Postmodern Ideas Research Articles

Changements de paradigmes

Cultural studies and neo-Marxism, confronted with the influence of modernist or postmodernist ideas, attempt to revise the foundations and objectives of mass communications research. The most fundamental goal of cultural studies is to denounce ideological and institutional conditioning in favor of an emancipatory pedagogy concerning the positive use of the media and of communication.

Post-Modern Ideas in Substance Abuse Treatment

ABSTRACT This article describes the use of post-modern ideas in the treatment of substance abusers at a long term residential and day treatment center. It describes some of the changes that ensued as a result of a transformation from a “therapeutic community” (TC) model to a “solution-focused” model. The TC is a deficit model that focuses on a person's flaws and weaknesses. Solution-focused therapy, on the other hand, focuses on what a person has done and is doing right and his or her strengths, assets, and resources. This approach not only improves the quality and effectiveness of substance abuse treatment for clients, but also creates a better working environment for staff.

„Viskas tiks...“ : naujieji laikai tapyboje

In the time between 1990-1996 were was a signif icant shift in Lithuanian art. The public discourse of that time was marked for the commencement of the postmodernist period and the breakthrough of aesthetic positions. Did it really happen? Our aim is to clarify, whether the old modernist sys tem of values was really renounced. The question has to asked: whether the contemporary painting has sufficient characteristics which would allow us to state its natural postmodern existence. The main purpose of this study is to analyse the spe cific features in the paintings of Kaunas' artists during the recent five years and to survey the relations of their paintings within the context of postmodernist ideas. The analysis of the paintings of recent years revealed the fact that distinct opposition between the notions of modernism and postmodernism did not exist. We may say that, since 1990, the paint ings of Kaunas' artists have experienced the trans formation of traditions that sometimes leads to the postmodernist direction. In this milieu the paint ing with postmodern characteristics naturally grew up in the setting of modernism. Essential modern istic features have not disappeared. There is also no radical reaction to modernism. Therefore, the situation in the painting milieu of Kaunas in the last five-seven years should be rather named "post modernist modernism", but not directly "post modernism". One of the most important features of the mentioned period is the outburst of person al styles and manneristic expressions. The atti tude of postmodernist modernism in painting is organically related with the modernistic concep tion of personal identity. It would be premature to talk about the end of individualism and "per sonal ideologies". The painting of postmodernist modernism is changing its adressee. One can feel the develop ing tendency of conformation to the taste of mass consumer, choosing non-iritating themes and motives. The problem of conformism and non conformism has had an ethic, moral and political tint in Soviet Lithuania. In the situation of post modernist modernism it becomes irrelevant. It is being changed by the strategies of conformation and commercial success.

Psichologiniai paauglių meninio ugdymo aspektai

Straipsnyje remiantis mokytojų ir mokinių apklausos rezultatais ir teorine literatūra nagrinėjami paauglių integruoto dailės dalykų mokymo koncepcijos psichologiniai pagrindai. Iškeliama holistinė kūrybos ir meninės veiklos prigimtis. Meno psichologijoje ji atsiskleidžia kaip dviejų priešingų asmenybės pradų – afektinio ir kognityvaus – vienovė meninio pažinimo procese. Visa tai kelia reikalavimą, kad meninio ugdymo turinys būtų grindžiamas teorijos ir praktikos sąveika. Ši sąveika dailės mokymo programoje pasiekiama dviejų dalykų- dailės istorijos ir dailės kompozicijos pagrindų – integravimu.

Modernity, Complexity and Mixed Articulation

The debates about the organization of state-articulated modernity, which succeeded 19th-century liberal modernity and underwent a crisis in the 1970s and 1980s, were left without a conclusion. Instead of summing up the post-modernist ideas, this article argues that we are today in the midst of a third stage of modernity, which is characterized by greater evolutionary complexity and mixed articulation. This, together with the growth of other, more fluid and contingent forms of sociability, has recourse to three principles: market, hierarchy (within corporations and the state) and network. The example of contemporary procedural law is drawn upon to illustrate the discussion.

