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A longitudinal content analysis of top-chart hip-hop songs’ lyrics produced between 1980 and 2013 was conducted to investigate the degree and progression of the paradoxical juxtaposition, or postmodern hybridity, of oppositional modernist identities in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, sexuality, and economic lifestyle, in addition to the longitudinal diversification of artist’s race and gender demographics. Demographically, the percentage of non-African-American artists increased as the percentage of African-American artists decreased. Additionally, the percentage of songs featuring either all male or all female artists decreased, while the percentage of collaboration between male and female artists increased over time. Although hybrid oppositional identities related to race/ethnicity and gender did not increase over time, those of sexual orientation, sexuality, and economic lifestyle increased over time. In addition, materialist identities were related to the hybridity of sexual orientation and sexuality, but not to that of gender and race/ethnicity. Overall, the research found increasing postmodern hybridity within the sexualization of hip-hop songs along with intensified materialism.

In this dissertation, I build on contemporary theoretical perspectives to interpret characteristics of contemporary cowboy culture. Specifically, I target the image of the cowboy in relation to solidarity. I assume that contemporary cowboy culture is an illusion or simulacra of something, something maybe once authentic. Now, it is built around language games, illusion, image and many other postmodern phenomena. Even so, in this work I explore how postmodernism is useful, which many are hesitant to do. This is a new twist or at least an interesting study in contrast to the enlightenment project. I rely heavily on theoretical discussion, qualitative analysis, participant observation and interpretive interactionism to accomplish this study and engage this culture. I integrate this approach into the continuing question about progress and the relationship between postmodernism and modernism, which is characterized here by McDonaldization. I find contemporary society provides opportunities to celebrate the benefits and development of postmodern social bonding. As a result, postmodernism, characterized by chaos, contradiction, and especially illusion is found to actually create solidarity and allow for Jungian rebirth of something authentic.

This thesis sets out to elaborate a theoretical framework for Cultural Studies which specifically informed by post-Marxist theory and committed to a radical democratic politics of community.The late work of Raymond Williams is taken as exemplifying Marxist cultural theory and is re-read in the light of Laclau and Mouffe's deconstruction of the Marxist tradition. As a result, a framework is offered for the analysis of 'cultural' formations which seeks to preserve Williams' concern with rigorously assessing the politicality of such formations in a manner appropriate to a radical democratic politics. The thesis then turns its attention to key areas of debate and ambiguity within postMarxist cultural theory. In particular, the debate over the epistemological status of psychoanalysis is addressed. This debate is seen to give rise to an important set of questions regarding the relationships between deconstruction, psychoanalysis and historicism and their relative implications for understanding the nature of subjectivity andsociality. A number of different models of individual and social processes of identification are examined. It is argued that it is necessary to maintain and deploy models which are capable of understanding such processes as forms of irreducibly social experience in ways which models grounded in psychoanalysis cannot do, but without simply discarding the legacy of psychoanalysis altogether. The final section of the thesis applies the theoretical frameworks thus far developed to the study of recent British culture. In the first of these studies, the phenomenon of 'Britpop' is understood as deeply bound up with the success of New Labour and its attempted mobilisation of an inclusive yet socially conservative model of both British identity and political participation. The second study contrasts Britpop /Blairism with contemporary 'dance' culture, characterised as it is by radically democratic tendencies and the absence of any hegemonic project.

