The Saturated Self: Dilemmas Of Identity In Contemporary Life
"Social saturation" is Gergen's term for ordinary people living with constant change, bombarded by electronic messages, open to a vast range of personal relationships. Under this sensory assault, the self as a known entity breaks down and the post-modern woman or man, cast adrift in a world of limitless possibilities, advances from the "pastiche personality" to the energy vortex of the "relational self" ("the relationship replaces the individual as the center of human action"). This dizzying scenario is anchored by a discussion of "self-reflective" movies and TV shows (Woody Allen, David Letterman ) , coalescing artistic genres, anthropological comparisons, deconstructivism, with examples drawn from popular culture. Swarthmore psychology professor Gergen touches raw nerves, scrutinizing unmoored selves naked to experience in this highly stimulating, mind-expanding original work which dusts away the cliches surrounding that tiresome phrase, "the post-modern condition."Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.