This article discusses new uses of interpretative repertoires of risk, especially those related to adventure. The author argues that the language of risk as adventure has multiple uses, as both a hedge against de-traditionalizing processes typical of late modernity and a figure of speech for new sensitivities stemming from the imperative of coping with the imponderability and volatility of modern risks. The article begins with an overview of the historical meanings of risk, seeking to argue that, as language in use, risk is a useful vantage point for understanding the transformations currently under way in the forms of social control, suggesting that we are experiencing a transition from disciplinary society, typical of classic modernity, to risk society. The discussion then focuses on recent transformations in images of risk, with special emphasis on the trend to use risk-adventure as a metaphor for late modernity.
Risk; Risk-Adventure; Reflexive Modernization; Risk Language
