Anthony Giddens

Sociology is not just about studying society, but about engaging with it. It is a critical and reflexive discipline.

The role of the sociologist is not to be a detached observer, but an engaged participant in the ongoing debates about the future of society.

The university is not just a place of learning, but a site of critical inquiry and public debate.

Education is not just about acquiring knowledge, but about developing critical thinking skills and a sense of social responsibility.

The media plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion and in mediating our understanding of the world.

The internet is not just a technological innovation, but a social revolution. It is transforming the way we communicate, interact, and organize our lives.

The challenge of the 21st century is to harness the power of globalization for the benefit of all, while mitigating its risks and inequalities.

We live in a world of manufactured uncertainty, where the very success of human intervention in nature creates new and unforeseen risks.

The 'end of history' is a myth. History is an ongoing process of change and transformation.

The future of democracy depends on our ability to adapt our institutions to the challenges of a globalized and rapidly changing world.

To be modern is to find ourselves in an environment that promises adventure, power, joy, growth, transformation of ourselves and the world - and at the same time, that threatens the loss of all that is secure and familiar.

Globalization is not only the most important phenomenon of our time, but also the most misunderstood.

Structuration theory aims to provide an account of the continuity of social life which avoids both the extremes of functionalism and the voluntarism of action theory.

In a globalizing world, the nation-state is becoming too small to solve the big problems and too big to solve the small ones.

Risk is not just a matter of probability; it is a cultural phenomenon shaped by our perceptions and institutions.

The self today is seen as something to be developed and worked upon, rather than given by nature.

Modernity is a post-traditional order, in which the question, 'How shall I live?' has to be reformulated in terms of how to get the most out of what many people would see as an inconvenient world.

We live in a world of runaway social forces: globalization, information technology, environmental degradation.

Social practices are not only ways of acting but also ways of relating to the world and to others.

Intimacy in modern societies is both a source of great fulfillment and profound anxiety.