Hartmut Rosa - Late modernity in crisis

Between September 21 and 24 this year, the German sociologist and social philosopher Professor Hartmut Rosa will be a guest at the Department of Culture and Media Studies. On September 22, he will also give an open lecture on late modernity in crisis.

How do we cope with a late modernity in crisis?

The German sociologist and social philosopher Hartmut Rosa analyzes how the accelerating pace of modernity erodes our ability to create meaningful relationships with the world, and proposes resonance as both a diagnosis and a way out of contemporary crises. On September 22, he will give an open lecture at Umeå University about late modernity in crisis. Hosted by the Department of Cultural and Media Studies.

In his analysis of a late modernity in crisis, Rosa connects acceleration and resonance to the major problems of our time: climate crisis, political polarization, mental illness and the weakening of democracy. Rosa believes that these crises are not just separate failures in the system but expressions of something he calls “muting”, a dampening of the world’s voice towards us, caused by escalating demands for efficiency and growth. Therefore, crises become both symptoms and amplifiers of acceleration as a consequent direction.

Acceleration, Rosa believes, is a pervasive feature of what is generally referred to as “modernity”. Here, there are technological, social and life-long processes that require ever faster change to maintain the system’s direction. Paradoxically, this leads to a lack of time and alienation. We save time technically, but at the same time experience that we have less time for what really matters.

Resonance is about relationships where the world responds back: meetings, work, art, nature and politics become meaningful when they move us, change us and allow us to influence back. Resonance is not a feeling but a relational quality that stands in contrast to instrumental control and distancing. In practice, Rosa's perspective means that political and cultural responses must be directed towards structural changes that slow down destructive acceleration and create space for resonance: working time reforms, care investments, democratic deepening and a reassessment of growth as a goal.

In summary, Rosa's work can be seen as a diagnosis (acceleration and alienation) and an ambitious normative direction (resonance) for understanding and managing our time. He also sees an ethical dimension: regaining the ability to be touched and to respond back is central to a good life in late modernity.