AltaMira Press
Pages: 272
Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-7591-0162-3 • Paperback • July 2002 • $54.00 • (£42.00)
Joseph A. Kotarba is professor of sociology at University of Houston. John M. Johnson is professor in the School of Justice at Arizona State University. Each has coedited a previous well-known volume on existential sociology: Kotarba (with Andrea Fontana) The Existential Self in Society (1984) and Johnson (with Jack Douglas) Existential Sociology (1977).
1 CONTENTS: Preface/ PART I: INTRODUCTION/ 1. Postmodern Existentialism, Joseph A. Kotarba and John M. Johnson/ 2. Restoring the Self as Subject: Addressing the Question of Race, Stanford M. Lyman/ PART II: THE MASS-MEDIATED SELF/ 3. Toward a Mapping of the
Address[es] topics ranging from rock music to race . . . the material contained in this volume is theoretically informed, sophisticated, and innovative. . . . Anyone who is interested in how sociologists who have been inspired by postmodernism pursue their work should consult this text.
— John Murphy, University of Miami; American Journal of Sociology
Postmodern Existentialism represents a major theoretical intervention for the new millennium. Existential sociology emerged in the 1970s, and was as relevant then as it is today. This philosophical brand of interpretive sociology privileges the socially constructed reflexive, embodied, emotional nature of daily life. Existence precedes essence, for the world is not rational, and daily life often seems absurd, random, out of control. Postmodern existentialism affirms these features of our world, and rejects any master narrative that might impose order and meaning on our lives. This new collection requires careful study by all serious students of postmodern life.
— Norman K. Denzin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign