Postmodernism, either with or without the hyphen, has become a one of the most talked about concepts in the last decades. Postmodern is one of the most utilized terms these days, so defining it could prove useful: In a literal sense it means that which comes after the modern, and this is how the term is generally used. One of the most important issues is to correctly evaluate the diversity of postmodernism.
This problem revolves actually around the significance of the term 'modern', since it has very different meanings in art, literature, architecture and philosophy. The postmodern change has been identified as early as the late fifties to as late as the early seventies, but it was the changes in the 1960s that made cultural critics appreciate that we have entered a new historical period. The postmodernist shift has been associated with the full assault of consumer capitalism. Frederick Jameson said that postmodernism was "the culture of late capitalism."
These are the main areas where postmodernism makes its presence felt. Modern designs, according to architects are those inspired by Bauhaus, which were characterized by a strict functionality. Postmodernism refers to the reintroduction of decorative elements, which is a revival of the old conception that architecture is after all an art and that its functional character cannot annihilate the artistic element. Classical elements are bedded in modern techniques, styles and materials. The column, classical motifs and decoration, ornaments and color reappear, in opposition to the unpleasant gray and black boxes of modernist architecture. The postmodernist architect inclines towards pluralism, difference, and eclecticism; he/she admires the past, and tries recycling or parodying it.
As far as visual art is concerned, Kim Levin states that the past is ransacked for clues to the future. The feeling of alienation is remedied by postmodernists by using elements from the past and reviving the cult of the human body, absent from modern art. The artist is tolerant of ambiguity, in a playful mood and full of doubt. The pastiche and the collage are the preferred methods.
In literature, modernism is associated not with function, but with purely aesthetics. Writers were preoccupied with the beauty of writing in itself, and not with defending or attacking political, moral of historical values. T.S. Eliot's poetry is an excellent illustration of this concept. The New Critical claim that texts should be read solely on their own terms, without any reference to the context, broader subjects or biographical sources accompanied the modernism in literature. The purpose of the modernist literature and critique was to create a class of readers with higher education, which could appreciate a text in itself. From this point-of-view, modernism may be considered an elitist trend in literature.
Postmodernism is a response to the triumph of modern technology and science over older or more isolated worldviews. Postmodern fiction writers wander through dark worlds and alternative paradigms, enjoy environments foreign to the modern faith in science and technology, and explore paradigms that are alien to the modern belief in the absolute power of truth, reason and order. Umberto Eco's 'The Name of the Rose', with his exploration of the medieval spirit, or William Gibson's Neuromancer vision of the future of the computer revolution are excellent examples.
Philosophy and political philosophy have attributed the term 'postmodernism' to that which comes after the modern. However, in this area, the modern has an extremely wide scope. It does not imply only the twentieth century, and not even the nineteenth- and twentieth-century styles and developments. The term 'modern' refers to the centuries old philosophical effort starting with Nicollo Machiavelli and Rene Descartes that focused on acquiring and using knowledge to improve human condition. There is a controversy on the limits of modernism in philosophy. Scholars cannot agree whether modernism has a Christian element or whether it is concentrated on seeking power or liberty; however, there is a general consensus that the 'modern' era ends with Nietzsche. The German thinker entitled a collection of essays as Postmodernist: Essays Pro and Contra, which indicates that his thought had exceeded the time of modernism and that future writings will lead into a new direction.
Postmodernism: ideas and personalities
Postmodernism is one of the most discussed and exposed to critique subjects, even from the part of Postmodernists themselves. Postmodernists have been divided, according to one classification, into two camps, Skeptics and Affirmatives, both with a very broad scope.
Skeptical Postmodernists are very critical of the modern subject. The subject is considered a "linguistic convention" (Rosenau). The modern understanding of time is viewed as oppressive as it controls and measures the individual, so the understanding...
This comes to only point out the fact that the role of postmodernism is essential because it offers a different perspective through which humans can understand the events taking place around them and can interpret them to provide meanings that would be useful in their own development and in the development of the social being. One of the important aspects of postmodernism is that unlike other theories that have been
Juvenile Delinquency Theory Social identity theory Postmodernist criminology theory Underlying assumptions Postmodernism is a relatively unique theory of criminology: rather than simply trying to understand why people commit crimes and explain such behavior, it questions the notion of what constitutes 'crime' altogether. The underlying assumption of postmodernism is that crime is a culturally constructed concept. [One sentence thesis] For example, in the 1950s, being gay was considered criminal -- today being gay is socially
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