1. Postmodernism
Mary Corrigan, Steven Moore, Randy Perlis

2. Postmodernism Definition
• Postmodernism postulates that many apparent realities are only
social constructs and are therefore subject to change. It emphasizes
the role of language, power relations, & motivations in the formation
of ideas. It evolved in reaction to the modernist scientific mentality of
objectivity and the progress associated with the Enlightenment. Aka
"armchair radicals" postmodernist researchers focus their critiques on
changing ways of thinking rather than on calling for action based on
these changes.
Crotty, M. (1998)."The Foundation of Social Research." Sage. pp. 185-
191, 209-213

3. Postmodernism Definition
Postmodernism might be considered a family of theories and
perspectives that have something in common. The basic concept is that
knowledge claims must be set within the conditions of the world today
and in the multiple perspectives of class, race, gender, and other group
affiliations. Philosophers are Foucault, Derrida, Lyotard, Freire, Butler,
etc.
Creswell, J. (2013) "Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design. 3rd ed. Sage.
(p. 27).

4. Postmodernism Definition
Postmodern attacks on ethnography are generally based on the belief
that there is no true objectivity and that therefore the authentic
implementation of the scientific method is impossible.
Reed, Isaac A. (2010) Epistemology Contextualized: Social-Scientific
Knowledge in a Postpositivist Era. Sociological Theory,28(1), 20-39.

5. Postmodernism Definition
Postmodern discourse (represented here mainly by the work of
Lyotard, Derrida, Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari) analyzes social life in
terms of paradox and indeterminacy, thus rejecting the human agent as
the center of rational control and understanding.
Cooper, R., & Burrell, G. (1988). Modernism, postmodernism and
organizational analysis: An introduction. Organization studies, 9(1), 91-
112.

6. Questions Reality and Representation
”There are no absolute truths and no objective values. There may be
local truths and values around, but none of them has the endorsement
of things as they really are . . . “(Rue, 1994).
Trudeau, G. (April 24, 1979). Interview with Presidential Candidate Jerry Brown, Doonesbury
http://www.sjsu.edu

7. Criticizes Metanarratives
“I define postmodern as incredulity toward
meta-narratives” Lyotard (1984).
“Postmodernism commits itself to ambiguity,
relativity, fragmentation, particularity and
discontinuity” (Crotty, 1998, p. 185).

8. Focuses upon Power Relations and Hegemony
Results in the “deletion of boundary
between art and everyday life; collapse of
hierarchical
distinction between elite and popular
culture” (Sarup, 1993).
American Gothic Comes to the City
Series by Steve A. Furman
http://www.contemporary-art-dialogue.com

9. Criticizes Western Institutions and Knowledge
“To think well, to feel well, to act
well, to read well, according to the
episteme of unmaking, is to refuse
the tyranny of wholes; totalization in
any human endeavor is potentially
totalitarian”(Wolin, 1992).
Moon Walk 1987
By Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh
http://www.warhol.org/collection/art/work/1998-1-2502-2/

10. Jacques Derrida
(July 15, 1930 – October 9, 2004)
• Born in French Algeria
• Analyzed and Criticized Western Philosophy
• He is “…understood as leaving behind a legacy of himself
as the “originator” of deconstruction and as a public
intellectual.”
• Often criticized for not meeting the “…accepted standards
of clarity and rigor…” by analytic philosophers. Some
even protested his receipt of an honorary degree from
Cambridge.
Calcagno, A. (2006). Foucault and Derrida: The Question of Empowering and Disempowering the Author. Human Studies, 33-51.
Jacques Derrida. (2012). Retrieved March 7, 2014, from The European Graduate School: Graduate & Postgraduate Studies:
http://www.egs.edu/faculty/jacques-derrida/biography/
Lawlor, Leonard, "Jacques Derrida", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
<http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2011/entries/derrida/>.
Smith, B., & et al. (1992, May 9). Open letter against Derrida receiving and honorary doctorate from Cambridge University. The Times, London.
Downloaded from wikipedia.com

11. Michel Foucault
(1926–1984)
• French Historian and Philosopher
• Strong academic basis in psychology and its history
• First major work was “History of Madness in the Classical
Age (1961)
• Focused on an archaeological method of writing
• Believed the goals of power and knowledge are
inseparable.
Gutting, Gary, "Michel Foucault", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
<http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2013/entries/foucault/>.
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12. Gilles Deleuze
(January 18, 1925–November 4, 1995)
• French Philosopher
• Labeled himself a “Pure Metaphysician”
• Known for writing in a very difficult manner to follow.
• Collaborated with Guattari on several texts
• Wrote Anti-Oedipus with the intent of “forcing” the reader
to think.
Smith, Daniel and Protevi, John, "Gilles Deleuze", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
<http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2013/entries/deleuze/>.
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13. Jean-François Lyotard
(1924 - 1998)
• French Philosopher
• Abandoned Paganism for Postmodernism
• Defined the postmodern as “incredulity towards
metanarratives, where metanarratives are understood as
totalizing stories about history and the goals of the human
race that ground and legitimize knowledge and cultural
practices.”
• Wrote The Postmodern Condition
Woodward, A. (2014, March 8). Jean-François Lyotard. Retrieved from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: A Peer-Reviewed Academic Resource:
http://www.iep.utm.edu/lyotard/
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14. Félix Guattari
(April 30, 1930-August 29, 1992)
• French Philosopher
• Collaborated with Gilles Deleuze
• Editor of La Voie Communist
• Explored a variety of subjects, including schizoanalysis
Felix Guattari - Biography. (2012). Retrieved March 7, 2014, from The European Graduate School: Graduate & Postgraduate Studies:
http://www.egs.edu/library/felix-guattari/biography/
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