Seven More Views on Intelligent Design

Singham replies: Scientific knowledge is the most powerful and reliable source of knowledge that we have. Naturally, we ask why that is so. The response that it provides us with true information about the world is strongly entrenched in the scientific community as an obvious truth. Predictably, then, challenging this assertion generates objections similar to those raised by Ralph Linsker and Pantazis Mouroulis.Is there anything intrinsic in the subject matter or methods of science that justifies the belief that science is progressing toward the truth? Historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science have investigated this question; they have looked at how science is practiced and how scientific communities form, operate, arrive at consensus views, and make judgments about theories. What emerges is that the case for “truth” is hard to sustain (see references 2–6 and 9 in my original article). This is not some recent postmodern idea, as Mouroulis implies. The earliest substantive critique originated in 1906 with Pierre Duhem; 1 1. P. Duhem, The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory, P. Wiener, trans., Princeton U. Press, Princeton, N.J. (1954). his thesis has since withstood spirited challenges. 2 2. S. G. Harding, ed., Can Theories Be Refuted? Essays on the Duhem-Quine Thesis, D. Reidel, Boston (1976). The idea that advances in scientific knowledge are not inexorably leading to the truth may strike many as weakening the case for science against its critics in ID. I believe that the converse is true and that the admittedly limited view of scientific knowledge that I have advocated—as being useful, predictive, and naturalistic, but not necessarily true—completely undermines the case for the inclusion of ID in the scientific framework. But I don’t espouse this view in order to oppose ID; it is a mistake to define science just to use that definition as a weapon in ideological wars. I arrived at my views regarding the nature of science long before ID came onto the scene, because I found the research of historians and philosophers of science to be very persuasive.Those who hold the more expansive view that science is revealing the truth about nature must be prepared to defend their position with more robust examples and arguments than those usually offered. Linsker wants to restore the concept of truth by limiting the domain of applicability of theories and cites the relationship between Einsteinian and Newtonian dynamics. The weaknesses of that oft-quoted argument were highlighted a long time ago. 3 3. T. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, U. Chicago Press, Chicago (1970), chap. 9. The personal motivations of individual scientists are also not at issue. I have no doubt that most scientists, not just the ones Mouroulis names, see themselves as seeking some fundamental truth about the universe. But believing does not make it so. The search for truth may be a mirage, an illusion. A mirage can serve a very useful purpose by encouraging people to move forward and make real progress; the search for truth may play this role in science and may have led to some of its spectacular successes. (Incidentally, I applaud Mouroulis for decrying views that are “free of evidentiary support.” But where is the evidentiary support for his own assertions?)Moorad Alexanian puts forth another popular view: that a reality exists, apart from the physical one, “which cannot be detected purely by physical devices,” and states as examples that “human consciousness and rationality are outside the bounds of science.” This view may or may not be true, but what is the evidence for it? How would we know what is and is not part of physical reality? Neuro-scientists and other brain researchers explore the very questions that, according to Alexanian, lie beyond physical reality. Are they operating outside science?We cannot arbitrarily prescribe what science is. We can only infer its characteristics by examining how, in actual practice, its knowledge is created. The work of historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science, although not necessary for the practice of science, become important when dealing with claims such as ID.REFERENCESSection:ChooseTop of pageREFERENCES <<1. P. Duhem, The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory, P. Wiener, trans., Princeton U. Press, Princeton, N.J. (1954). Google ScholarCrossref2. S. G. Harding, ed., Can Theories Be Refuted? Essays on the Duhem-Quine Thesis, D. Reidel, Boston (1976). Google ScholarCrossref3. T. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, U. Chicago Press, Chicago (1970), chap. 9. Google Scholar© 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Archives, records, and power: From (postmodern) theory to (archival) performance

This article is the continuation and conclusion of our introduction, as the guest editors, that appeared in the first of these two special issues ofArchival Science, which together are devoted to the theme, “Archives, Records, and Power.” It argues that, in performing their work, archivists follow a script that has been naturalized by the routine repetition of past practice. They act in ways that they anticipate their various audiences would desire. If archival practice is to be influenced by the postmodern ideas of the authors of the essays in these two volumes, then archivists must see that the script, stage, and audiences have changed. Theory and practice are not opposites, not even polarities, but integrated aspects of the archivist's professional role and responsibility. Transparency of process about the archivist's performance will facilitate this integration, stimulate the building of archival knowledge, and enable present and future generations to hold the profession accountable for its choices in exercising power over the making of modern memory.

Herm Choppers, the Adonia, and Rhetorical Action in Ancient Greece

Presents a debate between traditionalist ideas from Xin Lin Gale and postmodern ideas from Cheryl Glenn and Susan Jarratt. Quotes Gale who says that you cannot have it both ways, foundational and antifoundational: using the historical evidence to champion Aspasia while at the same time "reclaiming" her from the biases of those very documents. Notes Jarratt’s response to the contrary.

