Introduction to Postmodernism

Why Reality Isn t What It Used to Be

Deconstructing Mrs. Miller

Questions 1. What is postmodernism? 2. Why should we care about it? 3. Have you received a modern or postmodern education? 4. What does postmodernism have to say about your identity? 5. What does postmodernism have to say about truth, beauty, and goodness? 6. How postmodernism is impacting K-12 education, religion, the arts, and our daily lives.

as Evolution of Western Thought Timeline

Timeline Modernity RENAISSANCE TO ABOUT 1900 (+/- 30 years) Baudrillard: Early modernity: Renaissance to Industrial Revolution Modernity: Industrial Revolution Postmodernity: Period of mass media The world according to white Anglo-Saxon males from Europe

Timeline Your Place in History 14th C Modern 1900 2000 Modernism Postmodernism You are here

Timeline Your Place in History as 14th C Modern 1900 2000 Modernism Postmodernism Your teachers were / are here

Newtonian Order Modernity God, reason and progress There was a center to the universe. Progress is based upon knowledge, and man is capable of discerning objective absolute truths in science and the arts. Modernism is linked to capitalism progressive economic administration of world Modernization of 3rd world countries (imposition of modern Western values)

What Is Language? Language & Truth as People are the same everywhere There are universal laws and truths Knowledge is objective, independent of culture, gender, etc. Language is a man-made tool that refers to real things / truths I, the subject, speak language I have a discernible self The self is the center of existence

Purpose of Literature Liberal Humanism: View of Literature Good literature is of timeless significance. The text will reveal constants, universal truths, about human nature, because human nature itself is constant and unchanging.

Death of the Old Order Modernism Early 1900s: World War I Worldwide poverty & exploitation

Death of the Old Order Modernism Early 1900s: World War I Worldwide poverty & exploitation Intellectual upheaval: Freud: psychoanalysis Marx: class struggle Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Neitzsche Picasso, Stravinsky, Kafka, Proust, Brecht, Joyce, Eliot

The Bending of Time & Space Relativism E=mc2 Einstein: relativity, quantum mechanics Refutation of Newtonian science Time is relative Matter and energy are one Light as both particle and wave Universe is strange

Breaking the Rules Modernist Art Cubism Surrealism Dadaism Expressionism

A World with No Center Modernist Literature Things fall apart, The centre cannot hold, Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. --Yeats, The Second Coming

Breaking the Rules Modernist Literature Emphasis on impressionism and subjectivity Movement away from objective third-party narration Tendency toward reflexivity and selfconsciousness Obsession with the psychology of self Rejection of traditional aesthetic theories Experimentation with language

Acceptance of a New Age What is Postmodernism? Continuation of modernist view Does not mourn loss of history, self, religion, center A term applied to all human sciences anthropology, psychology, architecture, history, etc. Reaction to modernism; systematic skepticism Anti-foundational

Acceptance of a New Age What is Postmodernism? The Enlightenment project is dead.

Culture & Capital Frederick Jameson Modernism and postmodernism are cultural formations that accompany specific stages of capitalism 1. Market capitalism: 18th-19th C. Steam locomotive Realism 2. Monopoly capitalism: Late 19th C to WWII Electricity and automobile Modernism 3. Multinational/consumer capitalism Nuclear and electronics Postmodernism

The End of Master Narratives 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 decentered self Multiple conflicting identities Mass-mediated reality

The End of Master Narratives Postmodernism: Basic Concepts All versions of reality are SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS Concepts of good and evil Metaphors for God Language The self Gender EVERYTHING!

Language As Social Construct Postmodernism: Basic Concepts Language is a social construct that speaks & identifies the subject Knowledge is contingent, contextual and linked to POWER Truth is pluralistic, dependent upon the frame of reference of the observer Values are derived from ordinary social practices, which differ from culture to culture and change with time. Values are determined by manipulation and domination

Relativism & Pluralism Richard Rorty (1931-) A pragmatic philosopher Anti-foundationalist No reality independent of our minds Truth is the result of inter-subjective agreement between members of a community We must choose between self-defeating relativism or solidarity of thought within our group The goal of the search for truth is to help us carry out practical tasks and create a fairer and more democratic society

The Observer is King Postmodern View of Language Observer is a participant/part of what is observed Receiver of message is a component of the message Information becomes information only when contextualized The individual (the subject) is a cultural construct Consider role of own culture when examining others All interpretation is conditioned by cultural perspective and mediated by symbols and practice

Play and Parody PostModern Literature Extreme freedom of form and expression Repudiation of boundaries of narration & genre Intrusive, self-reflexive author Parodies of meta-narratives Deliberate violation of standards of sense and decency (which are viewed as methods of social control) Integration of everyday experience, pop culture

Fragmented Identities PostModern Literature Parody, play, black humor, pastiche Nonlinear, fragmented narratives Ambiguities and uncertainties Conspiracy and paranoia Ironic detachment Linguistic innovations Postcolonial, global-english literature

Binary Oppositions Modernity PostModern History as fact Faith in social order Family as central unit Authenticity of originals Mass consumption Written by the victors Cultural pluralism Alternate families Hyper-reality (MTV) Niches; small group identity

Modern or Postmodern?

Modern or Postmodern? A gay Southern Baptist who practices Buddhist meditation and believes in the Big Bang theory.

Modern or Postmodern?

An Epochal Shift in Thinking PostModernism The narrative is unravelled, the author is dead, the Enlightenment project is toast, and history is history. An epochal shift in the basic condition in being. --Geoffrey Nunberg

Battle of World Views PostModernism A Global Battle: THE OBJECTIVISTS vs. THE CONSTRUCTIVISTS

My Way PostModernism OBJECTIVISTS When I said during my presidential bid that I would only bring Christians and Jews into the government, I hit a firestorm. How dare you maintain that those who believe in the JudeoChristian values are better qualified to govern America than Hindus and Muslims?' My simple answer is, `Yes, they are.' -from Pat Robertson's "The New World Order"

Metaphors Kill PostModernism People were burned at the stake for believing there was more than one version of reality.

God is Not Dead PostModernism Our public schools have become a postmodern battleground.

God is Not Dead PostModernism You can be a Christian (or Buddhist, or Hindu, etc.) in the postmodern world.

We Live in the Middle PostModernism We all slip and slide between the objective and constructive views: 1. We live in a world of naïve realism. 2. But when we think about things, or have to explain our views, we become constructivists.

How Popular Culture Changes as RAYMOND WILLIAMS Dominant ideology controls Human agency: people work together to bring about change Takes into account pluralism of a culture

Acceptance of Pluralism How Popular Culture Changes Playboy Bunnies Carrie in Sex & The City & June Cleaver Monica in Friends Courtney Love Samantha in Sex & The City

Celebrating Diversity PostModernism THE HOPE OF POSTMODERNISTS: The deconstruction of foundational views will lead to a recognition and acceptance of a pluralistic worldview. Create a truly global civilization.

Celebrating Diversity Literary & FilmTheory Different constructs of reality Lenses through which we see the world?