Lecture: Postmodernism

Session 9

Characteristics of Postmodernism

Uses tools of post-structuralism? Critiques pre existing cultural norms.. Symbolic Capital*

1. Deletion of the boundary between art and everyday life

2. Collapse of hierarchical distinctions between “high” and “popular” culture

3. Stylistic eclecticism and the mixing of codes

4. Celebration of parody, pastiche, irony and playfulness

5. Espousal of surface over depth

6. Shift in emphasis from content to form

7. Decline of the concepts of originality and artistic genius, and assumption that art is only repetitious

Session 9

Characteristics of Postmodernity according to Fredric Jameson

commodification of aesthetics

depthlessness

historicity

emotional intensities

technology

Session 9

hegemonic : order-maintaining

counter-hegemonic: resistant or order-transforming

Session 9

Post-Marxism

1) Post-Marxists acknowledge that there is no necessary correspondence between economics and culture, and that the cultural realm has a presence and power of its own separate from the economic base.

2) They recognize that there has been a transition from a society of commodity production to a society of consumption and the re-production of images and information.

3) Post-Marxists follow Foucault in observing that power is not a force located within a single group, class or action, but it permeates all our lives "from the bottom up".

4) They hold a fragmented view of class, arguing that gender, ethnic, religious or sexual identities cut across and fracture the Marxist notion of social class.

5) They recognize that the expression or representation of these "sub-cultural" identities constitutes new sites of oppression and struggle that serve to replace traditional class politics.

Session 9

Summary of Postmodernism

1. Postmodernism is an imprecise, elusive and sometimes contradictory term with a range of applications and potential understandings.

2. There are at least three distinct ways the term postmodernism has been used: as an epoch, as astyle and as a method.

3. Each of these perspectives conceives of postmodernism in relational terms and claims that society, culture and forms of analysis have changed significantly in recent decades.

4. Postmodern theorists are concerned with describing the nature of these changes and suggesting reasons for why they have come about.

5. They propose new approaches and new vocabularies for understanding and discussing contemporary social and cultural phenomena.

6. Many postmodern critics agree that as a style or a form of analysis, postmodernism aims to be a critique, transgression or subversion of pre-existing norms.

7. Postmodernism is conceived by many as a "crisis of representation", or loss of faith in our ability to represent reality.

Lecture Review and Comments: Positivism

Session 2

Positivism

Auguste Comte

utilitarianism

liberalism

deduction

hypotheses

induction

methodological individualism

epiphenomenal

environment-behaviour research

cognitive maps

environmental perception

spatial cognition

legibility

monograph

mimesis

Session2

Key Ideas of the Enlightenment

Individualism - The individual is the starting point for all knowledge and action, and individual reason cannot be subjected to a higher authority (such as God or the Church).

Rationalism - Reason, or the process of rational thought, independent of experience, is innate within the human mind and is the only basis for organizing knowledge.

Empiricism - The only valid way to gain knowledge about the world is through observation or sensory experience.

Scientific Method - Science allows us to order observable facts and to discover the laws that govern them.

Progress - Knowledge gained by scientific methods can be used to explain or predict events, resulting in the improvement of the human condition.

Universalism - Scientific methods for acquiring objective knowledge are universal so they can be applied to all spheres of endeavour.

Session 2

                                      Types of Theory Work

1) Ad hoc classificatory systems are arbitrary classes constructed for the sake of summarizing data.

They are methods of organizing observations so that more sophisticated theory development can follow.

2) Categorical systems or taxonomies construct classes to fit the subject matter and facilitate the description of relationships among classes of phenomena.

Taxonomies do not offer an explanation; they merely provide descriptive schemes that anticipate explanatory and predictive theories.

3) Conceptual frameworks place descriptive categories within a broad structure of propositions, which are used to analyze the data.

Conceptual frameworks are based on concepts, the first building blocks of theory.

They systematically direct empirical and theoretical activity around a core set of problems.

4) Theoretical systems combine taxonomies and conceptual schemes with descriptions and predictions in a deductive relationship, but they lack an empirical base.

5) Empirical theoretical systems are fully developed positivist theories consisting of concepts, definitions, hypotheses or propositions and empirical observations. 

Session 2

The Main Characteristics of Positivism

1) Positivism is based on phenomenalism, which assumes that every phenomenon in the world has an independent existence, or "essence", which remains constant and can be observed.

2) Positivism assumes that every phenomenon is governed by laws that a detached investigator using appropriate methods may discover.

3) The knowledge discovered using these methods is believed to be objective and factual.

