Postmodern thought has had a mixed reception among scholars. Many postmodernist theorists disagree with one another about what are the parameters of postmodernism. Some postmodernists Believe that the physical world might operate by laws, but the process of discovering these laws creates culture that, in turn, is subject to interests, politics, and forms of domination.
Postmodern thought has had a mixed reception among scholars. Many postmodernist theorists disagree with one another about what are the parameters of postmodernism. Some postmodernists Believe that the physical world might operate by laws, but the process of discovering these laws creates culture that, in turn, is subject to interests, politics, and forms of domination.
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Postmodern thought has had a mixed reception among scholars. Many postmodernist theorists disagree with one another about what are the parameters of postmodernism. Some postmodernists Believe that the physical world might operate by laws, but the process of discovering these laws creates culture that, in turn, is subject to interests, politics, and forms of domination.
Copyright:
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
advancements or new levels of consciousness m Habermas traced the use of the word to the late fifth century, when Christians used term to distinguish present form the pagan and Roman past m ach era considers itself modern, which implies that all of history leads to any given era m According to Hegel, we have not yet reached a point of completion, but instead we set the stage for it. m hen scholars think beyond the present (modernity), they allow for both a future (postmodernity) and, consequently, postmodern thought m American sociological theory states that postmodernism followed the dominance of functionalism in the1950·s and the prevalence of neo-Marxist and conflict theory in the 1960·s and 1970·s. m 1980·s-1990·s: many sociologists believed that there was a ´decisive shift in the nature of society, from ¶modernity· to ¶postmodernity· ¬ his led to distorted nature of many concepts and ideas used by modern theorists to become increasingly apparent ¬ postmodernist vocabulary and discourse were adopted instead w Has had a mixed reception among scholars w Symbolic interactionists were among the first in social science community to join with the concerns of postmodernism w Postmodernists don·t look favorably at the scientific model m Sociology emerged as a discipline to explain the dramatic transformations associated with modernity; came after m Postmodernism is especially prevalent in the world of art but has found its way into sociological discourse in the past few decades. m Gefining postmodernism is difficult m Many postmodernist theorists disagree with one another about what are the parameters of postmodernism. m ´he most important component of postmodernism is its rejection of the scientific canon, of the idea that there can be a single coherent rationality of that reality has a unitary nature that can be definitively observed and understoodµ (Gelaney) m here are some postmodernists who concede that the physical world might operate by laws , but the process of discovering these laws creates culture that, in turn, is subject to interests, politics, and forms of domination m Believe a reality may exist, but definitive knowledge of it is flawed/invalid m Postmodern thought has been the product of non- sociologists m Recently, a number of sociologists have incorporated the ideas of postmodernism into sociological discourse m Postmodernism rejects grand narratives on the nature of the universe, doubts the advantages of technology, reduces science to a language game, criticizes the demands of the market and hyper- reality of advertising, and offers no vision of theory beyond many voices in continual play m Postmodernism emphasizes role of unconsciousness, reinterpreting knowledge as socially constructed and historically situated instead of a timeless representation of the world by separate individuals. m Born in l-Biar, Algeria m French philosopher and essayist
m orks utilized deconstructivist approach
m Concept of is derived from his works
¬ mphasize the primary of the words we use, the concepts they embody, and the rules that develop within a group about what are appropriate ways of talking about things. m- modes of thinking that apply truth claims to universal propositions m n other words, our knowledge of the social world is grounded in the belief that we can make sense of our ever-changing and highly complex societies by referring to certain unchanging principles or foundations. m special approach to the understanding and interpretation of published writings. m Goal was not limited to merely understanding the basic structure of the text, but the thinking of the author as well (German tradition). m Utilized the hermeneutical method in his analysis of other scholars m Born in Philadelphia in 1909 m Son of a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School m Graduated from Harvard College in 1931 and earned a degree from Harvard Law in 1934 m Served as a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Louis Brandeis m aught at the University of Buffalo Law School
m Moved to Chicago and taught there until 1958,
and then left to teach at Harvard University for over thirty years m Book written by Riesman that was viewed as a modern to postmodern discourse m Giscussed dramatic social changes that were changing m Represented a study of the changing American character ¬ America was moving from a society governed by ñ to a society governed by ñ
¬ Shift of character from the upper middle class took place and went from ´
into
