Foundations Of Social And Behavioral Sciences Theory

Culture, (Post)Modernity, and Geography

Lecture 3

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect culture?

“New” Cultural Geography (1980s - 1990s)

Modern societies

“Old” Cultural Geography (1980s - 1990s)

Pre-modern societies

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect culture?

“Postmodern” Cultural Geography (1990s - 2000s)

Post-modern societies

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect culture?

Pre-modern - Modern - Post-modernPre-modern ! Modern ! Post-modern

1. Eras 2. Artistic/Aesthetic Styles

3. Philosophical/Theoretical Styles

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect culture?

Pre-modern - Modern - Post-modern!

!

!

!

Pre-modern Era

Modern Era

Post-modern Era

?? - 1500s 1500s - mid-late 1900s

mid-late 1900s - present

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Pre-modern Era Widely used descriptions:

- Tradition

- Ritual/religious

- Society was “solid” and “hard”

‣ Social mobility

‣ Political Structure

‣ Economics

‣ Transportation Technology

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Modern Era Widely used descriptions:

- Bureaucratic

- Anonymous

- Rational

- Capitalist

- Society was becoming “liquid”

‣ Increased movement of people, things, and ideas

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Post-modern Era Widely used descriptions:

- Consumption over production (post-Fordist)

- Surface over depth

- Ironic detachment (no larger truth)

- Pastiche (remix culture)

- Society is “gaseous”

‣ Instantaneous movement of information

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect culture?

Pre-modern - Modern - Post-modern

!! Pre-modern Art/Culture Modernism Postmodernism

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Pre-Modern Art/Culture

• Religious

• Political

• Ritualistic

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Modern Art/Culture

• Intellectual

• High Art/High Culture

• Comments/reflects upon society

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Post-modern Art/Culture

• Boundary between high and low culture is blurred

• Pastiche/Re-mix/ Hybrids

• Ironic, blasé attitude toward society

• Rejection of universal values (Truth, Justice, Beauty)

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect culture?

Pre-modern - Modern - Post-modern

! Modern

Theory/Philosophy Postmodern

Theory/Philosophy

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Modern Theory/ Philosophy

• Universal/ foundational theories

• Objective truth

• Rational analysis

• Progress/development

• Stability of meaning

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Post-modern Theory/ Philosophy

• Anti-foundational, local, contingent

• No TRUTH, only truths

• Rationality seen as a power play

• Progress and development seen as a power play

• Meaning is contingent and fluid - symbols only refer to other symbols

Michel Foucault

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

So, what is culture in post-modern theory?

• The metaphor of choice for culture is “text”

• Texts makes up our entire world--we do not experience the world directly, but only through texts (words, concepts, symbols, values)

Jacques Derrida

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

So, what is culture in post-modern theory?

• Texts are made up of symbols that never refer to anything absolute and concrete--they only refer to other texts and symbols

• “Floating Signifiers”

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

So, what’s the upshot?

• Identity politics is necessary but ultimately irrelevant

• Marxian analyses of culture fall flat because culture is not stable and cannot be controlled easily

• Progressive values become local commitments instead of universal truths

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310