4) Positivism claims that once knowledge is gained it can be used to explain events, make predictions about future events, and control phenomena in ways that will be advantageous to the controllers.

5) Positivist research is organized around the principles of verifiability or falsifiability.

6) Positivism makes a very rigid distinction between fact and value and portrays itself as neutral, objective or value-free.

7) The positivist or scientific method aims to build theories by incorporating different levels of theory-work.

8) Positivists believe in the essential unity of the scientific method, that the methods for acquiring knowledge are the same in all spheres of experience.

Lecture Notes Review + Comments: Why Theorise Research

Session 3

Concept:   an idea or image of reality

Model:  an intellectual construct or device created to simplify or reduce complexity and to show the operation of underlying mechanisms

Theory:   a set of analytical or interpretative propositions representing relationships between various ideas or concepts

Session 3

Explanatory theories

Interpretative theories

Normative theories

Session 3

Cultural theory

Addresses problems surrounding:

·     the nature of artistic production
* Relevant to "Random Expressive Flow"

·     the meanings generated by cultural artefacts

·     how those meanings are received by different audiences

Social theory

Addresses problems surrounding:

·     different orders of social reality from interpersonal encounters to broader institutional arrangements

·     relationships between the individual and society
*Relates to "Context Frame"

·     relationships between human actions and social structures 

Lecture Notes Review + Comments: Sesson1: Types of Research

Session 1

Everyday Research

Intuitive

Common sense

Casual

Spur of the moment

Selective

Focused on personal decisions

Scholarly Research:

Theory based

Structured

Systematic

Planned

Logical

Focused on knowledge about reality

Session 1

Reasons Why Research is Conducted

Descriptive Research – Aims to achieve a description of something, perhaps to provide background information for a further stage of an enquiry or as an end in itself.

Its purpose is to describe rather than to understand, explain or predict.

Purely descriptive research is rare as it is difficult for researchers to avoid the temptation to draw conclusions or proffer recommendations.

Exploratory Research – Aims to provide information on which to base future studies, to define concepts or to formulate hypotheses.

Exploratory research will hopefully raise yet more questions, and its success will depend upon the open-mindedness of the researcher and the degree of control exerted over the subject matter.

Explanatory Research – Aims to gain knowledge in order to advance our understanding of the world.

This may help the researcher support or refute currently held theories.

Explanatory research is concerned primarily with discovering causes, and is seen by some as the most respected form of research and scientific pursuit.

Applied Research – Aims to solve problems and/or establish policy.

Another related term is policy research.

One specific type of applied research is evaluation research which focuses on the effectiveness of programs or actions and assesses potential or real improvements to proposed or existing schemes.

Other types are action research, impact studies and cost-benefit analysis.

Session 1

1) What is the nature of reality?

2) What is the relationship of the researcher to that researched?

3) What is the role of values?

4) What is the language of research?

5) What is the process of research?

Session 1

Key Characteristics of Quantitative Methodology

Numerical – Aims to discover the incidence of particular characteristics of something, and the frequencies in which they occur.

The intention is to infer a relationship between these characteristics.

Planned – Isolates and identifies characteristics (variables) prior to data collection. The instruments to be used are pre-determined and rigid.

Structured – Because of the rigidity of the methods used, the relationship between researcher and subject is made rather formal by the use of standardised procedures to ensure objectivity and consistently.

Objective – Analysis of the data collected relies on statistical methods for determining the probability of occurrence of the predicted relationships between variables.

There is limited scope for the kind of interpretation which allows free reign to subjectivity.

Session 1

Key Characteristics of Qualitative Methodology

Openness and Flexibility - There is no pre-determined hypothesis so there is potential for an approach that is not constrained by scope or orientation.

The flexibility this permits allows for changes to occur during execution of the research; research methods may be readily changed when deemed appropriate.

Communication – The communication between researcher and subject is the vehicle for the research.

The relationship itself is important as it is the subject who defines the scope and flow of the research to an equal extent.

The reality is constructed and interpreted within the framework of this social interaction.

Contextualisation – Communication exists within a social context that is liable to continual change.

The meanings salient to communication reflect and must be understood within this context.

A flexible approach to choice of research instruments is necessary.

Session 1

Research as Systematic Enquiry

1) Agree question or questions to be investigated

2) Undergo research methods training

3) Undertake a comprehensive literature review

4) Identify the methods to be employed

5) Design the means of investigation

6) Collect data

7) Analyse or interpret findings

8) Answer the questions originally posed and make generalisable statements

9) Capture the whole process and findings in a written document