Postmodernism Questions and Answers
Postmodernism
What is the meaning of self consciousness applied to postmodern literature (short story, novel, etc.)?
In many respects, self-consciousness is one of the central tenets of postmodernism. Simply put, self-consciousness is the process by which a postmodernist work, whether it's a short story or novel,...
Postmodernism
Why and how do writers use humor in postmodernism?
A lot of postmodernist writers use humor ironically. Postmodernists are critical of what society became like in the wake of World War II and often portray the world as becoming a wasteland of...
Postmodernism
What are some historical events the shaped the Postmodern literary period?
The key historical event that shaped the post-modern literary period was World War II and the revelation of the Jewish holocaust, or, if we want to broaden the scope, the whole period from 1914 to...
Postmodernism
What are the major themes and concerns about postmodernism?
One of the historical events to come out of the Postmodern era has been globalism. And, with this event, the concept of identity has become more free but also more fragmented. For example, it is...
Postmodernism
What is a good example of a postmodern "hero"?
The first character that comes to mind (and probably the most "postmodern" of all literary heroes) is Slothrop from Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. This is a touchstone novel in the postmodern...
Postmodernism
What are the characteristics of Postmodern Literature?
Postmodern literature is characterized by suspicion, skepticism, and rejection of many of the theories and values of Modernism. With Postmodernism, therefore, there is fragmentation and multiple,...
Postmodernism
What is the result of the rejection of metanarratives?
The term "metanarrative" is usually used to refer to a large organizing principle for understanding development, especially historical development. Postmodernists, and many other modern scholars...
Postmodernism
If you were an alien and you came to Earth, how would you describe Earth in a post modern way?
We have to realize that were we to go to another planet, we would describe that planet with our own terminology and according to our own experience. Whether or not our observations were...
Postmodernism
What are the characteristics of postmodernist literature that makes it challenging to read?
Irony has lost both its humor and its drive to correct social wrongs in Postmodernist literature, so the ironic tone that might amuse in Austen's Pride and Prejudice becomes a biting, humorless...
Postmodernism
Examine how Postmodernist literature can be challenging to read because of its varied characteristics.
Postmodernist literature is often challenging to read and subsequently analyze due to not only its scope but also because of its manipulation of older tropes and writing techniques. There is an...
Postmodernism
What's the difference between modernism and postmodernism?
I know that the following answer is a cop-out, but I think it needs to be said. "Modern" simply refers to what's going on now. Whatever trends there might be now in art, literature, philosophy,...
Postmodernism
What is the definition of Post-Modernism and its relation to literature?
Postmodernism refers to a period in history (roughly 1945-present) and also an artistic movement with particular themes and styles. Postmodernism is a reaction against Modernist themes and...
Postmodernism
In terms of form and content, what identifies "The Other Boat" by EM Forster as a post-modernist work of prose?
The question of identity, in particular sexual identity and status as the other is a major theme in this story.When Lionel gives in to his homosexual desires with Cocoanut, he is forever changed....
Postmodernism
What is the postmodern view of gender?
It will be hard to speak of "the" postmodern view of gender. There are many differences of opinion. However, there are a few principles of postmodernism that are important to consider when you are...
Postmodernism
Why and how is Facebook considered Postmodern?
This is a great question. It is important to start with a definition of postmodernism. Perhaps the best way to look at postmodernism is the lack of a grand narrative that encompasses all knowledge....
Postmodernism
What are the most salient techniques used by postmodern poets?
Postmodern poets employ (and experiment with) some especially noticeable and characteristic techniques that make their poetic efforts both interesting and unique. Let's look at some of these....
Postmodernism
Explain people’s thought/behavior that would be a result of the influence of postmodern thought in common terms.
One example of the influence of postmodernism on people's thought would be the rise of cultural relativism. Postmodernists tend to question whether there is a single set of assumptions or norms...
Postmodernism
How is Marshall McLuhan's idea of "medium is the message" related to the Postmodernism?
I had to pare down the question because I think that both Spiegelman's work and McLuhan's work represents postmodern thought in separate ways. At the same time, this is not going to be easy...
Postmodernism
How do both post-modernism and structuralism contribute to the logic of disintegration?
Structuralism as method of study in fields such as anthropology, biology and sociology relies on relating aspects of a culture or system to a larger, more universal structure. It is most often...
Postmodernism
Postmodern poets depict the most challenging problem that faced humanity after the second World War, which is the...
Postmodern poets deal with the divided postwar identity through the use of techniques like fragmented structures and paradoxes. By breaking traditional rules of structure, postmodern poets...
Postmodernism
What is “postmodernism?”
Postmodernism refers both to a set of philosophical and aesthetic theories and also to the culture and works that seem most to exemplify these theories. While there are several different flavours...
Postmodernism
What are the fundamental differences between modernism and postmodernism?
Postmodernism, as the name suggests, is a reaction against modernism, defining itself as something opposing and superseding the previous movement. Modernism was the response of various artists to...
Postmodernism
What common features can be found in postmodern literary works?
One feature that can be found in a postmodern literary work is an elusive reality. For postmodernists, reality is neither universal nor objective. What constitutes reality is one’s individual...
Postmodernism
Can Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory be connected to postmodernism in any sort of way? Doesn't postmodernism...
There are a few different ways you can relate Freudian psychology to postmodernism.First, you could do a Freudian critique of postmodern theory, arguing for its denial of the author as some form of...
Postmodernism
What questions are asked by postmodernists?
This is a huge question and an answer here can only begin to scratch the surface. But let's give it a shot. First, postmoderns question the ability of language to convey anything more than a...
Postmodernism
What are the main feminist criticisms of post-modern theory?