Much contemporary research and theory on marriage focuses on observable patterns of interactions and tries to delineate sequential patterns of behavior that differentiate distressed from non-distressed couples. There is, however, a notable lack of theorizing about the data beyond “theories” that offer little more than empirical generalizations. In their latest Sourcebook (2004), The National Council on Family Relations recognizes the need to develop broader integrative frameworks to guide research in this field. This theoretical dissertation questions some of the dominant assumptions and theoretical orientations in the field of marriage research and explores how we might rethink how contemporary marriage and its goods are conceptualized as part of the search for more sustainable marriage and family policies and practices. Questions about marriage are situated in a larger socio-cultural and historical perspective. Section One identifies ethical ideals and moral goods associated with a vii number of the prominent traditional epochs in Western culture prior to the Enlightenment. Section Two explores the changes in marriage brought about by the transition from a traditional, hierarchical worldview to the modern outlook that prioritizes the inherent dignity and rights of individuals that frequently need to be defended against the tradition. Section Three develops a theoretical framework for dealing with a seemingly intractable dilemma. On one hand, many continue to feel that marriage and family life incorporate genuine goods that should be preserved, in some form, for their own sake and the larger good. On the other hand, traditional ideals appear riddled with elements of inequality and irrational authority that make them unacceptable in a modern liberal democracy. It is argued that many of the proposed ways for overcoming or coping with this dilemma are inadequate. Finally, the dissertation argues that hermeneutic and dialogical approaches to understanding human action may offer resources for making some real headway in resolving these dilemmas. These approaches complement one another and suggest what might be a credible way “beyond objectivism and relativism” (Bernstein, 1983) that allows us to affirm certain substantive goods of marriage and family life that carry real weight but also might be found acceptable in a post-traditional, postmodern world.Much contemporary research and theory on marriage focuses on observable patterns of interactions and tries to delineate sequential patterns of behavior that differentiate distressed from non-distressed couples. There is, however, a notable lack of theorizing about the data beyond “theories” that offer little more than empirical generalizations. In their latest Sourcebook (2004), The National Council on Family Relations recognizes the need to develop broader integrative frameworks to guide research in this field. This theoretical dissertation questions some of the dominant assumptions and theoretical orientations in the field of marriage research and explores how we might rethink how contemporary marriage and its goods are conceptualized as part of the search for more sustainable marriage and family policies and practices. Questions about marriage are situated in a larger socio-cultural and historical perspective. Section One identifies ethical ideals and moral goods associated with a vii number of the prominent traditional epochs in Western culture prior to the Enlightenment. Section Two explores the changes in marriage brought about by the transition from a traditional, hierarchical worldview to the modern outlook that prioritizes the inherent dignity and rights of individuals that frequently need to be defended against the tradition. Section Three develops a theoretical framework for dealing with a seemingly intractable dilemma. On one hand, many continue to feel that marriage and family life incorporate genuine goods that should be preserved, in some form, for their own sake and the larger good. On the other hand, traditional ideals appear riddled with elements of inequality and irrational authority that make them unacceptable in a modern liberal democracy. It is argued that many of the proposed ways for overcoming or coping with this dilemma are inadequate. Finally, the dissertation argues that hermeneutic and dialogical approaches to understanding human action may offer resources for making some real headway in resolving these dilemmas. These approaches complement one another and suggest what might be a credible way “beyond objectivism and relativism” (Bernstein, 1983) that allows us to affirm certain substantive goods of marriage and family life that carry real weight but also might be found acceptable in a post-traditional, postmodern world.Much contemporary research and theory on marriage focuses on observable patterns of interactions and tries to delineate sequential patterns of behavior that differentiate distressed from non-distressed couples. There is, however, a notable lack of theorizing about the data beyond “theories” that offer little more than empirical generalizations. In their latest Sourcebook (2004), The National Council on Family Relations recognizes the need to develop broader integrative frameworks to guide research in this field. This theoretical dissertation questions some of the dominant assumptions and theoretical orientations in the field of marriage research and explores how we might rethink how contemporary marriage and its goods are conceptualized as part of the search for more sustainable marriage and family policies and practices. Questions about marriage are situated in a larger socio-cultural and historical perspective. Section One identifies ethical ideals and moral goods associated with a vii number of the prominent traditional epochs in Western culture prior to the Enlightenment. Section Two explores the changes in marriage brought about by the transition from a traditional, hierarchical worldview to the modern outlook that prioritizes the inherent dignity and rights of individuals that frequently need to be defended against the tradition. Section Three develops a theoretical framework for dealing with a seemingly intractable dilemma. On one hand, many continue to feel that marriage and family life incorporate genuine goods that should be preserved, in some form, for their own sake and the larger good. On the other hand, traditional ideals appear riddled with elements of inequality and irrational authority that make them unacceptable in a modern liberal democracy. It is argued that many of the proposed ways for overcoming or coping with this dilemma are inadequate. Finally, the dissertation argues that hermeneutic and dialogical approaches to understanding human action may offer resources for making some real headway in resolving these dilemmas. These approaches complement one another and suggest what might be a credible way “beyond objectivism and relativism” (Bernstein, 1983) that allows us to affirm certain substantive goods of marriage and family life that carry real weight but also might be found acceptable in a post-traditional, postmodern world.Much contemporary research and theory on marriage focuses on observable patterns of interactions and tries to delineate sequential patterns of behavior that differentiate distressed from non-distressed couples. There is, however, a notable lack of theorizing about the data beyond “theories” that offer little more than empirical generalizations. In their latest Sourcebook (2004), The National Council on Family Relations recognizes the need to develop broader integrative frameworks to guide research in this field. This theoretical dissertation questions some of the dominant assumptions and theoretical orientations in the field of marriage research and explores how we might rethink how contemporary marriage and its goods are conceptualized as part of the search for more sustainable marriage and family policies and practices. Questions about marriage are situated in a larger socio-cultural and historical perspective. Section One identifies ethical ideals and moral goods associated with a vii number of the prominent traditional epochs in Western culture prior to the Enlightenment. Section Two explores the changes in marriage brought about by the transition from a traditional, hierarchical worldview to the modern outlook that prioritizes the inherent dignity and rights of individuals that frequently need to be defended against the tradition. Section Three develops a theoretical framework for dealing with a seemingly intractable dilemma. On one hand, many continue to feel that marriage and family life incorporate genuine goods that should be preserved, in some form, for their own sake and the larger good. On the other hand, traditional ideals appear riddled with elements of inequality and irrational authority that make them unacceptable in a modern liberal democracy. It is argued that many of the proposed ways for overcoming or coping with this dilemma are inadequate. Finally, the dissertation argues that hermeneutic and dialogical approaches to understanding human action may offer resources for making some real headway in resolving these dilemmas. These approaches complement one another and suggest what might be a credible way “beyond objectivism and relativism” (Bernstein, 1983) that allows us to affirm certain substantive goods of marriage and family life that carry real weight but also might be found acceptable in a post-traditional, postmodern world. / text

