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.'' (Apr.)