Postmodernism

Kerima, Ana, Kayla

Aim: What is postmodernism, and do
we live in a Postmodern Era?

Do Now: Predict what you think

postmodernism is, do you think it
compares to modernism?
 What is postmodernism?
Postmodernism is the philosophical idea that reality is
ultimately unable to be reached by human investigation,
that knowledge is a social construction, and that the
meaning of words is determined by readers not authors.
Postmodern theory sees reality as what individuals or social
groups make it to be.
 Historical background
Postmodernism developed during 1939-2000 (20th century)
Postmodernism ranged from things like philosophy, the arts, architecture,
and criticism.
Postmodernism is a way of thinking about culture, philosophy, and art.
World War II starts 1939
Battle Of Britain 1940
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor 1941
 Themes of Postmodernism
Irony
Paranoia
Fragmentation
World war 2
Capitalism
Metafiction- fiction in which the author knowingly intrudes the work of
fiction and draws attention to himself and the fact that what you are reading
is a work of art, and is, therefore artificial.
 Postmodernism authors
William S. Burroughs Kathy Acker John Hawkes

1914-1997 1947-1997 1925-1998

Junkie Blood and guts in The lime twig
Cities of the Red night highschool The beetle leg
The wild boys Essential Acker The blood oranges
 CHARACTERISTICS
- Truth and error are synonymous - Facts,
postmodernists claim, are too limiting to determine
anything. Changing erratically, what is fact today can
be false tomorrow.
- Morality is personal- Believing ethics to be relative,
postmodernists subject morality to personal opinion.
They define morality as each persons private code of
ethics without the need to follow traditional values and
rules.
ACTIVITY:
- Identify which picture describes postmodernism.