A Different Description of Postmodernism

A different description of postmodernism: postmodernism--

• accepts the inevitability of subjectivity in human observations--what we see depends a great deal on where we sit;
• seeks to regard all viewpoints as equally valid
• recognizes the multivalence of texts (i.e., that texts can be interpreted in a number of valid ways; most texts do not have only ONE correct interpretation)
• understands that our interpretations are inevitably shaped by the perspectives we want to advocate
• rejects foundationalism, the idea that a universally valid set of assumptions exists, and that all people--if they'll just look at things objectively (i.e., if they'll just look at things the way we do)--will agree with us about what those assumptions are

Again, these categories are slippery. I'm still not happy with my description of postmodernism. In the next post, let me see if I can restate this description in a more cogent form.