The Condition of Postmodernity: An Enquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change

Amazon.com

The Condition of Postmodernity is David Harvey's seminal history of our most equivocal of eras. What does postmodernism mean? Where did it come from? Harvey, a professor of geography and a key mover behind extending the scope and influence of the discipline of geography itself, does a thorough job here delineating the passage through to postmodernity and the economic, social, and political changes that underscored and accompanied it. As he clearly states, the rise in postmodernist cultural forms is related to a new intensity in what Harvey terms "time-space compression," but this new intensity is a qualitative rather than quantitative change in social organization, and it does not point to an era beyond capitalism as "the basic rules of capitalistic accumulation" remain unchanged. Unlike Fredric Jameson (whose equally rewarding Postmodernism stands as the twin pillar to Harvey's critique), who explicitly relies on Ernest Mandel's periodization of late capitalism, Harvey eschews a narrowly economic focus, the limits and contradictions of production that have led to the rise in the service sector, and takes a more multidisciplinary approach to his history. As comfortable discussing Manet as he is labor markets, Harvey is an excellent writer, and The Condition of Postmodernity is an exceptionally informative and enjoyable read. --Mark Thwaite, Amazon.co.uk

Book Description

A great deal has been written on what has variously been described as the post-modern condition and on post-modern culture, architecture, art and society. In this new book, David Harvey seeks to determine what is meant by the term in its different contexts and to identify how accurate and useful it is as a description of contemporary experience. But the book is much more than this: in the course of his investigation the author provides a social and semantic history - from the Enlightenment to the present - of modernism and its expression in political and social ideas and movements, as well as in art, literature and architecture. He considers in particular how the meaning and perception of time and space themselves vary over time and space, and shows that this variance affects individual values and social processes of the most fundamental kind. This book will be widely welcomed, not only for its clear and critical account of the arguments surrounding the propositions of modernity and post-modernity, but as an incisive contribution to the history of ideas and their relation to social and political change.

Customer Reviews:

Good lord.......2005-09-16

Wow, this book is about as dense as the crust of the earth. It takes at least a few reads over to understand what the arguments are. While the arguments in this book are very well articulated, I found myself wanting to shoot myself in the face sometimes while reading this book. It can be really boring, but brings up some very interesting ideas of 80's culture and society.

Po-Mo Schmomo?.......2003-03-04

Ask ten academics about what to call our present fin-de-siecle epoch and you'll get ten different labels, but "postmodernism" seems always the default term. Although it's twelve years old, Harvey's book is the best I've read about the pluralistic fabric we daily inhabit. It's edifyingly reader-friendly (especially compared to some of the Franco-drunk rhetoricians out there trying to get a handle on our current world). In precise prose Harvey outlines the shift to our information-as-capital paradigm since the mid-sixties, and the causes of the growth of the temp sector and "just-in-time" production capabilities. Harvey traces the arrival of "flexible accumulation" to the collapse of Fordist production practices in the 1966-73 waves of recession, but covers far more than just economic factors--architecture, art, literature, cinema--without any self-conscious Neo-Marxist whistling-in-the-dark. In his project to articulate a new (meta?)narrative, Harvey's book will probably give post-structuralists a new constellation of ideas to obfuscate with hip terminology and dense prose...
Manuel Castell's "The Rise of the Network Society" is another good book along these lines.

Best overview of modern/postmodern condition I have found.......2002-08-22

This is a great overview of concepts that are, by definition, very fractured. Harvey clarifies and pulls together a number of seemingly disparate elements in a masterful manner. Though this book could work as a good introduction to these concepts, I think readers with some background in the major writers of modernism and postmodernism will get more out of it. Dogmatic postmodernists may be put off that Harvey has the "temerity" to suggest that postmodernism might be an extension of modernism or that he finds some good in modernism and some excesses in postmodern approaches but, they should get over themselves and realize that their insistence that "all meta-narratives are bad" is their own meta-narrative. Overall, Harvey manages to convincingly express his ideas while maintaining a remarkably evenhanded approach. I especially enjoy the fact that he avoids the postmodernist tendency to ignore the complexities of modernism and, thus create a postmodern meta-narrative about the modernist project.

Excellent overview of modernity and post-modernity.......2001-11-27

David Harvey's "Condition of Post-Modernity" provides excellent representational cases to show the differences between modernity and post-modernity. Although sometimes difficult to follow (I had problems with the chapter pertaining to architecture), Harvey uses enough examples (i.e., economics, art, cinema, etc.) to make sure one understands the differences between post-modernism and modernism. The economic chapter, "Fordism and Flexible Accumulation" is particulary good and shows the gradual transformation from a modernist to a post-modernist economy and society. I was disappointed, however, that Harvey didn't have a complete section focused towards the differences between modernist and post-modernist lit.

