Postmodernism

postmodernism

In recent years, multiculturalism, tolerance and political correctness have been integrated into how American society thinks. America seems to be trying to learn more about the ingredients of her melting pot. These efforts can be best understood by examining post-modernism. Post-modernism is especially important to breaking down stereotypes such as those that exist surrounding the black family.

To understand post-modernism we must first understand modernism. Modernism is the philosophy that began with the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was an era when science and art flourished. European society used the Enlightenment to object to the oppression of the church. This era emphasized only those things that are observable or measurable (Smith, 1995). The scientific method developed at this time became the standard to which everything is measured. Modernism, although moving away from the confinements of religion, was limiting in its own way.

Post-modernism can be viewed as an expansion of modernism. It does not limit the idea of truth to only that which can be observed. Post-modernism is all encompassing. Post-modernism does not allow for only one definition for anything. There are several explanations for phenomena. Where modernism emphasizes racial classifications, post-modernism emphasizes cultural and ethnic classifications. Post-modernism sanctions differences from family to family and person to person within the parameters of one culture.

This multiculturalism is being used to educate from primary education through higher education. In Percival and Black's study with sixth-graders and multiculturalism, they realized that, although they were examining a specific Native American tribe, stereotypes of that tribe or people can develop (2000). For example, all African Americans from the South eat collard greens and corn bread. So, educating oneself about other cultures cannot be used to generalize to the entire group. Post-modernism is, thus, very important to understanding the concept of a black family.

Post-modernism reveals that circumstances cannot be explained in one way. Modernism has clear procedures and criteria for defining phenomena. The question of truth is determined by science. Scientists control the worldview or meta-narrative of the dominant group (Western society). Much of the way current societies view the world is dominated by Western culture. The meta-narrative for the black family is defined by the Western standards: income and education and any other quantifiable unit.

The history of the black family is difficult to research according to Barnetta McGhee White because there are few written documents to substantiate the oral history (Staples, 1991 p.50). In terms of the prevailing meta-narrative, familial ties must be documented by family trees. Black families, due to the breakdown of the family through the slave trade, rely on oral history to tell the story of their lineage (Staples, 1991, p 51). The genealogy of author Barnetta McGhee White helps illustrate certain points. The first is that since a majority of the research into genealogy is dependent on written documents dating into the founding years of this nation, these documents are only telling what the writer wants the reader to know. The history of black families is told through the story of the slaveholder and, thus, gives information relevant to the business of slavery--everything that measurable. Another point is that those in power in the past control the future. If current society is viewed in chronicled terms, there is little control blacks can have over the account of their family history because it will always be in terms of the dominant meta-narrative based on modernity. The conclusion to be made by the former points is that modern thought is to blame for stereotypes against blacks. Post-modern thought allows for the black family to be viewed by criteria other than income and education.

Post-modern thought must be applied in discussing the black family in order to form a complete opinion or analysis for combating the