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Postmodern Sociology

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Submitted By oliviajacinta
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Sociology should abandon the task of acquiring truth about an objective reality and accept all sociological accounts have equal validity. No one theory can point the way to a modern Utopia. Developments now occurring are profound. What’s happening is a movement beyond modernity and a postmodern era is arriving. Modern societies took their inspiration from the idea that history has s shape, i.e. that it goes somewhere and leads to progress.
The possibility of gaining knowledge of the world is known as modernism. The destruction of this optimism is an origin of postmodernism. It’s argued it’s not possible to arrive at a final truth about society and attempts to do so are dangerous, e.g. Marxist doctrine led to regime in Stalinist Russia.
Lyotard argues there are no longer grand narratives which make sense. In a postmodern world where structural theories are obsolete and it’s inevitable that multiple claims for truth compete with each other. Therefore postmodernists claim knowledge is pluralistic.
Postmodernists celebrate relativism and pluralism, emphasising people work through who they are in different ways, rather than finding out who they are on the basis of science and moral absolutes.
Recently there have been changes which have caused a debate about the future of modernity: * Intellectual life is dominated by a crisis of faith in the big modern ideas of science, progress and reason * Rapid population growth and urbanisation taking place in underdeveloped world, but decline in West * Transnational economic, cultural and political activity threatens the influence of nation-state. This is accompanied by crises within many political ideologies of modernity * Growing emphasis on consumption and proliferation of media generates cultural fragmentation
Post modernisation represents a reaction to the modern search for truth, ultimate meaning, and nature of reality, which began with the enlightenment. Instead, superficial and transitory nature of contemporary life is emphasised, where it’s fashion which has come to matter more than substance and meaning. Cultural dominance of the mass media is emphasised where reality and identity are constructed for us by advertising, pop music and TV soaps.
Philo and Miller are critical as they see the postmodernist argument that social scientists cannot explain and analyse an objective reality as dangerous because political apathy, which will result in dominant ideologies remaining unchallenged.
MEDIA
UK society has undergone fundamental change in the last decade, so we are living in a postmodern age, due to: * Rapid expansion in media technologies led to postmodern societies becoming media saturated * As a result, media shape identities and lifestyles more than traditional influences, such as ethnicity * Media has changed and shaped consumption by making us more aware of diversity of choices * Globalization of media = have more globalized cultural influences in terms of lifestyle and consumption * Media define lifestyles and identity for us (magazines, clothing) * Media inform consumption of images and brands for their own sake should be central aspect of identities – buy designer labels rather than clothes themselves resulting in people no longer judging on personality * Feel no longer belong to real communities but proto-communities (online fantasy gaming) increasing
Exaggerated degree of social change – attitude surveys suggest many see ethnicity as profound influence over identity. Media influence is important but not determining factor in lifestyle choices. Ignore fact that many unable to make consumption choices due to inequalities brought about by traditional influences, such as discrimination. However, many agree major changes ae taking place in modern society. Giddens: living in late-modernity.

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