Excellent overview of modernity and post-modernity.......2001-11-27

David Harvey's "Condition of Post-Modernity" provides excellent representational cases to show the differences between modernity and post-modernity. Although sometimes difficult to follow (I had problems with the chapter pertaining to architecture), Harvey uses enough examples (i.e., economics, art, cinema, etc.) to make sure one understands the differences between post-modernism and modernism. The economic chapter, "Fordism and Flexible Accumulation" is particulary good and shows the gradual transformation from a moderninst to a post-modernist economy and society. I was disappointed, however, that Harvey didn't have a complete section focused towards the differences between modernist and post-modernist lit.

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The Politics of Postmodernity

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Political | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History & Theory | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0521467276

Book Description

This volume explores the currently dominant notion of postmodernity, both in the sense of a historical phase that succeeds modernity, and as a form of knowledge critical of modernist thought. It contains essays from outstanding thinkers in anthropology, history, gender studies, philosophy and political philosophy and sociology, and investigates the political outcomes in the shift from modernity to postmodernity. A special feature of the volume is its focus on the changing social relationships and identities of class, nation, gender and kinship.

Time and Commodity Culture: Essays on Cultural Theory and Postmodernity

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Time and Commodity Culture: Essays on Cultural Theory and Postmodernity
John Frow
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Time and Commodity Culture is a set of four linked essays on the cultural systems of postmodernity. Rather than taking modernity and postmodernity as real historical epochs, however, it understands them as strategies for organizing time and social order by means of a `nostalgic' division within them. Each essay explores a particular dimension of this organization of time, especially in relation to the anxieties and the possibilities created by the commodification of culture. The central essay, `Gift and Commodity', studies two areas in which the speed of commodification has increased markedly in recent years: that of the person, and that of information. Using a mix of anthropological, legal, economic, and historical materials, it investigates the privatization of the commons in information by way of such things as the development of markets in human DNA, the trade in human organs, and the creation of property rights in `personality'. `What Was Postmodernism?' analyses the structured anxiety about the commodification of culture that is called `postmodern theory'. A further essay explores tourism as a figure of modernity, and a final essay on memory explores the phenomena of `recovered memory' and of Holocaust remembrance as ways of constructing temporally ordered forms of the real.

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With caustic lucidity and splendid geopolitical care

Postmodernity's Histories
Arif Dirlik
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0742501671

Book Description

Challenges to the conventional study of history have been raised by the recent paradigm of globalization and by new intellectual transformations linked to postmodernism and postcolonialism. In this book the noted historian Arif Dirlik argues for a new approach to the practice of historical research. Moving beyond mere critique, he synthesizes traditional historical methods with new approaches that emphasize historical memory, indigenous writing, place based history, and the dual processes of integration and fragmentation in a globalized world.

Customer Reviews:

With caustic lucidity and splendid geopolitical care.......2001-08-24

With caustic lucidity and splendid geopolitical care, Arif Dilik surveys taken-for-granted discursive regimes of postcolonial study and puts the history and place-based imagining back into over-extended concepts like 'hybridity,' diaspora', and 'identity.' The result is a helpful and pragmatic collection of essays full of splendid insights into the dialectics of globalization and localization and the spaces and histories 'in between.'

Postmodernity in Latin America: The Argentine Paradigm (Post-Contemporary Interventions)

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Postmodernity in Latin America: The Argentine Paradigm (Post-Contemporary Interventions)
Santiago Colás , and Santiago Colás
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Latin American | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0822315203

Book Description

Postmodernity in Latin America contests the prevailing understanding of the relationship between postmodernity and Latin America by focusing on recent developments in Latin American, and particularly Argentine, political and literary culture. While European and North American theorists of postmodernity generally view Latin American fiction without regard for its political and cultural context, Latin Americanists often either uncritically apply the concept of postmodernity to Latin American literature and society or reject it in an equally uncritical fashion. The result has been both a limited understanding of the literature and an impoverished notion of postmodernity. Santiago Colás challenges both of these approaches and corrects their consequent distortions by locating Argentine postmodernity in the cultural dynamics of resistance as it operates within and against local expressions of late capitalism.
Focusing on literature, Colás uses Julio Cortázar’s Hopscotch to characterize modernity for Latin America as a whole, Manuel Puig’s Kiss of the Spider Woman to identify the transition to a more localized postmodernity, and Ricardo Piglia’s Artificial Respiration to exemplify the cultural coordinates of postmodernity in Argentina. Informed by the cycle of political transformation beginning with the Cuban Revolution, including its effects on Peronism, to the period of dictatorship, and finally to redemocratization, Colás’s examination of this literary progression leads to the reconstruction of three significant moments in the history of Argentina. His analysis provokes both a revised understanding of that history and the recognition that multiple meanings of postmodernity must be understood in ways that incorporate the complexity of regional differences.
Offering a new voice in the debate over postmodernity, one that challenges that debate’s leading thinkers, Postmodernity in Latin America will be of particular interest to students of Latin American literature and to scholars in all disciplines concerned with theories of the postmodern.

