Session Information
ERG SES H 13, Social Aspects of Education
Paper Session
Contribution
Several aspects indicate that orientation in modern societies is a challenging task. According to the theory of reflexive modernization (Beck, Giddens & Lash, 1996; Beck & Lau, 2004; Beck, 2008) individuals have to handle everyday decision making to an unprecedented extent in order to gain biographical security (Bonß et al, 2004). As individuals are considered to be creators of they own biography (Alheit, 2006), coping with increasing uncertainties (Böhle & Weihrich, 2009) is becoming a key competency in modern societies. Biographical research shows that this socio-historical background can lead to a changes in orientation (e.g. Marotzki,1990; Nohl, 2006).In addition, more and more areas of modern life are being shaped by the meta-process of mediatization (Krotz, 2007; Hepp, 2013). Mediatization is closely linked to reflexive modernization (Krotz 2012, p. 51) and can be seen as a concretion of the pluralization of options for decision making. From this theoretical standpoint, particularly qualitative aspects are relevant. So-called „Mediatized Worlds“ (Hepp, 2013) can be characterized by the specific ways communication-media shapes the constructions of reality – and therefor influences biographical dimensions on a long-term perspective. Furthermore, societal modernization is affected by acceleration (Rosa, 2012). From this perspective, modernization is seen as a self-energizing increase of pace, driven by technological progress, which finally leads to a ‘contraction of presence’. This also affects the processes of establishing biographical security: The shortening of time requests an elaborated mode of reflexibility and demands a thoughtful way of handling biographical decision-making. In combination with modified media-cultural contexts this could lead to a prevalence of reflection-based lifestyles, i.e. an increased possibility of changes in one’s orientation.
Given this societal framework, there are various occasions for individual orientation to undergo changes. Establishing biographical security under these circumstances can result in altering views of the self and the world. This idea is attributed to the concept of ‘Bildung’ (Marotzki, 1990). In this pedagogical approach, diachronic changes of attitudes and perspectives are regarded as a complex form of learning in which fundamental principles are being challenged and new views emerge. From a praxeological point of view, in this process a person’s habitus is being transformed (Rosenberg, 2011). Concerning the role of media in these processes, a praxeological standpoint can be helpful, as media reveals its specificity primarily in the meaning it has for different ways of acting. Changes of orientation and media-practices can therefore be thought of as a reciprocal relationship (Nohl, 2007).
The paper discusses a theoretical framework as well as empirical strategies for the reconstruction of these transformative processes of orientation. Thus, the research questions are: How can transformative processes of orientation adequately be conceptualized theoretically and reconstructed on an empirical basis? What role does media have in these processes?
On the one hand, there are various studies about transformation processes in the field of biographical research, but these often disregard the role of media. On the other hand, media research often focusses on mass media and tends to investigate media effects on a large scale by quantitative approaches. Therefore, this study can be seen as an innovative attempt to investigate transformation processes on an individual basis, integrating habitual changes in the context of mediatized worlds. In order to grasp the complexity of the phenomenon, biographical transformation is viewed in the context of a larger societal framework, thus widening the perspective.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
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