Mohammed, JenifferKeller, Carol2010-04-152010-04-152004Mohammed, J., and Keller, C. (2004). The social studies for a postmodern age. Caribbean Curriculum, 11, 57-691017-5636https://hdl.handle.net/2139/6621The social studies has remained an enigma for most of its existence. In rhetoric it is highly regarded; in the lived reality of schools it is perceived as a "soft option." This article traces its origins and development in different contexts, and the epistemological debates and conundrums that still obscure what a study of the social is. The politics of knowledge illuminates its low status in organizational settings such as schools. A case is made for a return to the foundational principles espoused by social theorists, who see a study of the social as essentially that of being human. This knowledge is vitally important in a postmodern age where contradiction and fragmentation are increasingly the norm. Finally, it is shown that the Human Development Paradigm rests squarely on a deeper appreciation of the social, which can come from a reformulated social studyenSocial studiesCaribbeanArticle