Postmodernism in Sociology: Key Ideas and Examples of Postmodern Thinkers

Last Updated on September 18, 2025 by Karl Thompson

Postmodernism in sociology challenges the modernist belief in universal truths and linear social progress. It emphasises fragmentation, pluralism, and the power of culture and media in shaping society. This guide explains the main features of postmodernism sociology and explores detailed examples of postmodern thinkers including Lyotard, Foucault, Baudrillard and Bauman.

Summary: What This Post Covers

• What is postmodernism in sociology — origins, definitions, how it responds to modernity.
• Key features and claims of postmodernism (metanarratives, knowledge & power, hyperreality, fluid identity, etc.)
• Detailed profiles of major postmodern thinkers:
  1. Jean-François Lyotard
  2. Michel Foucault
  3. Jean Baudrillard
• How postmodernism affects sociology: what sociologists study differently, what is de-emphasised, what new areas open up
• Criticisms / counter-arguments / challenges (implicitly through thinkers’ debates).
• Why it matters for A-level / undergraduate sociology.
• Conclusion
• Postmodernism in more Depth (From David Harveys’ The Condition of Postmodernity.)

Introduction: What is Postmodernism in Sociology?

Postmodernism is an intellectual movement that became popular in the 1980s, and the ideas associated with it can be seen as a response to social changes occurring with the shift from modernity to postmodernity.

Sociologists use “postmodernism” to describe new ways of seeing the social world: as less certain, less universal, more fragmented, more plural, more mediated, more driven by culture and consumption, and less governed by large unified narratives or “grand theories.” It challenges many of the assumptions of modernity: linear history, scientific progress, universal truths, stable social structures.

In what follows, we’ll look at key features of postmodernism in sociology, and then four major thinkers whose work illustrates those features.

Key Features / Claims of Postmodernism

• Collapse of metanarratives: Big, all-encompassing stories of progress (Enlightenment, Marxism, functionalism) are no longer credible.
• Questioning objectivity and truth: Knowledge is not a neutral, objective reflection of reality; it is shaped by power, history, language. Modernists tended to believe that if we can find the truth, then we can apply this to society and it will enable us to be free; while according to post-modernists, in order to be free, we need to be liberated from the concept of truth!
• Hyperreality and representation: The media and images don’t just reflect reality; they shape or even replace it. Representation becomes more “real” than what it represents.
• Fluidity, fragmentation, pluralism: Identity, society, culture are multiple, overlapping, constantly in flux. There’s much less confidence in stable foundations.
• De-emphasis on structural explanations: Less focus on overarching structures (class, institution) and more interest in culture, discourse, media, subcultures, deviance.
• New domains of study: How we understand consumption, media, gender, identity, deviance, subcultures; questions about how individuals live in a hyper-mediated, globalised, fluid world.

Three Examples of Postmodern Thinkers

Here are examples of postmodern thinkers widely discussed in sociology. Their work illustrates different aspects of postmodernism sociology.

In sociology, postmodernism is more than just a label: it’s a different perspective that reshapes questions about truth, knowledge, identity, and social order. The thinkers Lyotard, Foucault, Baudrillard and Bauman each help us see different aspects of what postmodernism means in practice:

• Lyotard shows us how big stories are no longer trusted.
• Foucault shows how power and knowledge are intertwined.
• Baudrillard takes us into the world of representation and hyperreality.

Together, they give us a richer, more nuanced view of postmodernism sociology, and a set of useful examples of postmodern thinkers to use in essays, studies, discussion.

Jean-François Lyotard

• Famous for the phrase “incredulity toward metanarratives.”
• Jean Francois Lyotard argued that grand narratives (Marxism, Christianity, Enlightenment science) no longer have credibility in postmodern societies.
• Science, once seen as the hallmark of modernist progress, is now fragmented and tied to funding and politics — not an independent pursuit of truth.
• Knowledge becomes commodified: universities and research are increasingly valued for market utility, not truth or emancipation.
• For sociology: this undermines the search for a single, overarching “theory of society.” Instead, sociology should produce smaller, localised “language games.”

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Michel Foucault

• Argued that knowledge is always bound up with power.
• Institutions (prisons, asylums, hospitals) define categories like “criminal,” “mad,” or “healthy” — not neutrally, but as a means of social control.
• This challenges Enlightenment ideals that science/knowledge naturally leads to progress.
• His historical studies (madness, sexuality, punishment) show how what counts as “normal” shifts across time and context.
• Modernist sociology assumed experts reveal truth; Foucault shows experts produce truths that maintain power structures.
• Sociology, then, should focus on discourse — the rules and practices that define truth in specific contexts.

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Jean Baudrillard

• Central idea: hyperreality.
• In postmodern societies, media representations don’t just reflect reality, they shape and even replace it.
• Signs and symbols circulate independent of the “real world.”
• Example: The mourning of Princess Diana — for many, mediated through TV coverage and press narratives, not personal experience. People grieved for a representation, not an individual they knew.
• Media no longer mirrors reality but constructs it, leaving us with a world where people may struggle to separate image from reality.
• This is especially relevant in the age of consumerism and advertising, where brands sell lifestyles and identities more than physical products.

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Postmodernism & Sociology: What Changes?

Here’s how postmodernism changes what sociologists focus on, or how sociology is done differently:

• From universal theory to detailed narratives: Less interest in grand theory (Functionalism, Marxism, etc.), more interest in localised, partial, context-specific stories.
• Focus on culture, media, identity, consumption rather than purely social structure.
• Dealing with complexity, ambiguity, contradiction rather than seeking neat, stable answers.
• Interdisciplinary methods: Drawing on philosophy, literary theory, cultural studies, media studies, etc.
• Criticism of power & discourse: Scrutinising how knowledge, norms, institutions, language produce and sustain social inequalities, marginalisation, deviance.

