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22 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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what do postmodernists argue about this 'new' society that we live in? |
We now live in a new postmodern era that is a fundamental break with modernity and requires a new kind of theory to explain it. |
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What do postmodernists argue about knowledge? |
there are no sure foundations of knowledge- there is no objective criteria we can use to prove if a theory is wrong. |
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What is anti-foundationalism? |
the argument that there are no sure foundations of knowledge- there is no objective criteria we can use to prove if a theory is wrong. |
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What are the two consequences of anti-foundationalism? |
>the enlightenment project is 'dead' - if we cannot guarantee that knowledge is correct, we cannot use it to improve society >Any-meta narratives-such as marxism-are just someones version of reality-which means that there is no reason to accept the claims the theory makes |
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which 3 theoretical perspectives offer explanations to the changes that have produced globalisation? |
>postmodernism >Theories of late modernity >Marxist theories of postmodernity |
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What is a meta-narrative? |
a "big story". that represents an explanation for everything that happens in a society. |
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What do postmoderists feel we should do about the diversity of views (in relation to knowledge)? |
we should celebrate the diversity of views, rather than seek to impose one version of the truth |
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What do postmodernists argue about the enlightenment project? |
> the enlightenment project is underachieve in post-mod society because the media create hyper-reality- this means that is we cannot even grasp reality- we have lost the power to change it in order to improve society |
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what is hyper-reality? |
when the media's signs appear more real that reality itself- thus leaving us unable to distinguish image from reality. |
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how did postmodernists argue that a postmodern society had caused culture and identity to suffer? |
The media produces an endless stream of images, which makes culture unstable and fragmented. |
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What are the consequences of fragmentation cause by the media (postmodernists) |
Fragmentation causes there to no longer be a coherent set of shared values.- this means that people cease to believe any one version of the truth. |
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why do postmodernists reject meta-narratives? |
they argue that they have helped t create oppressive totalitarian states that impose their version of the truth on people. |
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What position to postmodernists take? |
realists |
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What did Lyotard argue about knowledge in postmodern society? |
in post-mod soc knowledge is just a series of different 'language games'/ways of seeing the truth |
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What did Lyotard state in his comparision in knowledge in modern and postmodern society? |
In modern society meta-narratives claimed a monopoly of truth and sometimes sought to impose it by force- but in postmodern society- groups who had been marginalised by modern society-e.g. women- were now allowed to be heared. |
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What did Baudrillard argue about knowledge in postmodern society? |
knowledge = central to post-mod soc: soc = no longer based pn the production of material goods-but rather on buying + selling knowledge in the form of images and signs-but these signs stand for nothing other than themselves (hyper-reality) |
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how do postmodernists describe identity in post-mod soc? |
as being 'DESTABILISED' |
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What do postmodernists mean by society, in the post-mod era, being 'DESTABILISED'? |
instead of people having a fixed, ascribed identity w.g. by class, we now create our own identity through a wide range of images and lifestyles that are on offer in the media |
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How do Baudrillard describe the construction of our own identity in a post-mod soc? |
As being like a pick-and-mix in which we 'pick-and-mix' media-produced images to define ourselves |
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What are the strengths of the postmodern view? |
>they make some important points about today's society e.g. the significance of the media for culture and identity >some argue it's rejecting of meta-naratives = valuable |
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Why is the postmodernism perspective criticised? |
>it ignored the ruling class' use of the media as a tool of ideological domination >it is wrong to claim that people cannot distinguish between reality and media image >by assuming that all views are equally true it becomes just as valid to deny the Nazis's murdered millions of jews >it is argued that we CAN use knowledge to solve human problems |
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what are the logical criticisms of the postmodernist perspective? |
>Lyotard's theory is self-defeating- why should we believe a theory that no theory holds the truth >Best & Kellner- postmodernism does identify some important features of today's society- but- it fails to explain how these changes came about. |
