[Reader-list] 'postmodernism'...

[Dwaipayan Banerjee]

Just a note of thanks to the people who emailed me
after that post... appreciate the interest and glad it
meant sense.

And just finally, for anyone really interested in
actually figuring out 'science studies', rather than
reading my rather confused ramblings I suggest you
look at the first chapter of Bruno Latour's book
'Pandora's Hope' which is far more coherent,
intelligent and fun to read.  It is a clearly argued
program-statement and an overview of the discipline,
firmly placing its theoretical orientation as that of
a 'radical realism'.  It is a realism on the side of
scientists rather than against them, hoping to counter
the growing threat of deconstruction and
post-modernism.  The rather hopeless irony is that
poor Latour got branded a post-modernist in Sokal's
book, the very theory he has made it his life-work to
undermine.  [His is the actor-network theory in social
sciences, hoping to establish at least limited
relations between the mind and the world, in order to
counter the growing retreat into form and
deconstructive post-modern solipsism.]

One may sometimes agree with Latour, and as often 
disagree with his extremely provocative positions. But
one cannot help admire his fun writing and his easy
wit and style.

For those in CSDS and JNU, Pandora's Hope is available
in your libraries, and in csds so are his other
amazing books - 'we have never been modern' and
'aramis or the love of technology.'  Pandora's Hope is
also avaiable in the Ratan Tata Library, and if you
are a member of the French Information and Resource
Centre, you can find it there too, along with some of
his others.  Don't miss this, its a great read.

Dwaipayan


      Download prohibited? No problem. To chat from any browser without download, Go to http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/webmessengerpromo.php