mu people, who as children internalized goals that were ´implantedµ by their elders (modernism) m people became more susceptible to the expectations and preferences of others (postmodernism) m ·
ñ ñ ñ m Riesman·s view of postmodernism had to do with the change in America·s
¬ hat part of ´characterµ which is shared by
significant social groups and is the product of the experiences of these groups
¬ ´he link between character and society«is to be
found in the way in which society ensures some degree of conformity from the individuals who make it up.µ m n each society, conformity is Ô into the child and is either encouraged or frowned upon ¬ Conclusions: agents of socialization (family, media, religion) make individuals conform to expectations of specific social groups m Relationships between society and individual were very important m
social change is at a minimum; follow long-held customs ¬ Little effort is spent on alternative ways of thinkingå not a lot of innovation or technological advances m u
characterized by increased personal mobility, by a rapid accumulation of capital (and technological shifts) and by a constant ñ (production of goods, exploration«)å Gramatic change in society m
term applied to upper-middle- class persons in large cities; person is shallow, freer with money, friendlier, and more demanding of approval from significant others than strangers ¬ Gain sense of self from reactions of others m individuals who attempt to meet standards of significant others ¬ people find themselves set on a course they can·t realistically followåinsecurity m ¦ place where individuals attempt to find harmony instead of conforming to norms of ´other-directedµ forces. m very difficult to attain; if it is attained, people often fail to mold it into structure and then succumb to anomie m Joining more compatible groups will improve self- consciousness ¬ Anyone unhappy with his or herself may alter consciousness by joining groups that enhance their quality o life m Born in Versailles France m as one of the world·s foremost philosophers and a noted postmodernist m aught at University of California, University of Paris V and at mory University in Atlanta m Argued that we were in an era of relaxation ¬ e·re urged to give up experimentation m 0 product or effect of the development of modernity itself m According to Jean-Francois, the ñ of postmodernism implies a simple succession and changes in a sequence of periods ¬ 0 a new direction from the previous one m n his book, 0 ñ
he wrote about the condition of knowledge as a postmodern one ¬ Believed (Postmodern) condition could be used to describe conditions of knowledge in highly developed societies m 0 word that designates the state of our culture following the transformations, since the end of the 19th century, and have altered the game rules for science, literature, and the arts. m Status of knowledge: altered as societies enter the postindustrial age and cultures enter the postmodern age (began in the late 1950·s³ uropes reconstruction period) m Pace of development is contingent on technological knowledge m Societies with computer knowledge are more likely to be at the forefront in the transformation to postmodernity m ncrease in technology=increase in knowledgeå economically powerful nations, who will help less-developed nations (bipolar power relationship) m Made clear distinction between knowledge and science m hought that knowledge couldn·t be reduced to science, or even to learning m nstead, Science and learning are subsets (types) of knowledge m Lyotard believed that with every new theory, hypothesis, statement, or observation, the question of legitimacy remains m Lyotard links these three concepts to postmodernism m - Believed that the grand narratives of knowledge had lost their credibility in the postmodern society m - pragmatics used in the story (every utterance should be thought of as a move in the game)å led to legitimacy m · Allow for society to define criteria of competence; evaluate according to those criteria what is or can be performed. ¬ . popular stories recount the successes and failures of the hero·s undertakings åbestow legitimacy upon hero m nfants: Lyotard explained that it·s up to them to emancipate themselves and become owners of themselves through language ¬ Communication in a purposeful manner= advantages over others. m Born in Northern French town of Reims m First member of his family to attend a university m Became an assistant professor in September 1966 at Nanterre University in Paris m He is a postmodern theorist and social philosopher m Radical among postmodernists m rained as a sociologist, but his work has left that discipline m 1960·s: he was both a modernist and Marxist m 1980·s: he could be considered both a postmodernist and a critic of Marxism m France in the 1960·s was very different than France in 1950·s ¬ such as new architecture, many new expansions of the consumer society m n the 1960·s and 70·s, Baudrillard·s ideas were: Marxist criticism of capitalism in studies of consumption, fashion, media, sexuality, and the consumer society m He argued that the empirical object is a myth m Believed that there was a time when signs stood for something real; now they refer to little more than themselves ¬ which means that they take on symbolic meaning ¬ this makes his postmodernist thinking similar to symbolic interactionists m Gistinctions between what is real and what is not are the cornerstone of the postmodern world m According to Baudrillard: ´we live in the age of simulationµ ¬ simulations dominate society and have produced a new kind of social order ¬ simulations lead to the creation of m the reproductions of objects or events
m ndustrial simulacra dominated during
