and Harold
Garfinkel / Kwang-ki Kim.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-7914-5539-4 (alk. paper)—ISBN 0-7914-5540-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Parsons, Talcott, 1902– 2. Goffman, Erving. 3. Garfinkel, Harold. 4.
Sociology—History—20th century. 5. Civilization, Modern—Philosophy. I. Title.
HM447.K56 2003
301'.09'04—dc21 2002070467
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my parents,
Seiyoung and Kyunghee Kim
Who made it all possible!
❧
Wo aber Gefahr ist, wächst
Das Rettende auch.
But where danger is, grows
The saving power also.
—Friedrich Hölderlin, Patmos
C
ONTENTS
PREFACE ix
INTRODUCTION xiii
CHAPTER 1 On Modernity 1
CHAPTER 2 Talcott Parsons 31
CHAPTER 3 Erving Goffman 53
CHAPTER 4 Harold Garfinkel 81
CONCLUSION 107
NOTES 113
BIBLIOGRAPHY 137
NAME INDEX 165
SUBJECT INDEX 169
vii

P
REFACE
The social conditions of Modernity are assuming more and
more extreme forms, with no indication of moderating. Mo-
dernity in its many historical and cultural transformations has
touched virtually every culture and every person around the globe.
Social science is following these developments, as it has from its
very beginnings. The social conditions of Modernity are there-
fore the subject of continuing study and debate. I place myself
in this academic context, but also in this socio-historical context,
as both a citizen and a sociologist. I therefore find the problem
of modernity to be not only an important subject of inquiry, but
also an extremely interesting and engaging one, personally as
well as professionally.
At the same time, much of my experience in sociological theory
has revolved around another central set of problems, relating to
human agency and social order. Both sets of problems have con-
sumed my attention. After a number of years of studying these
questions largely independently of one another, I developed a
strong suspicion that the two issues must be addressed together,
as intricately related phenomena. That is, I began to suspect that
human agency, social order, and their relation(s) assume special
forms in the Modern period, that they become personally and
theoretically problematic in decisively modern ways, and that they
are available only in their modern forms, to modern minds.
ix