In this book Eric Kramer introduces his theory of dimensional accrual/dissociation to explain the difference between modernity and postmodernity. He also argues that social scientific operational definitions are useful but very often arbitrary. Thus, realities based on them are available for creative (alternative) validities. Kramer then concentrates on the concepts of modernity and postmodernity to analyze how they have been defined and structured and, in the end, he offers clear definitions of these concepts and a better understanding of the work of those who have shaped these ideas. Kramer applies this position to the concepts of modernity and postmodernity, providing a painstaking review of the origins, key thinkers, and current status of these ideas. By reviewing the development of these ideas and providing clear definitions of these concepts, Kramer helps scholars and researchers in the social sciences and humanities better understand applications and limitations of these key approaches in late twentieth-century scholarship.

Kramer brings together experts from a variety of "minority" backgrounds and from around the world to give their perspectives on the most pervasive ideology today, globalism. The basic premise is that a "developed" country is different from a "developed" community. They need not be mutually exclusive, but neither is it assumed that they are necessarily consonant. The various essays offer answers to such vital questions as "What does it mean to become a 'global citizen'?" and "What does it mean to be a 'model minority' in a global economy?" The process of becoming a "mainstream person" involves being first marginalized with the implication that something is inadequate about one's self. The process of assimilationism is manifested as various forms of enforced and/or rewarded acculturation. With the vast human migration currently underway, the notion of assimilation has become a global phenomenon. What is occurring, Kramer and his colleagues demonstrate, is a worldwide shift from the village milieu to the city lifestyle. This migration is seen as a polycentric and global phenomenon whereby the "promised land" is nowhere in particular, but, instead, a way of life and mindset, an urban lifestyle. This process is far more than a simple change in geography. Moving from the village to the cityscape involves a mutation in worldview and self-identity. Additional questions asked throughout the collection are "What set of persuasive assumptions are leading the world in this direction?" and "What might be lost in the process?" A provocative collection for scholars, students, and other researchers involved with development studies, multiculturalism, and urbanization.

One of the most original and influential thinkers of the twentieth century was Jean Gebser, whose varied writings on the philosophy of culture gave birth to postmodernist thought. In spite of his prominence internationally, much of his work has not been translated into English. This book is the first collection of essays on Gebser to appear in English. The contributors, who are experts in architecture, philosophy, modern languages, fine arts, communications studies, and other diverse fields, offer a striking examination of the pervasive and wide ranging impact of Gebser on all aspects of modern culture. The opening chapters of this multidisciplinary study provide a solid theoretical foundation by analyzing the essence of Gebser's mode of inquiry and by noting the distinguishing features of his theory of culture. The chapters that follow assess his influence on the physical sciences, popular culture, fine art, politics, and other aspects of civilization. The volume convincingly demonstrates that Gebser is among the first postmodernist theorists, and it shows that he predicted the emergence and shortcomings of postmodernism long before McLuhan, Derrida, Foucault, and others. This valuable and original text will be of great interest to anyone concerned with the phenomenology of culture and the birth of postmodernist thought.

This collection brings together a dozen academics from diverse racial, ethnic, and gender perspectives to explore race in a postmodern way. Postmodernism and Race articulates the differences between modern and postmodern discourses. It then offers a third alternative based on comparative civilizational studies, which suggest a multidimensional approach to power, identity, and social order. Also drawing on Western and non-Western interpretations, the discursive nature of race as a cultural product and semiotic marker is explored. The collection seeks to achieve three tasks: To present a uniquely kynical approach to truth-saying presented by modernists and sophisticated so-called postmodernists (with their faith in lingualism); to explore what modernism is in the context of race; and to investigate the concept of race in an aperspectival way, including the language-gaming of racism. The obsession with racial measurement and its correlation with measures of intelligence is explored, as is the mythology of racial homogeneity in Japan. Also examined are the discursive nature of racial reality and power, and racial identity in Africa. All those concerned with issues of race and/or postmodern civilization, as well as those interested in operational definition, scalar phenomena, relativism, and postmodern views of truth, justice, and power, will find this a provocative collection.