Power, Culture, and Materiality in Modernity

Abstract

Contribution to the book symposium on Isaac Ariail Reed's Power in Modernity Power in Modernity is not only a wonderful book in terms of the theoretical argument it constructs, but also a very pleasurable read. Its ambition, scope and willingness to make big and bold arguments are features that have become defining characteristics of Reed's work. The book offers a model for explaining the emergence of new modes of power in modernity, grounding this model in historical cases of state formation. This focus on transitions from pre-modern to modern societies was the defining preoccupation of classical sociological theory. However, as I will discuss, Reed's tracking of this transition differs significantly from those well-known classical stories.