Sociology Essay: Defining Postmodernism, Theories, and Society

This essay delves into the complexities of postmodernism, beginning with the challenge of defining the term and its characteristics. It then explores the ideas of Ihab Hassan, who views postmodernism as a set of critical and rhetorical practices destabilizing concepts like identity and historical progress, and Jean-Francois Lyotard, who emphasizes incredulity towards metanarratives and the shift of knowledge into information. The essay contrasts their perspectives, highlighting Hassan's broad approach and Lyotard's focus on the changing nature of knowledge in the postmodern era. The essay concludes with a personal reflection, asserting that we do indeed live in a postmodern society, characterized by fragmented cultures, individual choice, and a departure from modern social structures. The essay references key academic works to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive analysis of postmodernism's core concepts and its relevance to contemporary society.

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The essay aims address if the context of post modernism can be defined, together with the
ideas of postmodernism by Ihab Hassan and Jean Francious Lyotard. The essay concludes with a
reflection regarding a personal opinion if we are living in a postmodern society.
It is a true fact that the context of postmodernism is hard to define. However,
postmodernism can be illustrated or described as an entire set of strategic, critical as well as
rhetorical practices that employs the concepts like repetition, differences, trace, hyper reality e as
well as simulacrum for destabilizing other concepts of Identity, presence, epistemic certainty,
historical progress and univocity regarding the meaning. The term postmodernism was first
initiated in the dictionary of philosophy in the year 1979 after the publication of postmodern
condition by Jean Francois Lyotard (Silverman, 2017). In the western philosophy,
postmodernism can be illustrated as the 20th century movement which is characterized by
subjectivism as well as realism as a general suspicion regarding the reason and acute sensitivity
towards the role of ideology for maintaining as well as asserting economic and political power.
The postmodernism writings by Ihab Hassan demonstrated a comprehensive as well as
inclusive approach towards the development of an apisteme. Often known as the adamant
spokesman and the model maker of postmodernism, Hasaan's notable works included, the
postmodern turn of 1987, the right promethean fire of 1980 and more. However, the origin of the
term postmodernism has remained ambiguous. According to Hassan, the last two decades
witnessed the evolution of the word postmodernism from awkward neologism towards derelict
cliché (Boyne & Rattansi, 2017). The efforts towards understanding the historical presence
together with perceiving the interactions of knowledge, language as well as power fore wheeler
rising the living categories of existence deserves awake full respect according to Hassan. While

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attempting to identify the entire concept of postmodernism, Hassan described postmodernism as
alluding definition like modernism and romanticism which shift and slides continuously with
time within the age of hydrological conflict and types of media as per “From Postmodernism to
Postmodernity” (Sonderling, 2013).
Hassan developed a family of words which are connected to the context of
postmodernism like relativism, fragments, hybridity, parody as well as those bordering over
camp and kitsch. Hasan begin to build the context around postmodernism by implying the factor
that before the post modern era, nothing was truly design. After the development of the modern
is versus postmodernist list, Hassan furthermore begin to understand the techniques of
postmodernism. According to him modern is consist of simplicity within the structure, formalism
and uniformity in order. Nevertheless Hassan does not acknowledges the several challenges
surrounding and concealing the term of postmodernism (Sim, 2013). While the term cannot
break away from the classes within modernism and will only be continued to be compared to
modernism, and the concept of postmodernism by Hasan is majorly debated by the perception of
other theorists.
Jean F Lyotard initiates a completely e diverse stands over the concept of postmodernism
towards his analysis in “the postmodern condition”. The epistemic logical examination regarding
the knowledge towards the post modern era by Lyotard portrays the changing pattern of
knowledge to information. Some centuries ago, the context of knowledge was something which
was obtained or earned through constant learning and hard work. However in the current day,
knowledge tend to exist only within the form of information due to the lack of hardship in
earning and can be found by clicking a button (Demeterio, 2013). According to Lyotard, instead
of learning and acquiring information, individuals are simply discovering it as per their relevance

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which leaves the requirement towards learning. Lyotard believes in cybernetics which has come
towards dominating the culture as well as for the status of knowledge which has changed
dramatically.
According to Lyotard, the knowledge of postmodernism is against the metanarratives which
avoids the grand scheme of legitimation. He further more propose the extreme simplification
regarding postmodernism as incredulity towards the context of metanarratives. He studied the
metanarratives of the society e as well as the grand theories and philosophies of the entire globe
for the designing the context of postmodernism as a query attitude towards this metanarrative of
thoughts from Western world (Yousef, 2017). In his perception, he described the importance and
the relevance of data towards world competition for the economic dominance furthermore are
going towards open access for data. Lyotard believed that the condition of postmodernism is
specifically indecisive that signifies not only the end of modernism but new and innovative
thought in context to it.
Postmodernism is a much debatable word which is used for describing a wide range of
areas within the society (Williams, 2013). Derived from the term modernism which regions are
ideology of realism, postmodernism can be stated as a movement which describes the political,
social and practices of culture after modernism. Towards answering the query whether we now
decide in a postmodern society, according to my perception the answer to the question is
assertive. We all now live in a postmodern society. This statement is true regarding the sense that
modern era can generally illustrated to have orchid among the don of industrial revolution and
World war II. The era that we are residing in at the current stage has develop society and society
techniques which have progressed towards an Era that is beyond modernity. Societies are more

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likely together and experience pick and mix cultures while deciding religion. individuals in this
post modern era get the opportunity to choose a religion which suits their lifestyle and choices at
an appropriate way. What are the distinct features of the post modern society that we are living
now, is the laws of social coherence and rational in favor of social reforms and cultural images as
well as iron and it is marked by multiplicity, and fragmentation and indeterminacy.

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Reference
Boyne, R., & Rattansi, A. (Eds.). (2017). Postmodernism and society. Macmillan International
Higher Education.
Demeterio, F. (2013). Understanding the postmodern culture and philosophy. Exploring the
philosophical terrain, 388-401.
Silverman, H. J. (Ed.). (2017). Postmodernism: Philosophy and the arts (Vol. 8). Routledge.
Sim, S. (Ed.). (2013). The Routledge companion to postmodernism. Routledge.
Sonderling, S. (2013). To speak is to fight: War as structure of thought in Lyotard's postmodern
condition. Communicare: Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa, 32(2),
1-19.
Williams, J. D. (2013). Lyotard: Towards a postmodern philosophy. John Wiley & Sons.
Yousef, T. (2017). Modernism, postmodernism, and metamodernism: A critique. International
Journal of Language and Literature, 5(1), 33-43.