What is postmodernism?

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What is postmodernism?

Modernity and postmodernism are terms used to describe different eras in the development of human societies. It is different from most sociological perspectives in that it has no over arching theory. Some think that western societies have moved from an era of modernity to post modernity, but others do not agree. The debate between modernity and postmodernism tends to be about to what extent society has changed, and so which theoretical approach is the most appropriate. Modernism began as a way of describing the ideas that emerged during the decline of medieval society. There were three main elements modernism, economic, political and cultural. Modernist thinking supports the idea that the purpose of learning is to better the human condition. Postmodernism opposes each of the assumptions of modernism. They say there is no such thing as valid or invalid knowledge, they see knowledge as a form of control rather then liberation and that grand theories are inadmissible.

Postmodernism began to have a significant effect on sociology in the 1980's. Most postmodernists believe that conventional approaches are no longer relevant to sociology, and must be discarded, approaches such as Marxism, functionalism and feminism they claim, were useful in explaining how society operated in previous eras but are no longer relevant to today's society. Modern theorists such as Durkhiem and Weber claim to be able to provide a comprehensive and definitive theory of society. Post modernists claim that this is not possible.
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Postmodernists claim that enlightenment has been abandoned in contemporary society. They claim people no longer believe in the inevitability of progress and the capacity of science to explain all. People are more pessimistic and no longer believe that grand theories such as Marxism and functionalism are able to explain society. There is now a much wider set of beliefs.

French postmodernist writer Jean-Francois Lyotard argues that post-industrial society and so post-modern culture began to develop at the end to of the 1950's, although the rate of development varies between countries. Lyotard agrees that the advance of ...

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