Monday, January 29, 2007

I am really struggling with this reading. My background is in ecology and botany so a lot of this is new territory for me. I guess an easy discussion question from the readings is do we live in a modern or post-modern society? Also I don't really understand the lack of empirical study involved in a lot of this theory. Is it just not possible or how did it stray from the research? I am excited to hear how others did with this reading and how y'all interpreted it.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I think I had a similar problem. Although I did study some theory as an undergrad, my emphasis was on communications and journalism. The reading really seemed to draw on a lot of philosophy, and required a great deal more abstract thinking than I was ready for! Oh well, I think it will be interesting to discuss our perceptions tomorrow. But anyways, know that you are not alone :).

MarFra said...

Don't be alarmed with that. Even for someone with a background in philosophy this kind of text is a bit hard to digest. This main thing about this text is that the connections between some of the main theoretical points is somewhat blurry. At times, the rhetoric becomes more important than the theoretical framework, and this compilation, although very nicely organized, is no exception to that.

richard said...

"do we live in a modern or post-modern society?"

i live in both? if they are indeed distinct. that's an interesting question, though. maybe we can think of specific practices we engage in on a daily basis, and try to classify them as one or the other ...

with regard to the reading, modernity takes itself very seriously. postmodernism ought not to. to engage with both, does it help to play a little bit?