1. Reading 15 Stephen Brown

2. Postmodern An umbrella for interpretive research techniques This author argues differently, that postmodern and interpretive market research are actually polar opposites

3. Postmodernism defined Four different themes – Artistic reflection of multiple choices – Social demise of organizations (religion, nation states, political blocs) – Scientific shifts toward uncertainty, indeterminacy, holism, change – Language as meaning and representation of reality

4. Three postmodern assumptions The death of the autonomous individual The repudiation of meaning The denial of progress

5. Humanism Basic set of beliefs made up of the following assumptions: – Humans construct multiple realities – Researcher and phenomenon under study are interactive – Research inquiry is directed toward development of idiographic knowledge – Causes and effects cannot be separated – Research is inherently value-laden – Knowledge is socially constructed, not discovered

6. Critical Theory (Frankfurt School) Principles – Research should comprise a critique of society – Criticism should be interdisciplinary – Theory and practice are inseparable – Reject orthodox Marxism – Facts and values are interdependent – Genuine knowledge is a potential instrument of emancipation

7. Hermeneutics and Semiotics Hermeneutics – the understanding of meaning Semiotics – the understanding of symbols Both are recursive (self-correcting cycle that reflects the interplay of the text, the researcher’s lens, and the revisions)

8. Existentialism and Phenomenology Existentialism – Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre Humans are self-creating beings who choose their own characters and goals Knowledge resides in the totality of human existence, the gestalt Phenomenology – Husserl A means of understanding the subjective human being; exploring consciousness

9. Historical analysis Largest field of postmodern marketing research Historical analysis is inherently interpretive One can learn the present through the lens of the past