Postmodernism and Social Praxis Essay -- Ethics Feminism Theology Essa

Postmodernism and Social PraxisWhereas the interpreter is obliged to go to the depth of things, like an excavator, the moment of interpretation genealogy is like an overview, from higher and higher up, which allows the depth to be laid out in front of him in a more and more profound visibility depth is resituated as an absolutely superficial secret.(18)So those are the changes, and I try to show those changes...(19)In Communities of Resistance and Solidarity, as well as in A Feminist Ethic of Risk, Sharon D. Welch sets forth a liberation theology in which the deconstructive processes of Michel Foucault are key. Her theology is an amalgam of Foucaults poststructuralist concepts and liberation theologys action-oriented motivation. Welch claims the genealogical methods of Foucault are ideal motivators, urging the activist to political involvement. However, Michel Foucaults genealogy was not intended for such pragmatic applications. Foucaults purpose in writing genealogies was neer acti on-oriented. He only set out to show those changes. By definition, genealogy never rests in one discourse or on one truth. Foucault, as an interpreter, emphasizes the necessary tension between keeping distance from historical discourse and cognisance of ones inescapable position in historical discourse. In short, the genealogist can never rest on his or her laurels seeming bases of truth are very constantly changing historical constructions. While Welch claims not only to possess this type of awareness, but also to recognize its absolute necessity for her theology, she is in risk of infection of defeating her own goals with no solid foundations, no fixed truths, on which to base liberation theologys arguments, how can her action-... ...78. Madness and Civilization A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Trans. Richard Howard. New York Pantheon, 1965. Kaufmann, Walter, ed. The Portable Nietzsche. New York Penguin Books, 1982. Mohanty, Chandra Talpade, Ann Russo, and Lourdes T orres. Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism. Bloomington Indiana UP, 1991. Rabinow, Paul, ed. The Foucault Reader. New York Pantheon, 1984. Schssler-Fiorenza, Elizabeth. In Memory of Her A Feminist Theological reconstructive memory of Christian Origins. New York Crossroad, 1983. Welch, Sharon D. Communities of Resistance and Solidarity A Feminist Theology of Liberation. Maryknoll, New York Orbis, 1985. A Feminist Ethic of Risk. Maryknoll, New York Orbis, 1985. Winter, Gibson. Address. Religious Social Ethics in a Postmodern World. Temple University, Philadelphia, 22 March 1995.