Postmodernism, institutional change, and academic workers: A sociology of knowledge

Author(s): Gerson, J. M.

Journal/Book: Soc Sci Quart. 1999; 80: Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819, USA. Univ Texas Press. 213-228.

Abstract: Objective. The surge of scholarly interest in postmodernist thought has become one of the most noted intellectual events of the late twentieth century. In this article we attempt to explain this intellectual efflorescence in terms of changes in the social structure of higher education. Methods. The introductory section of the article outlines the most salient features of a postmodernist perspective. The next section reviews existing macrosociological explanations for the rise of postmodernism. A complementary line of analysis, focusing on patterns of social change within universities, provides a more proximate explanation for the growing popularity of postmodernism. Results and Conclusions. The changes in universities can be described as involutionary. In responding to growing numbers of claims on their resources, university administrators and faculty have complicated the internal structure of their institutions without altering its overall structure or goals. Under these conditions of macrosociological stasis and microsociological change, several important tenets of postmodernism-the rejection of metanarratives and the emphasis on micropolitics-mirror the pattern of institutional change which in turn makes postmodernist ideas seem especially compelling.

Note: Article Rudel TK, Rutgers State Univ, Dept Human Ecol, 55 Dudley Rd, New Brunswick,NJ 08901 USA

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