As the term postmodernity suggests, it follows on from modernity therefore, to understand postmodernity, we must first understand the concepts of modernity and modernism. Once this is achieved, we can then examine whether present western society is or is not post-modern and what societal changes have led to the development of this debate. Therefore, modernity and its’ key features will be considered first, followed by an examination of the term postmodern and the key features said to be associated with it. The idea of the modern world originated from social thought which sought to explain the political and economic change which began to emerge within the frame work of traditional ‘semi-feudal/absolutist, pre-modern society. Therefore, Modernity is the term used to describe the particular attributes of modern societies.
Modern societies typically have industrial capitalist economies, democratic political organisation and social classes (Abercrombie 1994:270). Modernity developed in Europe from the sixteenth century onwards although it was most popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The main features associated with modernity are: the economic, the political, the scientific and the cultural. There is less agreement on the cultural features of modernity, which are said to include, fragmentation of experience, a commodification and rationalization of all aspects of life and a speeding up of daily life (Abercrombie 1994:270).
Pre-modern economic relations and practices in feudal and agrarian societies were centred locally; production was primarily for need, rather than for the re-investment necessary for economic growth. Therefore, the pre-modern economy was static. The modern economy is associated with t...
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Postmodern literature contains an authoritative point of view as it expresses the “real” and the “unreal”. The authoritative viewpoint hides within the representation of words and the form of the text. Jean Baudrillard speaks of the masking of view in his essay, “Postmodernism and Consumer Society”, when he says, “This, feigning or dissimilating leaves the reality principle inta...
Haralambos & Holbron (2004:84) determined that postmodern societies distinguish themselves through four key figures: culturalism, fragmentation, autonomization and resignifcation. Postmodernism theorizes that class is dead due to our consumer culture that allows infinite freedom of choice, taste, lifestyle and fashion; therefore, everyone has the ability to shape themselves and create their own identity. Globalization and media influence has spread the idea of individualism is the key that divides society subsequently provoking no definite class exclusivity—People no longer identify themselves through their social class, occupation or their background, rather they do so through their leisure (realsociology, n.d). Postmodernism encourages the idea that if perceptions are acted upon they can be achieved through a person’s willingness to pursue their personal development and desires (Pakulski & Waters,1996:121:120). Literary critic Frederic Jameson argued from a Marxist perspective that society is divided because despite having a superstructure that is constantly changing (culture and society), there is still an economical base (the relation of productions and exchange) which is what ultimately shapes society (Clark, 2008);
Lyotard, Jean-Francois. "Excerpts from The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge." Hutcheon and Natoli 71-90.
Postmodernism movement started in the 1960’s, carrying on until present. James Morley defined the postmodernism movement as “a rejection of the sovereign autonomous individual with an emphasis upon anarchic collective anonymous experience.” In other words, postmodernism rejects what has been established and makes emphasis on combined revolutionary experiences. Postmodernism can be said it is the "derivate" of modernism; it follows most of the same ideas than modernism but resist the very idea of boundaries. According to our lecture notes “Dominant culture uses perception against others to maintain authority.”
It is a complicated term, or set of ideas, that has only emerged as an
Popular Culture. Ed. John Woodward, Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, 2005. 138-140.
Postmodernism first appeared around the 1980’s, following a hectic and messy period of time. The postmodernist theory that defines a new era describing the world as society is fragmenting, while authority is de-centering, and real truth does not exist; there are only representations of it. Believers of the postmodernist theory, believe that postmodernism is a mixture of present, past, and future, more specifically, the cultural and spatial elements of these different times (Lemert, 2010). The postmodern age is considered the information age, or even, the technological age. Both of these are evident through the changes that have occurred within the typical marriage and family. One of the main emphases of postmodernism is that no real truth exists, demonstrating the grand narrative. The grand narrative states that the “truth” is invented for the sole purpose of selling things. This is clearly shown, in a different manner, in marriages and families in today’s society. No real truth being in existence creates change in the typical marriage and family.
Postmodernism literally means after-modernism and is used to describe the period of time we currently are in which is after the age of modernism. Premoderns placed their trust in authority. Moderns lost their confidence in authority and placed it in human reason instead. Postmoderns kept the modern distrust of authority but lost their trust in reason and have ...
Skylar, Stephanie. “10 Key characteristics of Postmodernism.” Allvoices. N.p., 25 April. 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.< http://allvoices.com/contributed-news/8892593-10-key-characteristics-of-postmodernism
Most contemporary historians define the European early modern period from around the beginning of the sixteenth century, up until the commencements of the French Revolution of 1789. The ambiguity inherent in this apparent catch-all period is problematic, and invokes much debate and disagreement among historians. For the purpose of expediency, this paper will have its modernizing genesis in the thoughts of Mitchell Greenberg writing in the Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies. Greenberg states there was a common modernizing compulsion right across Europe during this time period ‘…marked by both a gen...
Postmodernism assumes an ontology of fragmented being. Where modernism asserts the primacy of the subject in revealing universal truth, postmodernism challenges the authority of the subject and, thus, universal truth based on it. Modernism and postmodernism, however, draw upon distinctly different epistemological modes: critical and dogmatic.
Modernisation theory has been a dominant theory since post-World War II (McMichael 2012:5) to describe development and social change. It is structured and outlined through five different stages of the 'development ladder' proposed by Walt Whitman Rostow in The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto. (1961:4) The first premise of modernisation theory reflected by the ‘development ladder’ is that development happens in a sequential process through stage by stage, while the second premise underpinned by the ‘development ladder’ is conformity towards Western values and norms. However, these two premises are found to be problematic as they are neglecting the differences in societies and assuming that the 'development ladder' system is applicable to all societies.