postmodernism Flashcards
historiography
the study of historical writing
what is the definition of post modernism?
a cultural movement that denies an absolute, objective truth; reality (or truth) is formed on an individual basis from how one interprets the world around them; because all truth is subjective, there is no standard to measure truth against
time period of post modernism:
1960s to present day
how is post modernism different from modernism?
although modernism did challenged western institutions, it still cherished western society and beliefs; while post modernism breaks from western values as truth is relative so there is no reason to cherish or idolize western society over other ideologies
characteristics of postmodernism:
- randomness
- fragmentation
- playfulness
- self-reflection
what is a main argument of self and postmodernism:
postmodernism is more of a movement about the individual self rather than society so since we are all in our own reality, there is no reason to conform to someone else’s (society’s) reality
meaning of randomness in post modernism:
since there is no absolute meaning in anything, postmodernism writers would focus on chaos or disorder in their stories without making a clear point/reason, so readers could come up with their own response
fragmentation in postmodernism:
when there are jumps in time/place or changes in a characters personality out of nowhere —> this is meant to emphasize the disjointedness of how we perceive life to be
playfulness in postmodernism:
not necessarily fun or whimsical but more on the dark humor side; this is often used to point out the pointlessness of something or less savory side of human nature
self-reflection in postmodernism:
this place a lot of emphasis on the self and individual perceptions of the world around is; writing will often have a quality of reflection about it of analyzing main character’s thoughts or views and wondering how they differ from someone else’s