Expanding Permissions: New Perspectives on Working with Transactional Analysis and Sexual Difficulties

This article reviews the existing transactional analysis literature on approaches to sexual difficulties and suggests how these approaches can be expanded to take in post-modern ideas that deconstruct the concept of dysfunction. This literature is viewed in the context of Annon's (1976) PLISSIT (Permission + Limited Information + Specific Suggestions + Intensive Therapy) model to assist assessment and treatment planning. In particular, the concept of permission, which has specific meanings in transactional analysis, is expanded and reinterpreted at the different levels within PLISSIT. The author suggests that by diagnosing the ego states involved in the problem, the therapist can choose at which level of PLISSIT and from which ego state to respond.

Postmodernism Versus Modernism: Rethinking Theoretical Tensions in Social Gerontology

The interconnection of social theory to social aspects of aging has grown in recent years. The theoretical movement entitled “structured dependency,” couched in “social class” analysis, has tended to ignore an understanding of aging identity, the body, cultural representations of aging, and positive images of aging, all of which are central features of an emerging postmodern paradigm in gerontological theory. This article argues that the concept of gender can form a useful bridge, a continuity, between structured dependency and postmodernism in theoretical gerontology. Unfortunately, the compartmentalization of these two conceptual approaches has made their links difficult to forge. This article attempts to take a first step in this direction by highlighting the way postmodern ideas can be used to understand a modernist issue—gender in a gerontological context. Also, focusing on the “aging body” as a primary form of analysis generates some novel insights into the importance of both the theoretical understanding and cultural representations of the body.

Postmodern / Drama: Reading the Contemporary Stage. By Stephen Watt. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1998; pp. viii + 220, $ 42.50 hardcover.

While it might not be a stretch to get scholars and critics to agree that the work of people like Robert Wilson and Richard Foreman are postmodern, asking the same folks to agree upon this categorization for Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, and Sam Shepard might be more challenging. Stephen Watt address this issue of classification with regards to drama, which for Watt excludes “performance,” to concentrate on “what writers write” (4). This is not an easy task since, as Watt points out, the very idea of postmodernism dissolves “neatly sutured categories, such as genres themselves” (8). With this understanding, which prompts the dialectical slash in the book's title, Watt searches for a way to “begin to unravel the taut conceptual skein that results from the paradoxical union of the two terms” (13).

Stressed-Out Knowledge Workers in Performative Times: A Postmodern Take on Project-Based Learning

The article takes as its topic recent developments in project-based learning. These are a major response to the changing articulation of the knowledge-based economy. Corresponding changes to the role of universities, whose mastery of knowledge is now being questioned, are a consequence-one often not anticipated as such. One response to the upsurge in interest in project-based learning for `knowledge work' has been to move the university further into the workplace by legitimizing work-based and more flexible approaches to learning. The article identifies how, from a critically postmodern perspective, some problems occur with this shift, including the performative stresses on `knowledge workers' who are now expected to reflect on their learning through work or project-based `curricula'. Critical theories are useful in so far as they go, in bringing workplaces as learning environments into sharper focus. However, it is our argument that they do not go far enough, as (ironically) there are too many uncritical assumptions undergirding critical theory. The focus then switches to a postmodern analysis of project-based learning. From this perspective, project-based learning may be seen as too wedded to instrumental desires for performativity. We argue that postmodern ideas about project-based learning can offer practical organizational options, although we do not assert they are the only good options!

Pastoral, Progressive and Postmodern Ideas in Environmental Political Thought: Restoring Agency to Nature

The pastoral and progressive traditions have played an integral role in shaping ideas about nature. Both traditions have contributed to an antidualistic view of the relationship between nature and culture; however, the linguistic turn in political theory appears to limit our relationship to nature to that of a social construction. What has been lost in the social constructionist perspective is the idea of “agency” in nature that was an essential feature of identity, as captured in Hegel’s synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy and Romantic expressivism. An environmental ethic that restores agency to nature justifies efforts to rehabilitate nature by supporting its capacity for self-healing.

Teaching Diagnosis From A Postmodern Perspective

The advent of postmodern ideas in marriage and family therapy challenges teachers and supervisors to rethink the way they present traditional diagnosis. This article suggests a postmodern approach to teaching mental health diagnosis. It includes suggestions on how to unpack diagnostic categories, consider the effects that diagnoses have on therapeutic relationships, use narrative to present alternatives to diagnostic definitions, and explore the impact of cultural images on diagnostic practices.