industrialization m Mass production replaced the natural form of production that existed in feudal-medieval times m echnological world requires a technological language to describe objects and their relations m New technological advancements affect all structures in society m He said that we live in a world that is not real, and, instead we live in a hyperreal world where signs have acquired a life of their own and serve no other purpose than symbolic exchange m Baudrillard·s relation to Marxism is extremely complex and volatile m His split with Marxism came about in his book 0
m He felt that Marxist analysis of labor power, production, use of value needs, and so on is a leftover product of an era long ago m Believed Marx·s concepts are too conservative because they are too dependent on the analysis of the political economy ¬ hus, he is a part of the poststructuralist critique of representational thought m Baudrillard pays close attention to contemporary society m He believed that society was no longer dominated by production, but by developments of consumerism, the media, entertainment, and information technologies m Postmodern society is dominated by issues of consumption m Baudrillard said that society has undergone a ´catastrophicµ revolution that has led to the demise of ´socialµ society m He blamed the proliferation of media communication and mass entertainment as the chief culprits of this demise m Baudrillard believed that mass media and entertainment are so powerful that they have created a culture characterized by hyperreality. ¬ Hyperreality: the media no longer mirror reality: they have become more real than reality itself ¬ Robert Young played the role of Gr. elby. Young received thousands of letters asking for medical advice because the audience could not separate the ´realµ Robert Young from the ´unrealµ Gr. elby. m Mass media is not the only institution responsible for hyperreality ¬ extends to all aspect of postmodern culture and comes in the form entertainment as well ¬ He was very critical of Gisneyland. He said, ´Gisneyland is presented as imaginary in order to make us believe that the rest is real, when in fact all of Los Angeles, and the America surrounding it are no longer real, but of the order of the hyperreal and of simulationµ. m Born in Cleveland, Ohio m He taught at:
m - Harvard from 1959-1967
m -Univ. of California at San Giego from 1967-1976
m -Yale from 1976-1983
m -UC at Santa Cruz from 1983-1985
m -Guke starting in 1986
m He now serves as a Gistinguished Professor of
Comparative Literature at Guke, where he directs the Graduate Program in Literature and the Center for Cultural heory m He equates postmodernism with late capitalism m Believes that distinct phases of the mode of production have distinct ´cultural dominantsµ ¬ the cultural dominant is a pattern of representation that appears across different media and art forms. t is an indirect reflection of the underlying mode of production and social conditions. m According to Jameson, in ñ , culture is dominated by consumerism and mass media ¬ Represents the shift form modern society to postmodern society m he impact of consumerism and mass media is felt in all parts of life m Jameson does not reject Marxian heory
m He sees both positive and negative
characteristics m He believes that with late capitalism, aesthetic production has become integrated into commodity production ¬ catastrophe and progress all together m One of Jameson·s concepts is Hyperspace ¬ Hyperspace: an area where modern conceptions of space are useless in helping us to orient ourselves m One of Jameson·s concepts is Hyperspace ¬ Hyperspace: an area where modern conceptions of space are useless in helping us to orient ourselves m Uses the concept of hyperspace to illustrate the point that people develop cognitive maps in order to maneuver in the complexity of society. ¬ he use of maps reinforces the reality that people define the world spatially rather than temporally ¬ Jameson admitted that cognitive mapping is in reality nothing more than a code word for ´class consciousnessµ m History: imperialism and colonization have existed for thousands of years and therefore are clearly blamed on modernism and postmodernism m Jameson attempted to show a relationship between modernism and imperialism in one of his articles m He had to admit that imperialism is not a modern construct ¬ nstead, he relabeled imperialism to fit his argument against capitalism m Jameson focused on imperialism NO as a relationship between metropolis and colony, but as the rivalry of the various imperial and metropolitan nation-states m Our understanding of the world is influenced by concepts and categories that we inherit from our culture·s interpretive tradition. ¬ Jameson wondered: How can readers of the present understand literature of the past when it is written in such a culturally different context? m he answer to this he thought, lies in Marxism and Marx·s perspective that history is a single collective narrative that links past and present. m Getermining what is ´falseµ and what is ´objectiveµ fact continues to dominate modern thought. m hen it is applied to the political aspects of life, it becomes even cloudier m Led interesting life that was cut short when he died of A GS in 1984 at the age of 57 m Born in Poitiers, France on October 15, 1926 m nrolled at the Jesuit secondary school Collège St. Stanislas in 1940. m n 1946, admitted to Ècole Normale Supèrieure where he received the ñ ñ !"#$%the ñ !"#"%and the &
ñ ñ !"'(%) m Book trilogy devoted to sex-
