Reflections on Multiple Modernities ─ European, Chinese and Other Interpretations

Proceedings from a May 2001 conference held in Berlin, bringing together leading international social scientists to discuss the complexities of the global economy. An introduction to the multiple modernities paradigm is followed by 14 contributions in sections covering the parameters of the discussion, contestations of western modernity and universalism, the prospects for a world community, the modernity of China and of Europe, approaches in economics, and implications for the business world. A sampling of topics: global antimodernism, mutual learning as an agenda for social development, European self-understanding in the 20th century, and the role of institutions in structuring business systems. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Dominic Sachsenmaier, Ph.D. (1999) in History/Sinology, University of Freiburg/Germany, is Research Scholar at Harvard University. He has published on History and Sino-Western Relations. Currently he is working on transculturally comparative 20th century history.Shmuel N. Eisenstadt, Ph.D. (1947) at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is Professor Emeritus at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. His academic work spans several decades, and includes influential research on Jewish, Japanese, and European culture and civilizations, the dynamics of democratic society, and the social effects of changes brought about by revolution, modernization, and the large-scale movement of populations. He received many prizes and is member of many Academy of Sciences all over the world. He was (co)editor of Democracy and Modernity (Brill, 1992) and Reflections on Multiple Modernities (Brill, 2002).Jens Riedel, M.A., studied political science and economics in Tubingen and New York. He is a Manager with the Boston Consulting Group focussing on strategy and organization/human resources projects. Previously, he worked for DaimlerBenz in Germany, the US and China.