Debating Muslims: Cultural Dialogues in Postmodernity and Tradition (New Directions in Anthropological Writing)

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Debating Muslims: Cultural Dialogues in Postmodernity and Tradition (New Directions in Anthropological Writing)
Michael M. J. Fischer , and Mehdi Abedi
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Iran | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Islamic | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Shi'ism | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0299124347

Book Description

"An engaging and illuminating account of Islamic culture in the Middle East and in the West. . . . The word `ethnography' can hardly describe the many subjects this book broaches, from a seductive account of Abedi's passage to America from a small village near Yazd, Iran, to an illuminating discussion of crucial Islamic practices such as the Qur'an and the hajj, to inquiries into the `autographics' of Islamic popular art in Iran."—Ali Behdad, International Journal of Middle East Studies

Book Description

In i Marketing Modernity /i , Adam Arvidsson traces the development of Italy's postmodern consumer culture from the 1920s to the present day. In so doing, Arvidsson argues that the culture of consumption we see in Italy today has its direct roots in the social vision articulated by the advertising industry in the years following the First World War. He then goes on to discuss how that vision was further elaborated by advertising's interaction with subsequent big discourses in Twentieth Century Italy: fascism, post-war mass political parties and the counter-culture of the 1960s and 1970s. Based on a wide range of primary sources, this fascinating book takes an innovative historical approach to the study of consumption.

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The Life and Times of Postmodernity
Keith Tester
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Postmodernity has been dubbed the great transformation in society and culture, yet in this book Keith Tester casts a cautious eye on such grandiose claims. Drawing on a range of themes and stories from European sociology and literature, Tester shows how many of the great statements about postmodernityare misleading. Tester argues that "postmodernity" is not so much the harbinger of new world expression as it is a parasite of modernity, feeding off its predecessor's unresolved paradoxes and possibilities. br br This book provides a wealth of sources which are usually denigrated or ignored in the debates on postmodernity. As such, it sheds light on old claims, yet never fails to acknowledge the profound insights of sociologists and other authors. b /b b i The Life and Times of Postmodernity /i /b is an elaboration of the themes which Tester raised in his earlier books, i The Two Sovereigns /i and i Civil Society /i , both published by Routledge.

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Clueless Francophile Jargon
An Okay Book

Cultural History and Postmodernity
Mark Poster
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Poster charts the move from social history to new practices of cultural history that are drawing strength from poststructuralist interpretive strategies and raising issues found in feminist and postcolonial discourse. He provides close readings of Lawrence Stone; FranÃ§ois Furet, Michel de Certeau and Michel Foucault.

Customer Reviews:

Clueless Francophile Jargon.......1999-06-21

Yet another tiresome volume devoted to post-everything pseudo-disciplines. Poster has almost nothing original to say, but that doesn't stop him. Read on, if you must, to be regailed yet again with clueless francophile jargon about our postmodern, post-colonial, post-structurlist, post-disciplinary society and you just may go postal.

An Okay Book.......1999-02-17

Poster's work is basically about how Foucault and other poststructuralists are great in understanding phenomena of the "past." Unfortunately, the crux of his argument doesn't appear until the final chapters where he reads (and misreads) de Certeau and Foucault. It's good that he tries to cross disciplinary boundaries, but his reading and articulation of "cultural history" is just too narrow.

Book Description

A straightforward guide to human heredity and genetic traits… The Family Genetic Sourcebook If biology is destiny, then we owe it to ourselves and our families to learn all we can about the genetic mechanisms that shape our lives. Enhanced by photographs, line drawings, charts, and tables, The Family Genetic Sourcebook gives you quick, easy understanding of the principles of heredity and genetic traits, presented in concise, accessible language. A comprehensive "Catalog of Genetic Traits" lists more than 100 genetic traits including blood type, balding, right- or left-handedness, hair color, and disorders including Down's syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, Alzheimer's disease, and alcoholism. Each entry in the catalog offers a brief description of the trait or disorder and an explanation of its inheritance. There are also instructions on constructing your own family genetic tree. The Family Genetic Sourcebook also offers a succinct introduction to the principles of heredity—with discussion of the history of genetics, how genetic traits are inherited, genetic counseling, the treatment of genetic disorders, and more. Family members, couples planning families, and health care professionals and counselors will find this nontechnical yet comprehensive guide to genetics to be an invaluable resource in understanding the relationship between heredity, ourselves, and our families.

