RESUME

CRITICAL THEORY, POSTSTRUCTURALISM, POSTMODERNISM

Their Sociological Relevance

Ben Agger
Department of Sociology, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 142602
Keywords : Frankfurt School, deconstrtuction, literary theory.

POSTSTRUCTURALISM: MAIN IDEAS
Briefly, poststructuralism slightly different from postmodernism. But some experts (Foucault, Barthes,
and lyotard) refers to derrida as poststructuralist, say they are similar. Then, French feminist viewed as
proponents of postructuralist.

Beside of that conflict, there is substantial deal between poststructuralist and postmodernism.
Poststructuralism (Derrida, the French feminist) is a theory of a knowledge and language, whereas
postmodernism (Foucault, Barthes, Lyotard, Baudrillard) is a theory of a society, culture, and history.
Literary critics prise out of Derrida a methodology of textual reading called deconstruction.

Literary deconstruction challenges traditional assumptions about how people read and write. Derridas
insight into reading and writing disqualify the positivist model of researcher, suggesting new ways of
writing and reading science.

For Derrida, deconstructive reading prises open inevitable, unavoidable gaps of meaning that readers fill
with their own interpolative sense. Readers help give writing its sense by filling in these gaps and conflict
of meaning, even becoming writers and hence challenging the hierarchy of writing over reading, cultural
production over cultural reception. Essentially, he argues that it is the nature of language to produce
meaning only with reference to other meanings against which it takes on its own significance. Therefore,
every definition and clarification needs to be defined and clarified

Derrida is not particularly concerned to strategize about how to write better (or, in the case of social
science, to do better empirical work). He is more concerned to puncture the balloon of those who
believes that languages is simply a technical device for establishing singular, stable meanings instead of
the deeply constitutional act that it is. He would also says simplicity brings false clarity, suppressing the
difficulties of making oneself clear that are intrinsic to languages undecidability.

Derridas relevance to social science is potentially enormous. His poststructural notions of literary
criticism suggest ways of reading and reformulating the densely technical and methodological
discourses of the empirical social science. Deconstruction refuses to view methodology simply as a set of
technical procedures with which to manipulate data. It can help reveal the values and interest
suppressed far beneath the surface of science.

Poststructuralist helps science readers and writers recognize their own literary involvements and
investments in the text of science. How we arrange our footnote, title our paper, describe our problem,
establish the legitimacy of our topic through literature reviews, and use the gestures of quantitative
method in presenting our result-all contribute to the overall sense of the text.

POSTMODERNISM: MAIN IDEAS