1. Postmodernism

2. TRADITIONAL WESTERN “MODERN” THINKING
Timeline
Your Place in History
14th C
Modern
Modernism
Postmodernism
You are here
ACTUALLY, WHEN TALKING ABOUT THE HISTORY OF WESTERN INTELLECTUALISM AND ART, YOU NEED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN three ERAs:
MODERN
MODERNISM OR MODERNIST
POSTMODERN
You are in the midst of this revolution
WHERE MOD AND POMO BEGINS AND ENDS IS FUZZY
TRADITIONAL WESTERN “MODERN” THINKING

3. What is Postmodernism?
An artistic, musical, and literary movement beginning the 70s continuing until the present.
Arose after WWII
Response to/push back toward Modernism and its beliefs
Skepticism toward any representation of reality that claimed to be universal or objective
Focus on the “construction of reality” through language and symbols (create your own meaning)
People give up trying to break traditions (departing from the norm lost its impact when it BECAME the norm)
Holds that all worldviews are constructed by historical documents, culture, and religion, so postmodernism sees those worldviews as a function of power, not truth.

4. Postmodernism: Basic Concepts
Life just is
Rejection of all master narratives
All “truths” are contingent cultural constructs
Skepticism of progress; anti-technology bias
Sense of fragmentation and de-centered self
Multiple conflicting identities
Mass-mediated reality
THESE ARE SOME BASIC CONCEPTS THAT CUT ACROSS ALL ASPECTS OF POSTMODERNISM
On objective essence, no central truths
Don’t mourn or worry about it--that’s just the way life is

5. Postmodernism Characteristics
Reality is only as it is presented to us
Symbols are whatever
Erodes distinction between classes and people
Explores marginalized aspects/elements of life & society
Rethinks & challenges these margins/borders
Attempts to integrate art & life
Inclusion of pop culture & forms into everyday reality
Belief that there is no “Grand Design”
The world is absurd – everything is momentary
Emphasis on the journey
Post-modernism – slaughterhouse – could mean something but it might not

6. Postmodern Culture Create your own values—no right, wrong, sin, etc.
No right or wrong lifestyle
Biblical Truth irrelevant– okay to dismiss whatever doesn’t feel compatible with personal journey
Nostalgia & recycling retro styles (film, TV, images, clothing, hair, advertising)
dali

7. Postmodernism: Basic Concepts
All versions of reality are SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS
Concepts of good and evil
Metaphors for God
Language
The self
Gender
EVERYTHING!
Even marriage
Islam
Mormons of the 19th c
Chinese concubines
Family
Motherhood
Plato
China one-child
India--girls are bad

8. Postmodernism Literature
Mixing of fantasy with nonfiction/reality
No heroes
Concern with the individual in isolation
Detached, unemotional, usually humorless
Search for identity
Deals with political and social issues
Narratives
Experimental mixtures of novels, short stories, poems, and nonfiction – blending of genres
Embraces pop culture
Development of concepts as the absurd, anti-hero, antinovel, magic realism

9. Tim O’Brien Post-modern writer in a post-modern world
Though against the war, he reported for duty when drafted
Fifth-infantryman with the U.S. Army in Vietnam, after which he pursued graduate studies in government at Harvard University. He worked as a national affairs reporter for The Washington Post from 1973 to 1974.
rom February 1969 to March 1970 he served as

10. O’Brien “How to Tell a True War Story”
“In any war story, but especially a true one, it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. What seems to happen becomes its own happening and has to be told that way. The angles of vision are skewed. When a booby trap explodes, you close your eyes and duck and float outside yourself.”

11. ARE YOU POST MODERN?
You believe that values are "whatever works for you."
The Postmodern sees rules as being good for the rule giver, but not for the one who has to follow the rules. Each person, in the Postmodern view, has the right to create his or her own value system.

12. ARE YOU POST MODERN?
You'd rather have ten options than one when purchasing a product (such as a TV, car, or dishwasher).
The epitome of the Modern Era was the Model-T Ford. Everyone could be happy with the same model. The Postmodern wants options. Choice and personalization are everything.

13. ARE YOU POST MODERN?
You think other culture’s histories are just as important as Western European/American history.
The Postmodern is multicultural. All the wisdom and knowledge of the world, gleaned from all cultures, places, and times, is available to the curious mind. No one culture is superior to another. Each has contributed to the development of the human race.

14. ARE YOU POST MODERN?
You have to experience it before you believe something is true.
The Postmodern sees the discovery of emotions and human experience as being paramount. Postmoderns must experience something in the soul before they believe it.

15. ARE YOU POST MODERN?
You are plugged in to electronic media 75 percent of the time you are awake.
The Postmodern is connected to the world through a wide variety of electronic communication devices in a way never seen before in history. A constant stream of information, both positive and negative, keeps the Postmodern plugged in to the beat of humanity. The Modern Era had the radio and then the TV; the Postmodern added everything from personal computers to fax machines to the eighteen-inch satellite dish.

16. ARE YOU POST MODERN? You surf the internet.
The Internet is the ultimate Postmodern tool. It enables a person to send electronic mail in the flash of a second to any place in the world. With a few points and clicks, you can access the latest articles from Time magazine, see the latest displays from the Smithsonian Museum, or download the newest electronic pinup of Lois Lane from Lois and Clark. A world of information is at a person's fingertips.

17. ARE YOU POST MODERN?
You are more interested in spirituality than in religion.
The Postmodern has no desire to be churched, to be boxed in by one set of rules or rituals. He or she does not want life to be set in stone. Spirituality, for Postmoderns, is tied to deeply held beliefs that give meaning to life lived in the midst of adversity. God is not to be pursued like a commodity. God is the one who gives depth and meaning to life.

18. ARE YOU POST MODERN?
You can watch TV, listen to music, and read — all at the same time.
The Modern person can process only one stream of information at a time. Postmoderns can process many different streams of information at the same time, enabling them to make unexpected connections.