Deck 15: Postmodernism

Question 1

What constructs the understanding of the "other" as inherently weak, inferior, and evil?

A) social structures
B) colonial discourses
C) symbolic violence
D) periphery

Answer 1

B

Question 2

While postmodernists avoid metatheoretical frameworks, the authors' believe Butler's orientation to action is profoundly

A) rationalistic.
B) collectivistic.
C) nonrationalistic.
D) individualistic.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The postmodern world that emerged after the collapse of Western metanarratives that had supported the modern world is not focused on which of the following themes?

A) pluralism
B) objectivity
C) multivocality
D) simulacra

Answer 3

B

Question 4

While postmodernists avoid metatheoretical frameworks, the authors' believe Lyotard's orientation to action is profoundly

A) rationalistic.
B) collectivistic.
C) nonrationalistic.
D) individualistic.

Question 5

Within Butler's heterosexual matrix

A) heterosexuals are excluded.
B) heterosexuals are identified as proper.
C) homosexuals are included.
D) homosexuals are identified as proper.

Question 6

Which of the following is true regarding metanarratives?

A) They are non-paradigmatic systems of knowledge
B) Since meta, contain non-credible worldviews
C) Provide a basis for truth claims to be made
D) A narrative is insufficient to judge knowledge validity

Question 7

Hyperreality refers to

A) the postmodern condition where simulations of reality are more real than reality itself.
B) the increasing speed at which communication is disseminated.
C) the expansion of scientific discoveries that have lead to the uncovering of facts.
D) the inversion of technology in the pursuit of individual creativity

Question 8

For Lyotard, what is the underlying problem we suffer in "the postmodern condition"?

A) Inability to form universal truth
B) All interaction based upon capitalist relations.
C) Inability to generate a plurality of voices.
D) All social relations subsumed by rationality.

Question 9

Lyotard uses which of the following terms to refer to the rational functionality of contemporary societies?

A) metanarrative
B) multivocality
C) mercantilization of knowledge
D) performativity

Question 10

Jean Baudrillard's conception of simulacra refers to

A) copies of objects for which there is no true original.
B) the French understanding of conception "simulation."
C) consumer goods bought over the internet.
D) language that is inherent to internet culture.

Question 11

While postmodernists avoid metatheoretical frameworks, the authors' believe Baudrillard's orientation to action is profoundly

A) rationalistic.
B) collectivistic.
C) nonrationalistic.
D) individualistic.

Question 12

Postmodernist theorist, Butler shows how gender performances are tied to relations of ruling, using______________ understandings of the "relations of ruling."

A) Dorothy Smith
B) Karl Marx
C) Max Weber
D) Edward Said

Question 13

Lyotard's conception of metanarratives as "language games" originates from the work of which of the following scholars?

A) Jean Baudrillard
B) Ludwig Wittgenstein
C) Karl Marx
D) Jacques Derrida

Question 14

Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality:

A) a hyperreal.
B) a alternate.
C) a simulacra.
D) a falsehood.

Question 15

One of the basic concepts of queer theory is that

A) queer scholarship is fundamental different than straight.
B) homosexual persons are as "natural" as heterosexual persons.
C) sexual behaviors, identities, and categories are social constructs.
D) the heterosexual matrix is naturally constructed.

Question 16

Baudrillard was influenced by Marxist theory; however, he distinguished himself from it by

A) focusing on production performed by the proletariat.
B) expanding on the division of labor inherent in society.
C) exploring the capitalist mode of consumption.
D) furthering Marx's theory of worker alienation.

Question 17

One of the reasons signs no longer convey clear and simple meaning according to Baudrillard is due to

A) a disconnect between citizens and their respective governments.
B) consumer goods creating a cultural world of unstable meaning.
C) due to the rise in languages both on and offline.
D) the creation of hypertext within html environments.

Question 18

While postmodernists avoid metatheoretical frameworks, the authors' believe these Theorists' orientation to action is profoundly

A) rationalistic.
B) collectivistic.
C) nonrationalistic.
D) individualistic.

Question 19

For Butler, ________ is a kind of persistent impersonation that passes as the real.

A) knowledge
B) gender
C) sex
D) justice

Question 20

These would be the successive phases of the image, except:

A) It is the reflection of a false reality.
B) It masks and perverts a basic reality.
C) It masks the absence of a basic reality.
D) It bears no relation to any reality whatever: it is its own pure simulacrum.

Question 21

With the increasing computerization of society, computers have come to play a major role in the development, manipulation, storage, and _____________ of knowledge.

A) consumption
B) rationalization
C) masking
D) perversion

Question 22

Define "language games" and its use within Lyotard's conception of metanarratives.

Question 23

Explain Butler's position on Modern women and their aversion to being labeled "feminist"? Provide examples from women in the spotlight: modern political leaders, business leaders, entertainers…etc.,

Question 24

Post-modernists believe the legitimacy of science is derived from truth.

Question 25

Postmodernism is a clearly understood and singularly defined concept.

Question 26

What does Butler say about heterosexuality? Is it excluded from social understandings of normativity?

Question 27

While postmodernists avoid metatheoretical frameworks, the authors' believe Baudrillard's orientation to action is profoundly nonrationalistic.

Question 28

Within Butler's heterosexual matrix heterosexuals are excluded.

Question 29

There are only limited possibilities for consensual understanding and collective politics due to the localized forms knowledge is forced to take refuge in.

Question 30

For Lyotard, it is no longer important what one knows but whether one can afford to buy what one needs to know.

Question 31

Briefly list the orders of simulacra and define the term pure simulacra.

Question 32

Compare the work of Lyotard and Max Weber around Lyotard's term of performativity.

Question 33

Originally intended to dispute the biology-is-destiny formulation, the distinction between sex and gender serves the argument that whatever biological intractability sex appears to have, gender is culturally ___________.

A) rationalized
B) regulated
C) consumed
D) constructed

Question 34

In a postmodern society symbols no longer refer directly to concrete reality.

Question 35

"Buy this car because it is made well" is an example of imagistic advertising.

Question 36

For Butler, sex is a kind of persistent impersonation that passes as the real.

Question 37

Define postmodernism.

Question 38

Define and provide a contemporary example of a Lyotard metanarrative.

Question 39

Outline and define Baudrillard's two most important contributions to postmodern theory.

Question 40

Hyperreality refers to the postmodern condition where simulations of reality are more real than reality itself.

Question 41

What do Queer Theorists argue about "sex as norm"? How do they relate this normative behavior and social construction of social roles? Use examples that help explain sex and sexual identities, from a sociological perspective.

Question 42

Explain completely Baudrillard's orders of simulacra using concrete examples to illustrate each. Provide further real world examples of contemporary pure simulacra.

Question 43

Define Lyotard's conception of the postmodern condition. Discuss how it pertains to our understanding of science. Construct and provide support for a counter-argument to Lyotard's understanding of science in society in regards to metanarratives.

Question 44

Explain postmodernism and provide contemporary real-world examples of postmodern content.