What knowledge is and how it is legitimized is changing throughout history. The sociology of knowledge focuses on what knowledge is and where it comes from. Because knowledge is historically relative, what it is and where it comes from changes over time. This is one of the essays on the sociology of knowledge in which I will examine how knowledge is legitimized within the university in modernity and postmodernity, and draw on sociological imaginations of modernity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Modernity is often believed to begin in the late 18th century and last until the early 19th century. It is normal to think of modernity as a time and place, but it can also be thought of as a set of ideas. In modernity, industrialization created a division of labor and created a more capitalist society where production was aimed at the market. Urbanization has also created more cramped living conditions and created a change in how people interact with each other. Society has adopted a new value system in which the freedom of the individual has become important, this is often called liberalism. In modernity, the university has become the main place of knowledge production. The modern university had separate departments and disciplines, and the common thought was that scientific knowledge was the best knowledge. The goal of scientists was to find the truth and they believed that knowledge made life better. The common thought in modernity was that knowledge was a linear line, of which we always got more, and the more we had, the better. Postmodernity is considered the second half of the 20th century. The ideas of liberalism and individual freedom now strengthened and people began to free themselves from the burden of tradition. The idea that progress was predictable and linear was now being challenged. Instead of trying to control nature, concern turned to the consequences that modernity and industrialization had had on nature and the risks that modernity had produced. In postmodernity, the importance of truth and progress has been replaced by skepticism and relativism. Instead of focusing so much on progress and knowledge as a linear line, people now began to look back and produce knowledge on what already existed. The idea that scientific knowledge was the best knowledge is now being challenged, and disciplines such as humanity and the arts become more important. Other new departments and disciplines also grew larger within the university and were considered more important. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In this essay I have examined how knowledge is legitimized within the university in modernity and postmodernity. Modernists and postmodernists had a different way of looking at knowledge. For modernists, the focus was on progress and how to gain more knowledge. The idea was that knowledge made life better and scientific knowledge was the best knowledge. In postmodernity, humanity and the social sciences were some of the disciplines that became more important, and skepticism and relativism replaced the ideas of progress and truth. Knowledge was no longer seen as a linear line, but as something relative and to be questioned.