Post-modernism vs. Modernism and the Self-Directed Learner Fall 2010

Self-Directed Learner One way of interpreting self-direction in learning is personal autonomy “self rule”, state of freedom, independence, self-sufficiency (Candy, 102) How is autonomy interpreted from: Modernist point of view Post-modernist point of view

“Self”: modernist / post-modernist view Foucault: “decentre the subject as a constituted rather than a constituting consciousness” (Best & Kellner, p. 39) Analysis of relationship between discourse (“historically evolved set of interlocking and mutually supporting statements …used to define and describe a subject matter”, Butler, p. 44) led to view of self which challenged individualist rational view of personal autonomy… self as “subject” who is “subject-ed”, whether know it or not, “controlled” or “constituted” “by the ideologically motivated discourses of power which predominate in the society they inhabit” (Butler, p. 50)

Postmodernist “self” (Butler, p. 59) Not seen at the centre of liberal humanist thought as autonomous, rational, centred and free of particular cultural, ethnic or gendered characteristics Self constituted by language systems that have us all in their grip Shift from liberal emphasis on self- determination to Marx-inspired emphasis on other-determination

Modernity Origins in end of Renaissance Cartesian rationalism — supremacy of reason Secular humanism — improvability of human condition Representational view of human perception Realism (objective reality / subjective perception) Dualism between perceiving subject & object Interpretation open to error: emotions, values

Modernity Focus on the creation of knowledge (objective) vs. meaning (subjective) Doctrine of progress toward truth Science is supreme Preoccupation with control and ordering (reductionist) Intolerance of difference Individual is autonomous, rational, separate from culture and from physical world Value symbolic over concrete; linguistic over iconic; written over oral communication – link between signifier and signified

Post-Modernism “I will use the term modern to designate any science that legitimates itself with reference to a metadiscourse... making an explicit appeal to some grand narrative...Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodernism as incredulity toward metanarratives.... Where, after the metanarratives, can legitimacy reside?” J. Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, trans. G. Bennington & B. Massumi, University of Minesota Press, 1999, pp. xxiii - xxiv

Postmodernity (Bagnall) “contemporary culture that is informed by a belief in and commitment to the interpretative nature of all perception, the cultural contingency of all belief, and the ontological contingency of being; and a profound scepticism towards all claims to the privileging of knowledge” “culture... any given set of realities—either perceived or postulated—arising directly or indirectly from action motivated by that...epistemology” (p. 3)

Postmodernity May 1968 student revolution in France — production of knowledge as means of power, domination Roots in post-structuralists (e.g., Derrida) consciousness and signification is historically produced subject itself is social & linguistic construct (as structuralists also believed) signifiers separate from signified binary oppositions in Western philosophy and culture (e.g subject / object etc.) construct a hierarchy of values that privileges one over the other deconstruction needed to create new philosophy (S. Best & D. Kellner, Postmodern Theory, NY: The Guilford Press, 1991, pp ).

Precursors Nietzsche attacked philosophical conceptions of subject, representation, truth, value, causality, system; and defended desires of body and life-enhancing superiority of art Heidegger critiqued triumph of humanism (rational domination of nature) as “forgetting of Being” that began with Socrates and Plato / advocated pre-modern modes of thought and experience (S. Best & D. Kellner, Postmodern Theory, NY: The Guilford Press, 1991, p. 22).

Discourse Theory “sees all social phenomena as structured semiotically by codes and rules, and therefore amenable to linguistic analysis... meaning is not simply given but is socially constructed across a number of institutional sites and practices.... For Foucoult and others, an important concern of discourse theory is to analyze the institutional bases of discourse, the viewpoints and positions from which people speak, and the power relations these allow and presuppose.” (S. Best & D. Kellner, Postmodern Theory, NY: The Guilford Press, 1991, p. 26).

Foucault Began as philosopher, moved to psychology and psychopathology (led to observations in French mental hospitals) Was member of Communist Party but left because he felt constrained by its orthodoxy Doctorate in history of science; after May 1968 protests, Chair of Dept. of Philosophy … Prof. of History of Systems of Thought Fundamental guiding motivation: “respect differences” Valorizes local stories / “detotalizes” history and society (Best & Kellner, pp )

Foucault Archeology (e.g. mental illness asylum) “analysis that articulates the rules which constitute and govern a given discourse” (S. Best & D. Kellner, Postmodern Theory, NY: The Guilford Press, 1991, p. 5) differentiate from “surface-depth and causal models” of modernism “in favor of post-modern description of discontinuous surfaces of discourse unconnected by causal linkages” (Best & Kellner, p. 40) cautious use of discourse of discontinuity— used to attack traditional interpretations, but exaggerates breaks “for pedagogical purposes” (Best & Kellner, p. 44)

Foucault Genealogy (e.g. Discipline and Punish ) “historical formation of the soul, body, and subject within various disciplinary matrices of power that operate in institutions such as prisons, schools, hospitals, and workshops... The ultimate goal and effect of discipline is ‘normalization’ ” (Best & Kellner, p. 47) Power: rejects economic and juridical models; interprets power as relational, “dispersed, indeterminate” and connected with knowledge

Baudrillard Era of technological simulation “Signs take on a life of their own and constitute a new social order” Borrowing from McLuhan, claims that “boundary between image and simulation and reality implodes, and with it the very experience and ground of ‘the real’ disappears” Hyperreality: “blurring of distinctions between the real and the unreal” (Best & Kellner, pp )

Lyotard Active in trade union polities; taught & politically active in Algeria; returned to France & became socialist, but broke with group; active in May 1968 student movement Early work celebrates the figural: “senses and experience over abstractions and concepts” Just Gaming : playing the game of the just — “just moves are always understood as moves in a context, always tactical, always taking into account the context in which they appear” (Best & Kellner, pp )

Lyotard Attacks “grand narrative” in The Postmodern Condition” (report on knowledge commissioned by Canadian government) — conditions of postmodern knowledge Dissensus over consensus, diversity and dissent over conformity and consensus, and heterogeneity and incommensurable over homogeneity and universality Differend: conflict that cannot be resolved for lack of rule that can be applied to both / legitimacy of one side does not imply lack in other (Best & Kellner, pp )

Critical Theory / Postmodern Theory Postmodernists reject concept of social system for more fragmentary, micro-political analysis — lack theory of inter-subjectivity and pluralistic decision making Both Habermas & Lyotard: Made “linguistic turn”, focus on “linguistic pragmatics and language games” accept Kant’s division of reason into spheres of theoretical, practical, and aesthetic judgments, each with own criteria and validity claims Habermas’s consensus & Lyotard’s dissensus not as far apart in practice as might appear — but “differend” is “major theoretical gulf” (Best & Kellner, Ch. 7)

“Modernity” & Postmodernism

Pre-modern, Modern, Postmodern Organizational Learning Discourse Pre-modern: craftsperson / apprenticeship; pre- industrial era; people = social or religious roles; social and familiar = basis for work and learning Modern: technician / “training”; industrial era; machine metaphor; scientific and bureaucratic = basis for work and learning Postmodern: flexible innovator / informal & self- directed learning; non-hierarchical, networked organization; differentiation & unique; meaningful work & participation = basis for work and learning

Ambivalence in All 3 Discourses Pre-modern: favor spiritual, communal and environmental concerns BUT based on inequality, class-based patrimonialism Modern: favor achievement, progress, meritocracy BUT linked to conformism, exploitation and alienation Postmodern: favor vision, meaning, values, flexibility, participation BUT linked to work intensification and increasing “colonization” of self into work