The Trouble with Theory: The Educational Costs of Postmodernism - Paperback

by Gavin Kitching (Author)

Postmodern theory has engaged the hearts and heads of the brightest students because of its apparent political and social radicalism. Despite this Professor Gavin Kitching claims that, 'At the heart of postmodernism is very poor, deeply confused and misbegotten philosophy. As a result even the very best students who fall under its sway produce radically incoherent ideas about language, meaning, truth and reality.'

This is not another conservative attack on postmodernism. Rather, it is a carefully considered analysis from a dedicated university teacher who is convinced that we have gone terribly astray. He shows that postmodern theory is at best irrelevant to, and at worst undermining of, persuasive political arguments, and reveals the basic philosophical confusion at its heart which makes this so.

Essential reading for any student writing a thesis in the humanities and the social sciences, and for their teachers.

Author Biography

Gavin Kitching is Professor of Politics in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of New South Wales. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and has research interests in the philosophy of Wittgenstein, globalisation, and agricultural development in the Third World.