What is Postmodernism?

Factual Questions
1

Okay, so what exactly is postmodernism? An Internet search has turned up several interesting but unhelpful results (e.g. The Panic Encyclopedia).

Webster’s Dictionary is similarly vague:

post•mod•ern adjective (1949): of, relating to, or being any of several movements (as in art, architecture, or literature) that are reactions against the philosophy and practices of modern movements and are typically marked by revival of traditional elements and techniques

I know that postmodernism tends to be associated with left-wing intellectuals. The rest is kind of fuzzy. Would somebody care to fill me in?

  • JB
2

Try this thread.
If search engines come up with nothing, try searching the straightdope;)

3

Well, to my credit, I did search the SDMB archives before asking the question. Apparently not well enough. Anyway, thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

  • JB
4

One theory I had heard about post-modernism was that it was, as a movement, deeply self-referential towards the culture it was in. “The Simpsons” has been cited by scholarly works as the major example of post-modern satire because of the way it uses heavy cross-reference to the culture in which it developed. More than that, I’m not sure, but I believe that is a genre that is both heavily referential and recombinant (borrowing heavily from other genres or movements).

5

A book you may want to check out, which I recently read, is Postmodernism for Beginners

Its part of a series thats kind of a “Philosophy for Dummies”, but it does go into a fair amount of detail about who the postmodernism movers and shakers are, and their basic arguments. Also, its short enough that you can read most of it while at the bookstore.

6

Here’s a link to a paper proposing that postmodernism, at least in writing, could be automatically applied to any text.

And here’s the Postmodernism Generator that proves the paper right. (Currently offline, apparently)

7

If you have an answer to the OP, you don’t know what it is.

Unless you’re being ironic, of course.