I don't really think that there will be much in way of Postmodern criticism on the part of feminist theory. I think this because Postmodernism envelops and covers feminist criticism. Feminist...
Postmodernism
What is postmodern literature?
Postmodernism is a period in history which began after the Second World War; postmodern literature is usually characterized as a specific writing style in which the author uses various narrative...
Postmodernism
What is postmodernism understanding of meta-narratives, grand narratives, or master narratives?
Wow! That's a question!Let's start with an understanding of Postmodernism. The term has been applied to much contemporary writing, particularly with reference to the use of experimental forms....
Postmodernism
How do deconstruction theories such as Post-modernism and Post-structuralism contribute to the "logics of...
Deconstruction theories like Postmodernism and Poststructuralism represent the "logics of disintegration" because they believe that the structural understandings of truth are fundamentally flawed....
Postmodernism
Analyze how love is treated as a theme during postmodern era 1970-2000.
We must first note that the postmodern era outlined here saw the publication of many works of literature and film that were not postmodern in style, intent or theme. Romanticism, modernism, and...
Postmodernism
How do both post-modernism and post-structuralism contribute to the logic of disintegration?
Post-modernism can be seen as a stylistic movement in the arts, often specifically associated with literature. Post-structuralism can be seen as a loosely parallel movement in critical theory of...
Postmodernism
What is a concrete example of one social movement in the period after 1945 that can be considered Postmodern?
The original question had to be edited. I think that one can find many examples of post World War II social movements that emphasized change and empowerment and were representative of Postmodern...
Postmodernism
Can homosexuality be considered a metanarrative, as in the postmodernist term?
I would say that the answer to whether or not homosexuality can be considered a metanarrative is no. I think it is a narrative in the sense that, like feminism, queer theory attempts to unearth...
Postmodernism
Explain what Postmodernism means. How does it differ from Modernism and what are some of its characteristics and themes?
Modernism is very much from the print era with its hierarchical, rational, centered, and scientific structure. It's from the democratic era of print in which authors used deductive theses to prove...
Postmodernism
What is a primary critique of Postmodernism?
I couldn't disagree more. Post-modernism moves past the limitations of realism, seeking to utter the ineffable, to express those elements of human existence beyond measurability, beyond the...
Postmodernism
Could someone explain, in layman's terms, what exactly postmodernism is?
First, the term implies that it came after modernism, which is not quite accurate. Second, usually these terms are invented after the fact by critics, but this term was incorporated into the...
Postmodernism
What is meant by the phrase "Frankfurt School literary theory"?
The Frankfurt School was composed of a group of social theorists who originally all worked together in Frankfurt, Germany, but who then moved to the United States in response to the rise of the...
Postmodernism
To what extent is the emerging influence of a new zeitgeist in the 21st century confronting the unquestioned cultural...
There might be a couple of issues that need to be addressed here. The first would be the initial assumption that Postmodern dominance was "unquestioned." I don't see Postmodernism as ever having...
Postmodernism
What is meant by the term "postmodern period"? How does the literature of this age differ from that of the modern...
Postmodernism can be a very complex business, and I cannot hope to do justice to it here. However, I can at least identify one or two salient features that will help distinguish it from its...
Postmodernism
Can postmodern or "deconstructionist" critique avoid undermining itself?
There is a tendency to view “deconstructionism” as some sort of non-logical, random assault on reason and logic. It is not. Postmodernism (of which deconstruction is one element) pays attention...
Postmodernism
Summary of postmodernism.
Postmodernism (sometimes spelled "post-modernism") was a late-twentieth century cultural movement that pushed back against some of the assumptions made by Modernism, which came just before it. In...
Postmodernism
What was post modern writing trying to achieve or portray?
Postmodernism in literature, as one can imagine by its name, deals with literature after the "modern" literary period. Whereas the modern era concentrated on what was occurring during the...
Postmodernism
What is postmodernism and why is it important to understand it?
Postmodernism was the major international movement in several branches of the humanities and social science in the second half of the twentieth century and thus is important as a component of your...
Postmodernism
How does understanding postmodernism help your education and understanding of philosophy?
Postmodernism is one of the most influential intellectual movements of the twentieth century. It affects many different disciplines of the social sciences and the humanities, in both Europe and the...
Postmodernism
Has a post-postmodern artistic sensibility emerged in the 21st century, that may allow for a questioning of the...
The answer to this question depends greatly on your own point of view and how you read what is happening in culture. I guess the one problem with any post-postmodern philosophy or thought emerging...
Postmodernism
What is the reason behind calling postmodernism, postmodernism? When there was a modern period why was there a need...
Concerning modernism and postmodernism, I'll deal with two mistaken notions in your thinking that your question reveals. These notions are fundamental to any genuine understanding of an answer to...
Postmodernism
Give 5 examples of literary postmodern theorists and a biref description of each. They should be theorists and NOT...
1. Jean Baudrillard is a postmodern critic noted mostly for his stance that culture has overtaken nature. We tend to consider that something exists in the world and then we come up with a word for...
Postmodernism
What followed postmodernist literature in the USA, and is it still in effect today?
As is often the case when one sets out to define literary eras, the answer as to what—if anything—followed postmodernism is still being debated. Indeed, it can be difficult to pinpoint a precise...
Postmodernism
What are the contextual conditions which produced the Postmodern aesthetic in British literature and gave its writers...
There will be many potential answers to this question. In typical postmodern fashion, I am not entirely certain that one can identify a specific contextual condition. Infact, being able to...
Postmodernism
Please define postmodernism in simple and easy terms.
Please allow me to add: postmodernism is misnamed, because it sounds like it came after Modernism. Actually it is a part of Modernism, that part dealing with form rather than content. Modernism...
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