Specifically, what might Sociology look like in the Context of Postmodernity? 

Just a few suggestions…

• Because Sociology should abandon the quest for truth, and because individuals are free, it makes sense that the focus of Sociology should be on what people do with their new found freedoms in post-modern culture – thus the focus should be on people’s stories, on exploring the diversity of identities – of special interest here is the exploration of hybrid identities.
• Also of particular interest to ‘Postmodern’ researchers is the issue of ‘transgression’ – focussing on telling the stories of those who go against traditional norms -Deviants and criminals for example.
• There is also a critical element to Postmodern research – which is deconstruction – using evidence to pick apart those theories which claim to have found the truth, in order to keep those dreaded metanarratives at bay.
• To my mind most BBC Documentaries are good examples of Postmodern Research – typically narratives of transgressive individuals or groups, with little theory.

Why It Matters (Especially for Students)

• Helps answer exam questions about “modernity → postmodernity” transitions, about modernist vs postmodernist views.
• Shows how sociologists understand social change, identity, media, culture in the contemporary world.
• Gives good material/examples (Lyotard, Foucault, Baudrillard, Bauman) for essays and evaluations.
• Encourages critical thinking: not just what sociologists say, but how they say it, what assumptions they have, what is gained and lost.

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Criticisms of Postmodernism

• Relativism: If all knowledge is partial, can anything be objectively criticised?
• Overstatement: Modernist features (rational institutions, nation states, science) still dominate.
• Practicality: Some postmodern ideas (e.g., hyperreality) are hard to test empirically.
• Pessimism: Risk of undermining social change by rejecting truth claims.

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Conclusion

Postmodernism in sociology highlights the decline of universal explanations, the rise of fragmented realities, and the central role of culture, media, and consumption in shaping life today. The work of Lyotard, Foucault, Baudrillard and Bauman provides rich examples of postmodern thinkers that students can use to evaluate sociological debates about modernity, knowledge, truth, and identity.

Further Depth: What is Postmodernism?

The term postmodernism is notoriously slippery. Definitions vary across disciplines, but it is generally understood as a reaction against modernism and the cultural forms associated with it.

Two working definitions of postmodernism

• “Postmodernism is a style of culture which reflects something of this epochal change.” (Harvey, 1989, summarising Fredric Jameson)
• “Postmodernism is a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality.” (adapted from Lyotard, 1979, The Postmodern Condition)
• As Harvey (1989: 52) summarises: “Postmodernism swims, even wallows, in the fragmentary and the chaotic currents of change as if that is all there is.”

Much of the analysis below comes from David Harvey’s classic text, The Condition of Postmodernity (1989), which situates postmodernism as both a cultural shift and an intellectual critique of modernist assumptions.

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Core Features of Postmodernism

• Fragmentation and heterogeneity – “Postmodernism celebrates difference, fragmentation, ephemerality, spectacle, and chaos rather than searching for order, stability, and meaning.” (Harvey, 1989: 44)
• Distrust of totalising discourses – postmodernists reject “all universal or totalising discourses and insist on the plurality of truth and meaning.” (Lyotard, 1979; cited in Harvey, 1989: 46)
• Playfulness and irony – postmodern culture is characterised by “irony, playfulness, parody, and pastiche.” (Jameson, 1984; cited in Harvey, 1989: 53)
• Contrived depthlessness – postmodern aesthetics are marked by “contrived depthlessness,” surfaces without deeper meaning. (Jameson, 1984; cited in Harvey, 1989: 57)
• Embrace of commerce and mass culture – “Whereas modernism sought an austere autonomy of high culture, postmodernism embraces commerce, commodity, and the popular.” (Harvey, 1989: 63, drawing on Jameson)

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Postmodernism in Practice: Examples

Harvey identifies illustrations of postmodernism across disciplines:

• Philosophy – Richard Rorty’s rediscovery of pragmatism, arguing that truth is what works in practice, not what universally applies.
• Philosophy of Science – Thomas Kuhn (The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 1962) and Paul Feyerabend (Against Method, 1975) both rejected science as linear progress.
• History – Michel Foucault emphasised “polymorphous correlations” rather than simple cause/effect. (Foucault, cited in Harvey, 1989: 49)
• Natural Sciences – theories such as chaos and fractal geometry highlighted complexity, indeterminacy, and unpredictability.
• Anthropology & Politics – a growing concern for “the Other”, stressing marginality, diversity, and difference. (Harvey, 1989: 53)

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Good Sources for finding out more about Postmodernism and sociology

• David Harvey (1989), The Condition of Postmodernity. Oxford: Blackwell.
• Jean-François Lyotard (1979), The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge.
• Fredric Jameson (1984), Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism.
• Thomas Kuhn (1962), The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
• Paul Feyerabend (1975), Against Method.
• Michel Foucault (various works, e.g. Discipline and Punish, The Archaeology of Knowledge).
• Giddens and Sutton (2017) Sociology

Signposting and Related Posts

For a broader overview of postmodernity and postmodernism in sociology, see my hub page: Postmodernity and Postmodernism in Sociology.

I typically expose students to postmodernism in the first few weeks of first year teaching, but the above material might be better saved for the end of the second year which is the best time to teach social theories, postmodernism coming towards the end after the classic modernist theories such as Functionalism and Marxism.

You might also like my modernity, postmodernity and late modernity key terms page, for an overview of the main definitions and how they all relate to each other.

Before thinking about theories of postmodernity you need to be familiar with the main differences between the two historical eras mdoernity and postmodernity, summarised (with pictures) in this post: From Modernity to Postmodernity.

Postmodernism does have its critics, to find out more see ‘Criticisms of postmodernism‘.

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