Title: postmodernism definition | Open Education Sociology Dictionary
Headings: postmodernism
postmodernism
Definition of Postmodernism
Postmodernism Pronunciation
Usage Notes
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Cite the Definition of Postmodernism
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

Content: postmodernism definition | Open Education Sociology Dictionary
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postmodernism
Table of Contents
Definition of Postmodernism
Postmodernism Pronunciation
Usage Notes
Related Quotations
Related Videos
Additional Information
Related Terms
References
Works Consulted
Cite the Definition of Postmodernism
Definition of Postmodernism
( noun) A broad and somewhat intentionally difficult to define term, typically applied to the arts and philosophy that was skeptical of “ objective ” universal explanations of how society and culture operate. Postmodernism Pronunciation
Pronunciation Usage Guide
Syllabification: post·mod·ern·ism
Audio Pronunciation
– American English
– British English
Phonetic Spelling
American English – /poh-st-mAHd-uhr-niz-uhm/
British English – /poh-st-mOd-uh-ni-zuhm/
International Phonetic Alphabet
American English – /ˌpoʊs (t)ˈmɑdərnˌɪz (ə)m/
British English – /ˌpəʊs (t)ˈmɒdn̩ɪz (ə)m/
Usage Notes
Conflict theory, functionalism and symbolic interactionism are the typical perspectives studied in sociology, but postmodern perspectives are challenging this tradition. Postmodernism challenges the basic assumption of positivism, which is that society is ordered and can be empirically understood and measured. Postmodernism’s underlying premise is that reality is social constructed. Postmodernism contrasts with reductionism but compares to complexity theory, holism, and systems theory. Variant spelling: post-modernism
Also called: postmodern perspective
Related Quotations
“ [P]ostmodern theorists believe that entirely new ways of examining social life are needed and that it is time to move beyond functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist approaches” (Kendall 2006:37). “Postmodernists are deeply distrustful of science and the principle of objectivity, arguing that scientific knowledge is as much a product of socially determined interests and biases of investigators as it is of facts, which themselves are products of social processes.