Postmodern Theory

In the 1980s, postmodern theory gained prominence in the field of criminology. Prior to this time, understanding about criminal phenomena was exclusively informed by empirical inquiry. Methods developed and advanced in order to make sense of the physical world were utilized in an attempt to comprehend human conduct but from within the realm of the social world. This orientation, known as the modern, is based on the assumptions that human behavior is rational and predictable and that truth is discernable and absolute. Thus, the conditions, causes, and control of crime are capable of being explained. Postmodern theory rejects these contentions and challenges the positivist notions underlying much of contemporary society.

Drawing primarily upon the work of French scholars, postmodernism as applied to criminology asserts that conventional understanding about truth and knowledge fails to adequately account for the inconsistencies and contradictions of human behavior and social life. For the postmodernist, there is no finite truth or privileged knowledge. Indeed, it is in this way that everyone is considered an expert. Although this perspective has garnered criticism, its influence on how we make sense of crime and the society in which it occurs continues to grow.

It is first worth noting that postmodernism, as a theory of dissent, resists comprehensive and convenient delineation. In other words, while most criminological theories offer something approximating a cohesive framework, postmodernism consists of a diverse and, as some claim, infinite number of positions. Although each position articulates the theory in distinct and perhaps somewhat conflicting ways, they share a commonality in their criticism of the modern.

Modernity is a term used to describe the period following the Middle or Dark Ages. However, during what is commonly known as the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason, a philosophical shift occurred. Prior to this time, social life was understood within the context of theologically based concepts. That is, the belief was that human nature and behavior were guided by a higher power, and an external struggle between good and evil persisted. Following the Enlightenment, reason triumphed over the divine. Rather than behavior influenced by the sacred and prophetic, humans were considered to be rational beings capable of assuming responsibility, employing free choice, and pursuing hedonistic desires (Best & Kellner, 1991).

This turn to reason combined with ever-advancing scientific methods provided the foundation for the modern era and, correspondingly, a number of criminological theories. For example, rational choice theory and social bond/self-control theory both presume that the criminal is rational and engages in self-satisfying behavior. With rational choice theory, the criminal decides whether or not to commit a crime based on a calculation of the benefits and costs. With social control theory, the youthful offender fails to appropriately socialize (bond) or engages in delinquent social learning yielding a lack of self-control that, in adulthood, makes the person prone to criminal behavior. The justice system's reliance upon deterrence, punishment, and rehabilitation can be traced to these and many other modernist ideas.

As the prefix post suggests, postmodernism follows modernity. The theory developed in two phases. Among those comprising the first and second stages, Jean Baudrillard, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, Jean-Francois Lyotard, and Julia Kristeva each played a distinct and significant role in cultivating and advancing postmodern thought. Some, such

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