Global Modernity from Coloniality to Pandemic : A Cross-disciplinary Perspective

Global Modernity from Coloniality to Pandemic explores issues related to the global crises of our time: reason, science, and the environment by revisiting the notions of modernity, modernism, and modernization, which can no longer be considered purely Western or strictly secular. The book poses questions about viewing modernity today from the vantage point of traditionally disparate disciplines – engaging scholars from sociology to science, philosophy to robotics, medicine to visual culture, mathematics to cultural theory, biology to environmental studies. Leading sociologist Alain Touraine contributes a new text in which he reflects on the role of women, refugees and migrants, and the future of democracy. In their conclusion, the editors posit a fundamental ethical distinction between modernization and modernity and call for a new understanding of modernity that is globally distributed, informed by the voices of many, and concerned with crises that threaten all of us at the level of the species – a modernity-to-come. The book presents a global perspective with contributors from Japan, Senegal, Italy, Syria, Sardinia, Turkey, Romania, Kurdistan, France, UK, and USA. It features a new and unpublished contribution by Alain Touraine, imminent sociologist and leading authority on modernity.

Hatem N. AKIL, Southern New Hampshire University, USA – is a visual culture researcher who is interested primarily in the perception and representation of Arabs and Muslims. Among his publications “Cinematic Terrorism,” “The Martyr’s Vision,” and the monograph The Visual Divide between Islam and the West (Palgrave, 2016). He teaches in the Humanities department Southern New Hampshire University. Simone MADDANU, University of South Florida, USA – earned his PhD at the EHESS of Paris in 2009. His research interests focus on social movements, commons, migration, Islam in Europe, global and postcolonial studies. He currently teaches Sociology and Contemporary Social Problems at the University of South Florida. He published several books and articles in different languages. Lucio CADEDDU, University of Cagliari, Italy – is a professor of Calculus at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Cagliari (Italy). His research interests vary from global analysis, pure and applied PDE's, especially in the field of biological applications, music and mathematics and mathematical education/history. Richard COOPER Loyola University Chicago, USA – is Emeritus Professor of Public Health Sciences at Loyola University, Medical School of Chicago. He received training in Clinical Cardiology, and Cardiovascular Prevention, Epidemiology and Nutrition. His major research focus has been a description of the evolution of cardiovascular disease across the course of the African diaspora and he published more than 500 papers. Housamedden DARWISH, University of Leipzig, Germany – is a senior researcher at the Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences “Multiple Secularities - Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities”, University of Leipzig, and lecturer at the Department of Oriental Studies, University of Cologne, Germany. His work is related to modern and contemporary intellectual Arab thought as well as Democracy, secularism and political Islam in the Arab and Islamicate worlds. Betsy DOBBINS, is a professor of biological and environmental sciences and director of the STEM Scholars Program at Samford University. Her research interests are the impacts of human activity on aquatic systems, climate change, environmental justice, and on the role of media on public perceptions of science. She recently co-edited with L. Manca and M.L. Piga (2020), Environment, Social Justice, and the Media in the Age of the Anthropocene”, Lexington Books. Aide ESU, University of Cagliari, Italy – PhD in Sociology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales Paris, 1986, was a Fulbright Distinguished Chair at the University of Pittsburgh (PA), in 2014. She is an Associate Professor of Sociology University of Cagliari. She directed interdisciplinary research team of Israeli (Tel Aviv Univesity) and Palestinian scholars (Al Quds) on conflict intractability. Antimo Luigi FARRO, Sapienza University of Rome - is a Professor of Sociology, Department of Social Sciences and Economic, Sapienza University of Rome, and Centre d’Analyse et d’Intervention Sociologique (CADIS), EHESS, Paris. He published several books and articles on Environmental Studies, Social Movements, Migration, and Urban Studies. Shumaila FATIMA, University of South Florida – is a doctoral student at the University of South Florida’s Sociology Department. She received her Master’s in International Affairs from Penn State and BA in International Affairs from USF. Her research interests lie at the intersections of citizenship, gender, education, migration, and peacebuilding. She was awarded a UNESCO Fellowship in Preventing Violent Extremism. Rachid ID YASSINE, Gaston Berger University, Senegal – is Senior Lecturer at Gaston Berger University, Senegal. PhD of the School of Higher Studies in Social Sciences (Paris) and visiting professor at Sciences Po Lyon, Researcher and administrator in the Laboratory of analysis of societies and powers - Africa / Diasporas. He recently published Rethinking Identity (Halfa 2015). David JACOBSON, University of South Florida, USA – is Professor of Sociology at the University of South Florida, and 2017-2018 Fulbright Research Fellow, and Visiting Fellow, at PRIO (Oslo). He received his graduate training at the London School of Economics and Princeton University. His most recent book (monograph) is, Of Virgins and Martyrs: Woman's Status in Global Conflict, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014. Barry Jason MAUER, University of South Florida, USA – is associate professor, English, at the University of Central Florida. His recent book is Deadly Delusions: Right-Wing Death Cult (2020). He has published numerous articles and book chapters on citizen curating, which brings ordinary people into the production of exhibits, both online and in public spaces. Beatriz MESA, International University of Rabat, Morocco – has a PhD in Political Sciences from Grenoble University (France). She is a professor at the International University of Rabat (UIR), and a member of Laboratory of Analysis of Societies and Powers – Africa / Diasporas (LASPAD). Her areas of interest are security, migration, identities, political Islam, conflicts, armed groups and criminal economy in the Maghreb and Sahel region. Alessandro MONGILI, University of Padua, Italy – is an Assistant Professor at the University of Padua, where he teaches Science, Technology, and Society. He received his Doctorate at the EHESS in Paris in Sociology on Soviet Science. His research interests include Socio-technical change in peripheral areas, Information Infrastructures Studies, and Minority languages standardization and development. Dai NOMIYA, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan – is a professor in the Department of Sociology at Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan. Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, U.S.A. Has published numerous books and articles in the area of social movements and globalization. Currently Vice-president of the East Asian Sociological Association, and the Japanese Academy of Human Resource Development. Marius SILAGHI, Florida Institute of Technology, USA – is a professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. He was awarded his PhD in 2002 by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne for a dissertation focusing on decentralization supported by artificial intelligence. His research and teaching have been focused on democracy supporting technology, group decision-making, artificial intelligence techniques, privacy, and cryptographic protocols. Engin SUSTAM, Paris 8 University, France – received his PhD (2012) at EHESS. He is currently an associate researcher at IFEA in Istanbul and he has worked as a visiting scholar at the University of Geneva, EHESS, ENS, Paris 8 University. He is also a member of the Scholars at Risk program of the New York University. He is the author of the book Kurdish Art and Subalternity between Violence and Resistance in Turkey, L’Harmattan, 2016. Alain TOURAINE, EHESS, France – is Emeritus Director of Studies at EHESS of Paris. Founder of the Centre d’Analyse et d’Intervention Sociologique (CADIS). He led several empirical researches in Europe and published more than 50 books (monograps) translated in several languages. His research covered several sociological areas such as Social Movement Studies, and Modernity Studies.