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TRANSCRIPT
Introduction toPostmodernism
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.
Evolution of Western Thought Timelineas
TRADITIONAL WESTERN “MODERN” THINKING
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
TRADITIONAL WESTERN “MODERN” THINKING
Your Place in History
●Modern
Timeline
TRADITIONAL WESTERN “MODERN” THINKING
●Modernism ●Postmodernism14th C 1900 2000
You are here
Your Place in History
●Modern
Timeline
as
TRADITIONAL WESTERN “MODERN” THINKING
●Modernism ●Postmodernism14th C 1900 2000
Your teachers were / are here
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)
Newtonian Order
TRADITIONAL WESTERN “MODERN” THINKING
Language & Truth
●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
What Is Language?
as
TRADITIONAL WESTERN “MODERN” THINKING
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.
Purpose of Literature
TRADITIONAL WESTERN “MODERN” THINKING
Modernism
●Early 1900s:● World War I● Worldwide poverty & exploitation
Death of the Old Order
PRECURSORS OF POSTMODERNISM
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
Death of the Old Order
PRECURSORS OF POSTMODERNISM
Relativism
●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
The Bending of Time & Space
PRECURSORS OF POSTMODERNISM
E=mc2
Modernist Art
●Cubism●Surrealism●Dadaism●Expressionism
Breaking the Rules
PRECURSORS OF POSTMODERNISM
Modernist Art
●Cubism●Surrealism●Dadaism●Expressionism
Breaking the Rules
PRECURSORS OF POSTMODERNISM
Modernist Art
●Cubism●Surrealism●Dadaism●Expressionism
Breaking the Rules
PRECURSORS OF POSTMODERNISM
Modernist Art
●Cubism●Surrealism●Dadaism●Expressionism
Breaking the Rules
PRECURSORS OF POSTMODERNISM
Modernist Literature
“Things fall apart,The centre cannot hold,Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”
--Yeats, “The Second Coming”
A World with No Center
PRECURSORS OF POSTMODERNISM
Modernist Literature
●Emphasis on impressionism and subjectivity●Movement away from “objective” third-party narration●Tendency toward reflexivity and self-consciousness ●Obsession with the psychology of self●Rejection of traditional aesthetic theories●Experimentation with language
Breaking the Rules
PRECURSORS OF POSTMODERNISM
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
POSTMODERNISM
What is Postmodernism?
●The Enlightenment project is dead.
Acceptance of a New Age
POSTMODERNISM
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 WWIIElectricity and automobile Modernism
3. Multinational/consumer capitalismNuclear and electronics Postmodernism
Culture & Capital
POSTMODERNISM
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
Postmodernism: Basic Concepts
●All versions of reality are SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS
● Concepts of good and evil● Metaphors for God● Language● The self● Gender● EVERYTHING!
The End of Master Narratives
POSTMODERNISM
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
Language As Social Construct
POSTMODERNISM
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
Relativism & Pluralism
POSTMODERNISM
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
The Observer is King
POSTMODERNISM
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
Play and Parody
POSTMODERNISM
PostModern Literature
●Parody, play, black humor, pastiche ●Nonlinear, fragmented narratives●Ambiguities and uncertainties●Conspiracy and paranoia●Ironic detachment●Linguistic innovations●Postcolonial, global-English literature
Fragmented Identities
POSTMODERNISM
Modernity PostModern
●History as fact●Faith in social order●Family as central unit●Authenticity of originals●Mass consumption
Binary Oppositions
POSTMODERNISM
●Written by the victors●Cultural pluralism●Alternate families●Hyper-reality (MTV)●Niches; small group identity
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
A gay Southern Baptist who practices Buddhist meditation and believes in the Big Bang theory.
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
Modern or Postmodern?
POSTMODERNISM
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
An Epochal Shift in Thinking
POSTMODERNISM
PostModernism
A Global Battle:
THE OBJECTIVISTS vs. THE CONSTRUCTIVISTS
Battle of World Views
POSTMODERNISM
PostModernism
OBJECTIVISTS
My Way
POSTMODERNISM
“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 Judeo-Christian 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"
PostModernism
People were burned at the stake for believing there was more than one version of reality.
Metaphors Kill
POSTMODERNISM
PostModernism
Our public schools have become a postmodern battleground.
God is Not Dead
POSTMODERNISM
PostModernism
You can be a Christian (or Buddhist, or Hindu, etc.) in the postmodern world.
God is Not Dead
POSTMODERNISM
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.
We Live in the Middle
POSTMODERNISM
How Popular Culture Changes
RAYMOND WILLIAMS
●Dominant ideology controls●Human agency: people work together to bring about change●Takes into account pluralismof a culture
as
POSTSTRUCTURALISM
How Popular Culture Changes Acceptance of Pluralism
Monica in “Friends”
Playboy Bunnies
&
June Cleaver
Samantha in “Sex & The City”
Courtney Love
Carrie in “Sex & The
City”
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
POSTMODERNISM
Literary & FilmTheory Celebrating Diversity
POSTMODERNISM
●Different constructs of reality●“Lenses” through which we see the world
?