!"*+%) !"$#%and , 0 !"$#%revealed his life-long obsession with sex and with sadomasochism and a deep attraction to San Francisco·s flourishing gay community. m Some debate on whether Foucault was a postmodernist, a functionalist, or something else m Strictly speaking, according to Gelaney, Foucault was not a structuralist, although he thought that structuralism was the most advanced position in the human sciences m Foucault·s work is difficult to understand because of his wide range of historical references and his use of new concepts, but because most of all of his theories do not fit well into any of the established disciplines. m arly works center around the analysis of historically situated systems of institutions and discursive practices m mbraced neutrality, a strong test of positivism, and seemed to downplay the method of hermeneutics. m n !"+"%, Foucault insisted that human sciences can be treated as autonomous systems of discourse. m According to Greyfus and Rabinow (1982), Foucault is not interested in recovering man·s unnoticed everyday self-interpretation. ¬ Suggests that Foucault did not value the hermeneutic approach because he did not attempt to uncover any hidden meanings behind written words. m n his book, Gñ0¦
0 , Foucault described how the prisons are examples of coercive social institutions found in all societies and throughout most of human history. nstitutions such as prisons and asylums are highlightened by regularized routines designed to control and repress human behavior m xamined the last three centuries of the history of prisons and found that one form of torture had been replaced by another m Foucault·s structural analysis of total institutions led him to conclude that modern prisons reflect modern views of appropriate forms of discipline, especially as determined by those who possess power. m However, as we see declines in the use of the death penalty and more mental institutions and asylums as progress, Foucault sees them as epitomizing a shift in the way power is exercised in a society. hey embody discipline, deprive those involved of liberty, and exist to serve the interests of those in power. m n his book,
, Foucault challenges the hermeneutic belief in deep meaning by tracing the emergence of sexual confession and relating it to practices of social domination. m Concerned about social systems as psychotherapy and medicine. He questioned their power position and their corresponding ability to dictate to others what is ´normalµ and how one ´shouldµ feel. m Foucault saw these changes in the treatment of the mad or the criminal as a central feature of the modern discursive method, characterized by the dominance of the sciences and by the transition of the different disciplines claims into fields of practice such as medicine, psychotherapy, and social work. m From the tradition of Nietzsche, Foucault believed that power and knowledge were intertwined. Social institutions that are in power positions generally have the knowledge to manipulate others to maintain the status quo. m Argued that one·s very identity and sense of self are shaped by one·s position in the power structure. m Stated that power ´applies itself to immediate everyday life which categorizes the individual, marks him by his own individuality, attaches himself to his identity, imposes a law of truth on him which we must recognize and which others have to recognize in him.µ m n his later years, Foucault concentrated on the relationship of the self to power and truth: how the human being turns him or herself into a subject through the technologies of the self. m Sought to understand the role of the individual in society, the changing nature of the self as power relations change, and the ´effects of power relations and the possibilities of their transformation.µ m Modern and postmodern theories are promoted as alternatives to the more traditional sociological theories. m erms themselves are problematic, in that they are vague and have been applied to a wide variety of phenomena over a period of many centuries. m and ñ are usually used in connection with advancements in technology and new models of thinking m o think like a postmodernist: One must break from the taken-for-granted world, the given rules, and the claims to authority found in society m n other words, social thinkers must break from the current modes of thinking doing m Modern and postmodern theorists have disdain for positivism and the scientific methods of data collection and analysis. hey reject the grand theorizing and narratives that are common in the more tradition sociological theories m here are those who wonder whether modern and postmodern theories are actually theories at all. Sociological theories have traditionally consisted of grand narratives and ´big ideasµ. Consequently, rejecting grand theorizing is similar to rejecting sociological theory m Aimed at their refusal to employ empirical studies with their statistical analysis ¬ Gifficult to examine whether their observations and theories are accurate because ´there are no systematic tests of these assertions.µ m Since every society has considered itself ´modernµ the term is too vague to apply to a theoretical approach m ithin about 50-100 years, future generations will laugh at our own claims of modernity ¬ Modern and postmodern theory might not be a theory at all m May be more accurately viewed as an ideological belief system m Postmodern discourse is itself vague and abstract
m Postmodern critics of sociological theory reveal
the questionable validity with which they work, for they generally lack a normative basis with which to make their judgments m Postmodern social theorists are best at critiquing society but they lack any vision of what society ought to be m Modern and postmodern theorists pay a great deal of attention to the media and other forms of entertainment. m Modern and postmodern theories offer an alternative approach to sociological theory, an alternative that has not been embraced by most sociologists.