Opera on Screen (review)

Here and there in this survey of opera movies, you come across the sort of vital insight that made Marcia J. Citron's Gender [End Page 660] and the Musical Canon such a groundbreaking book. This author is not a feeble seeker of the masculine and feminine in music, interpreted in vague and stereotyped ways, like many contributors to gender studies. She is aware of postmodern ideas, temporality, deconstruction, and popular culture.

A futures research outline of a post-modern idea of progress

Post-modernity in the social sciences may be recognised as an intellectual attitude of “anything goes” or “end of everything characterising the modernity”. At the extreme it seems that post-modern deconstruction, not aiming at anything, dissolves everything into meaningless residuals of merely individual peculiarity. The very idea of progress is one of the things not to be sustained by the intellectual forces of deconstruction. The author agrees on the necessity of de-constructing the prevailing modern idea of progress in the sense of revealing the pitfalls of modernity, but maintaining the idea of progress beyond modernity and recognising sustainable development as an intellectual and ethical challenge in this respect. To meet the challenge, futurology is needed to provide perceptional knowledge of reality whereby the whole field of scientific enquiry needs to be generalised. A methodological approach of futures research called dialectical deconstruction is outlined.

Tracing the contours of postmodern social work

Postmodern ideas and the ferment of debate generated by them continue to influence and challenge social work policy and practice. Recent discourses within the social sci ence literature have rarely acknowledged earlier contributions concerning the develop ment of social work in the context of the debate between modernist and postmodern ist epistemology. This paper examines some of the links between earlier and more contemporary ideas, and in so doing highlights their complementary nature and the potential contributions they offer to the shape and texture of social work in the future as it seeks to define itself in a postmodern world. Examining these debates in this way enables them to be perceived as helpful resources for social workers to draw upon, rather than choices from which to exclude. It is therefore possible to begin to map the contours of changing practice as it evolves whilst understanding something of its ori gins, traditions and connections. This paper concludes by recommending a broader intellectual panorama and less allegiance to opposing theoretical positions by social work policy makers and practitioners who feel constrained to choose between either postmodernist or modernist epistemology.

Modernidade, complexidade e articulação mista

Debates on the organization of modernity articulated by the state (which succeeded 19th-century liberal modernity and was immersed in a crisis in the 1970s and 80s) failed to reach a conclusion. Rather than resuming post-modernist ideas, this article develops the thesis that we are now in the midst of a third stage of modernity, resulting from that crisis and characterized by more evolutive complexity and mixed articulation. This stage, together with other more contingent and fluid forms of sociability, rests on three principles: market, hierarchy (within corporations and the state), and network. The example of contemporary procedural law is used both as an index of reality and hence to introduce the discussion of those three stages of development in modernity.

Labor Process Theory

Ten years ago, Knights and Willmott (1990) edited an influential book that ad dressed the status and future of the labor process tradition. On almost every issue, there was considerable disagreement among the contributors, but they agreed that the state of labor process theory (LPT) was problematic. Knights, Thompson, Willmott, Burrell, West, Littler, and Edwards all agreed that LPT was in a state of wreckage and disarray. An account of employee subjectivity? Missing from LPT. A politics of production that would link with labor organizations to eman cipate workers? Not articulated. An explanation for the vexing boundary prob lem of how workplace dynamics interact with broader social and institutional environments? Not in the cards. Almost every article in the text discussed the need for LPT's revitalization, reconstruction, and renewal. Ten years later, where are we? Though the 1990s have seen the emergence of New Labor in the UK and the ascendancy of the New Democrats in the United States, LPT cannot reasonably be said to have had any impact on their political success. Gently put, the 1990s have been a moribund time for LPT as a political project—as it has been for the Left in general. But intellectually, I would argue, we are better off. The last decade has seen the importation of postmodernist ideas into the LPT debate, providing a welcome tonic to the essentialism inherent in traditional LPT's humanist conception of subjectivity1 (e.g., Burawoy 1985). While research on control and resistance in the 1970s and 1980s developed insightful accounts of different forms of class struggle, it did so by seeking explanations for these phenomena from an exclusively Marxian perspective characterized by totalizing2

Therapeutic dialogue as a means of constructing identity complexity

In consonance with current postmodern ideas, this article assumes that the meaning content involved in psychotherapy is created anew rather than uncovered in an examination of a repressed unconscious. Content in therapy is seen as formulated through a client/therapist dialogue in which the goal is increased identity complexity. Within these assumptions, the question of constraints on the meaning constructed is addressed and suggested guidelines for potentially therapeutic content are presented. These ideas are illustrated through a case example.