The 2002 Official Parent's Sourcebook on Down Syndrome

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The 2002 Official Parent's Sourcebook on Down Syndrome
James N. Parker , and Icon Health Publications
Manufacturer: Icon Health Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Family Health | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Special Needs | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Genetic | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0597832005

Book Description

This book has been created for parents who have decided to make education and research an integral part of the treatment process. Although it also gives information useful to doctors, caregivers and other health professionals, it tells parents where and how to look for information covering virtually all topics related to down syndrome (also Down's syndrome; Mosaic 21 Syndrome; Translocation 21 Syndrome; Trisomy 21; Trisomy 21 Syndrome; Trisomy G), from the essentials to the most advanced areas of research. The title of this book includes the word official. This reflects the fact that the sourcebook draws from public, academic, government, and peer-reviewed research. Selected readings from various agencies are reproduced to give you some of the latest official information available to date on down syndrome. Given parents' increasing sophistication in using the Internet, abundant references to reliable Internet-based resources are provided throughout this sourcebook. Where possible, guidance is provided on how to obtain free-of-charge, primary research results as well as more detailed information via the Internet. E-book and electronic versions of this sourcebook are fully interactive with each of the Internet sites mentioned (clicking on a hyperlink automatically opens your browser to the site indicated). Hard-copy users of this sourcebook can type cited Web addresses directly into their browsers to obtain access to the corresponding sites. In addition to extensive references accessible via the Internet, chapters include glossaries of technical or uncommon terms.

The Official Parent's Sourcebook on McCune-Albright Syndrome

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Not Worth it
Recommend for all the new patients!!!
Sourcebook thin on details

The Official Parent's Sourcebook on McCune-Albright Syndrome
James N. Parker , and Icon Health Publications
Manufacturer: ICON Health Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Family Health | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Special Needs | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Genetic | Disorders & Diseases | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 059783203X

Book Description

This sourcebook has been created for parents who have decided to make education and Internet-based research an integral part of the treatment process. Although it gives information useful to doctors, caregivers and other health professionals, it also tells parents where and how to look for information covering virtually all topics related to mccune-albright syndrome, from the essentials to the most advanced areas of research. The title of this book includes the word official. This reflects the fact that the sourcebook draws from public, academic, government, and peer-reviewed research. Selected readings from various agencies are reproduced to give you some of the latest official information available to date on mccune-albright syndrome. Following an introductory chapter, the sourcebook is organized into three parts. PART I: THE ESSENTIALS; Chapter 1. The Essentials on McCune-Albright Syndrome: Guidelines; Chapter 2. Seeking Guidance; Chapter 3. Clinical Trials and McCune-Albright Syndrome; PART II: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND ADVANCED MATERIAL; Chapter 4. Studies on McCune-Albright Syndrome; Chapter 5. Books on McCune-Albright Syndrome; PART III. APPENDICES; Appendix A. Researching Your Child's Medications; Appendix B. Researching Nutrition; Appendix C. Finding Medical Libraries; Appendix D. Your Child's Rights and Insurance; ONLINE GLOSSARIES; MCCUNE-ALBRIGHT SYNDROME GLOSSARY; INDEX. Related topics include: Albright Syndrome, Osteitis Fibrosa Disseminata, Polyostotic Fibrous Dysplasia, Precocious Puberty with Polyostotic Fibrosis and Abnormal Pigmentation.

Customer Reviews:

Not Worth it.......2006-02-21

My daughter suffers from MAS and I was thrilled to FINALLY find a book that discusses the syndrome. However,I found that it really didn't tell me anything more than I already knew as an educated MAS parent. It seems to be nothing more than a cookie cutter book molded to whichever disease is being covered. A parent with an MAS child would most likely have already uncovered most of the info that this book offers long before they read it. Word of advise- visit www.magicfoundation.org and become a member- that will prove to be your most valuable resource.

Recommend for all the new patients!!!.......2003-05-08

Those, who are new to the disease and are interested in researching it further, will find this book extremely helpful. It is an excellent compilation of valuable sources.

Sourcebook thin on details.......2003-03-31

I am a person with McCune Albright Syndrome (MAS) and I help run a support group of over 700 persons with variations of this disease. I was surprised and pleased to see there was a book on MAS. After reading the "Official Parent's Sourcebook on McCune-Albright Syndrome" I am somewhat disappointed. The 118 page book has probably less than a dozen pages with any substantive information on MAS. I know of the many questions parents have about MAS because I handle an average of 50 e-mails a week for our support group. This book would answer few of those questions. There is nothing about pain issues which are a major problem for people with MAS, the is no discussion about diagnosis, and there is no information about the special issues realting to MAS and fibrous dysplasia in the skull.

On a positive note the Sourcebook does give good information on how to use the internet as a means of searching for information on rare diseases such as MAS. I was glad to see there were references to the MAGIC Foundation and the Paget's Foundation web sites, both excellent sources of information.

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