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Postmodernism is a term describing a wide-ranging change in thinking beginning in the early 20th century. Although a difficult term to pin down, "postmodern" generally refers to the criticism of absolute truths or identities and " Grand Narratives ." Perhaps the best way to think about postmodernism is to look at Modernism , because postmodernism is generally characterized as either emerging from, or in reaction to it. Postmodernism has had large implications in Philosophy , Art , Critical Theory , Architecture , Literature , History , Culture and Media . The adjective ''postmodern'' (in slang abbreviated to ''pomo'') can refer to aspects of either postmodernism or Postmodernity . USES OF THE TERM Historically The term derives from Postmodernity , which postmodern theorist Jean-François Lyotard understood to represent the culmination of the process of Modernity and Enlightenment thought, towards an accelerating pace of cultural change, to a point where constant change has in fact become the '' Status Quo '', leaving the notion of Progress obsolete. As with many other divisions, the use of the term is subject to the Lumpers And Splitters problem. There are those who use very small and exact definitions, and there are those who deny that there is a postmodernism at all distinct from the modern period, preferring instead to use terms such as "late modernism". Post-modernism is not counter-this or anti-that. The term does not apply to post-anything aside from following modern thought. Post-modernism is an ideology that cannot be placed into a specific category. Accordingly, post-modernism is a term more relevant to modernists. The term ''post-modern'' can also be viewed as an intentional contradiction. First Usage In an essay ''From Postmodernism to Postmodernity: the Local/Global Context'', 1, Ihab Hassan points out a number of instances in which the term "postmodernism" was used before the term became popular:
Postmodernism was first identified as a theoretical discipline in the 1970s . For a thorough historical overview distinguishing the threads of development in different decades, cultural realms, and academic disciplines, see Hans Bertens' ''The Idea of the Postmodern: A History,'' (New York: Routledge, 1995). Definitional connotations The term ''postmodernism'' is also used in a broader pejorative sense to describe attitudes, sometimes part of the general culture, and sometimes specifically aimed at critical theories perceived as Relativist , Nihilist , Counter-Enlightenment or Antimodern , particularly in relationship to critiques of Rationalism , Universalism , Foundationalism or Science . It is also sometimes used to describe social changes which are held to be antithetical to traditional systems of philosophy, religion, and Morality . The role, proper usage, and meaning of ''postmodernism'' remain matters of intense debate and vary widely with context. THE DEVELOPMENT OF POSTMODERNISM See Also: The development of postmodernism Postmodernism is often used in a larger sense, meaning the entire trend of thought in the late 20th century, and the social and philosophical realities of that period. Writers such as John Ralston Saul among others have argued that postmodernism represents an accumulated disillusionment with the promises of the Enlightenment project and its progress of science, so central to modern thinking. The Existentialist s like Nietzsche brought a new Nihilism and Atheism which influenced culture. Post-colonialism after WW2 contributed to the idea that one cannot have an objectively superior lifestyle or belief. This idea was taken further by the , then Ludwig Wittgenstein , then Derrida , who re-examined the fundamentals of knowledge. They argue that rationality was neither as sure nor as clear as modernists or rationalists assert. Even logic could be biased -- " Logocentrism " - the privileging of a system of logic. Psychologists have since gone further in asserting a Cognitive Bias , which points at a human bias of truth. Søren Kierkegaard and Karl Barth 's important Fideist approach to theology and lifestyle, brought an irreverence to Reason , and the rise of Subjectivity . Features of postmodern culture begin to arise in the 1920s with the emergence of the Dada movement. Both World Wars (perhaps even the concept of a World War), contributed to postmodernism; it is with the end of the Second World War that recognizably post-modernist attitudes begin to emerge. Some identify the burgeoning anti-establishment movements of the 1960s as an early trend toward postmodernism. The theory gained some of its strongest ground early on in French academia. In 1979 Jean-François Lyotard wrote a short but influential work ''The Postmodern Condition : a report on knowledge''. Also, Richard Rorty wrote " Philosophy And The Mirror Of Nature "(1979). Jean Baudrillard , Michel Foucault , and Roland Barthes (in his more post-structural work) are also strongly influential in 1970's postmodern theory. The book " Philosophy And The Mirror Of Nature "(1979) by Richard Rorty is a famous postmodern text; its title could also serve as the defining element of postmodernism - that we cannot make sense of the mind mirroring anything outside the mind accurately. Marxist critics argue that postmodernism is symptomatic of "late capitalism" and the decline of institutions, particularly the nation-state. Other thinkers assert that post-modernity is the natural reaction to mass broadcasting and a society conditioned to mass production and mass politics. The movement has had diverse political ramifications: its anti-ideological ideas appear conducive to, and strongly associated with, The Feminist Movement , racial equality movements, Gay Rights Movements , most forms of late 20th century Anarchism , even the Peace Movement and various hybrids of these in the current Anti-globalization Movement . Unsurprisingly, none of these institutions entirely embraces all aspects of the postmodern movement in its most concentrated definition, but reflect, or in true postmodern style, borrow from some of its core ideas.
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