Since Deng Xiaoping's "South Tour Speech" which he delivered during his inspection of special economic region in southern China in 1992, China's reforms and opening-up have entered a period of stable and rapid development. These undoubtedly are driving a comprehensive range of areas of social transition in Chinese society, including state affairs, social activities, mass culture, and globalization. All these factors may have a significant impact on the situation of Chinese film, but in the meantime, local cinema will inevitably present contemporary China and its social culture in a certain way. This thesis chooses a period of time from 1993 to 2008 and examines "nostalgia", a unique area of contemporary Chinese cinema, as its basis for discussion. In the light of Western and postmodern cultural theories, this study aims to explore the current state of nostalgia film and its postmodern elements in China and to extend the discussion to social areas and cultural studies. The conclusion reached by the discussion includes two major aspects. First, through historical reconstruction and superficial pastiche, China's past (or its nostalgia) has inevitably presented certain distortions when facing the global mass cult and Chinese communist leitmotiv ideology. Second, contemporary China has reached the stage of a visually featured, postmodern consumer society.

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The purpose of this dissertation is to redress the literary academy’s view of Pulp Literature as an inconsequential form, which does not merit serious contemplation, or artistic recognition. Although it is true that recent literary criticism has attempted to elevate the importance of Pulp by positing it as the natural postmodern “other” to ‘high’ literature, the thesis demonstrates how this dichotomy has proven to be counter-productive to its aim. That is, although this theoretical approach does invite legitimate investigation of the form, many academics simply use this technique to reinforce their claims for the superiority of so-called ‘canonic’ texts. Therefore, rather than continuing along this downward path, this thesis focuses more on the subversive machinations of Pulp Literature as a social, economic, political, and theoretical force with its own strategies and agendas, opening with an investigation of the history of Pulp Literature as a cultural form. I argue that, from its very conception with the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century, Pulp has always offered a radical alternative to the mainstream by providing a voice for the marginalised and the oppressed in the societies of the world. The thesis traces this political role as the aesthetic evolves into the new forms and technologies of a contemporary culture, where many academics still refuse to acknowledge Pulp as an important agent for the transmission of ideological views, and an impetus to instigate social change. The concluding arguments move away from the quantitative, to the more theoretically evaluative section of the thesis. This consists of a discussion of the conceptual boundaries surrounding the aesthetic of Pulp, broaching such subjects as literary evaluation, canonicity, and canon formation. This debate ultimately revolves around the question, ‘if literary theorists cannot ‘objectively’ determine what literary ‘quality’ is, then how can we hope to define Pulp?’ In an attempt to answer this question, the thesis juxtaposes the criteria of a number of literary theorists from this field of inquiry, namely, Thomas R. Whissen, Clive Bloom, Thomas J. Roberts, Harold Bloom, Andrew Calcutt and Richard Shephard, to formulate an aesthetic that is not only markedly different to their’s, but more significantly, one which situates Pulp Literature at the head of the literary academic table.

Today’s world has undergone through a variety of changes shifting from metaphysical way of thinking into postmodernism which has left its footprint in the aspects of literature, art and theatre. But architecture doesn’t reflect those changes in the theatrical world because buildings are not adjusted to the postmodern performances. In this research I made a journey through postmodern philosophy, literature, art, architecture, and theatre and tried to analyze the main tools of postmodernism, such as deconstruction of narrative, displacement etc. Then I applied them into my project which makes an attempt to translate the postmodern mind into a physical space and create a theatrical area. It tries to answer the question whether architecture is able to accommodate postmodern conceptions and performances where the audiences are the creators and active participants of their own narratives. The case study of the performance Sleep No More has become the concept for my design proposal where I also used displacement to combine several objects in a new context. The analysis and the design method have shown that architecture can accommodate all the cultural developments and can transform from postmodern conceptions into a physical space with the help of the same tools that are used in postmodern literature, art and philosophy. A building can become the embodiment of a post modernistic idea.