Postmodernity

Question 1

What do postmodernists say about society ?

Answer 1

It has become increasingly characterised by uncertainty and diversity which cannot be explained by the old metanarratives

Question 2

What does Lyotard (1984) suggest ?

Answer 2

That these are collapsing in the face of social fragmentation and that we should abandon them

Question 3

What might some collapsed metanarratives be ?

Answer 3

Politics​
Science​
Religion​
Medicine​

Question 4

What is a metanarative ?

Answer 4

An abstract idea that is supposed to be a comprehensive explanation of historical experience or knowledge

Question 5

Why does Faucault reject metanarratives ?

Answer 5

Postmodernists like Faucault argue that all views are true for those who hold them.
All accounts of reality are equally valid​

Question 6

For postmodernists where does the key to inequalities lie ?

Answer 6

In the development of the post industrial world and the fact that they production of knowledge has taken precedence over manufacturing

Question 7

What does Baudrillard ​say about life in postmodern society ?

Answer 7

Life in a postmodern society is media-saturated.
Media images dominate and distort the way we see the world.

Question 8

What do postmodernists believe about the media ?

Answer 8

The media is central, it provides images that can be lived out

Question 9

What do postmodernists say about changing attitudes in society ?

Answer 9

Inequalities are shaped by lifestyle choices and a ‘pick n mix’ culture in which people are constantly changing their identity