Post-Modernism and the Social Sciences: Insights, Inroads, and Intrusions

by Pauline Marie Rosenau

Post-modernism offers a revolutionary approach to the study of society: in questioning the validity of modern science and the notion of objective knowledge, this movement discards history, rejects humanism, and resists any truth claims. In this comprehensive assessment of post-modernism, Pauline Rosenau traces its origins in the humanities and describes how its key concepts are today being applied to, and are restructuring, the social sciences. Serving as neither an opponent nor an apologist for the movement, she cuts through post-modernism's often incomprehensible jargon in order to offer all readers a lucid exposition of its propositions. Rosenau shows how the post-modern challenge to reason and rational organization radiates across academic fields. For example, in psychology it questions the conscious, logical, coherent subject; in public administration it encourages a retreat from central planning and from reliance on specialists; in political science it calls into question the authority of hierarchical, bureaucratic decision-making structures that function in carefully defined spheres; in anthropology it inspires the protection of local, primitive cultures from First World attempts to reorganize them. In all of the social sciences, she argues, post-modernism repudiates representative democracy and plays havoc with the very meaning of "left-wing" and "right-wing." Rosenau also highlights how post-modernism has inspired a new generation of social movements, ranging from New Age sensitivities to Third World fundamentalism. In weighing its strengths and weaknesses, the author examines two major tendencies within post-modernism, the largely European, skeptical form and the predominantly Anglo-North-American form, which suggests alternative political, social, and cultural projects. She draws examples from anthropology, economics, geography, history, international relations, law, planning, political science, psychology, sociology, urban studies, and women's studies, and provides a glossary of post-modern terms to assist the uninitiated reader with special meanings not found in standard dictionaries.

Genres: Philosophy

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Pauline Marie Vaillancourt Rosenau

Reviews

[Zeke Smith]

This book helps some to cut thru the fog used to defend the disaster that is called "post-modernism". My simplistic definition: Post-modernism is the idea that there is no reality outside your own brain. Everything else is imaginary. It's a big cop-out used to demobilize people, to prevent them from actually changing the world. It's the source of this "If you want to change the world, first you have to change yourself" idea. Which results in people spending their whole lives changing themselves, while the bombs continue to rain down.

[Musa Kayrak]

Definitely the book to start learning the basics of the postmodernism. Unfortunately it is not easy to find in bookstores. I strongly recommend it.

[Rick]

There are good sections on understanding truth and reason, as post modernism promotes flexibility for both. However some of the sections are "dated". (It was published in 1992.

[Ari]

"Anything goes" is a post-modernism view. Since post-modernists view reality as un-reality (a simulacra- borrowing Baudrillard term) then it is difficult to attempt to define its ontological and epistemological context in this area. It disturbs modern science but I think it's masterpiece lies on bringing everything equals to the logocentrism.

Rosenau has done a great job of putting things in a clear manner.

[Robert Rodbourne]

a good survey of the problem of adapting po-mo to research issues

[Luís Branco]

It is an interesting book, with a broader spectrum of theories, philosophies and scientific discipline. It's provocative and worthy of reading.