Group items tagged

The art and popular culture encyclopedia's article on postmodern architecture is valuable when trying to gain insight into what defines postmodernity. "Postmodern Architecture" begins by defining postmodernity, and explaining that as with many cultural movements, it's "most visible ideas can be seen architecture". This article not only gives examples of postmodern architecture but explains the architecture's relevance to postmodernity. By explaining postmodernism architecture's relationship, or moreover, contrast to previous styles of architecture, the authors have also explained an implied contrast to previous aspects of culture, art, and philosophy. The article also focuses on the aims and characteristics of postmodernism as a whole and postmodernism as seen in architecture. Furthermore, the authors give background information as well as detailed information of Robert Venturi, a frontrunner of the postmodern architectural movement. The foremost campaigner of the rebellion against modern architecture, Venturi's architecture possesses almost each and every characteristic of postmodern architecture, making him a prime example.

This article is written by an English professor with the intent of simplifying the definition and components of post modernity. While defining post modernity can be difficult since it is quite an ambiguous term, the author comes up with a list (which isn't necessarily postmodern) to show the differences between modernity and post modernity to break down both the confusion and complexity of it. He claims that the very fact that defining post modernity is such a difficult task helps make it post modern in of itself. The author further discusses post modernity and applies it to specific areas like human nature and art.

The video "What is Postmodernism" begins by asking people on the street "what is postmodernism?" Many average people had no clue how to define it which is quite common. Later the video presents various scholars and their views on what postmodernism is which gives a great montage of definitions and perspectives. This video attempts to answer questions such as "how has postmodernism affected our culture?", "what is postmodernism?" And "how the turn of the century has affected our culture and in turn led to postmodernity?" The video also discusses the religious impacts of postmodernism, something that many articles fail to discuss although religion is always a pressing issue. Another interesting topic this video discusses is the topic of modern and postmodern medicine. All in all, despite being only 4 minutes and 7 seconds long, this video is very beneficial in gaining insight into what exactly postmodernity is by pointing out general characteristics and specific characteristics of the postmodern movement.

The webpage "The Postmodern Critique of Science" gives a helpful chart comparing the traditional scientific principle and the postmodern critique of that traditional scientific principle. The chart includes topics such as scientific progress, scientific objectivity, scientific rationality and many more. It explains and defines what each of these principles are and then proceeds to give a postmodern take on each of them. It takes such ideas as "Scientists are supposed to be objective observers" and battles it through a postmodern approach saying that "Observations do not interpret themselves. They are interpreted by a mind and the biases of any particular person or group conducting the experiment." The article continues in this manner, challenging ideas like the scientific method with postmodern views that contradict it. While giving specific rebuttals to each scientific principle, the article allows the reader to gain insight into how a postmodernist would think. It shows how postmodernists question what has always been thought of to be true and contradict old "modern" ideas with new insightful ways of thinking.

Engaging in a very interesting and often avoided topic of religion, "Exploring Christianity-Truth-Postmodernism", not only gives a religious definition of postmodernism but also explains the impact postmodernism has had on religion, especially Christianity. This article embraces postmodernism in reference to religion, explaining that "postmodernism does not rule out religion as did modernism." The article seems to almost congratulate postmodernism for its ideas, as many of these ideas are congruent to some religious ideas. The article discusses morality as being relative in both religion and in postmodernity, and also explains how tolerance (a key point in defining postmodernity according to the authors) also relates to religious views. The article also emphasizes individualism as it pertains to postmodernism. Furthermore, it discusses the relevance of the "rewriting of history" as seen in postmodernism to Christianity. Consequently, the article in beneficial in that it provides the reader with definitions, quotes from both scholars and priests, and links to other articles about religion, truth, postmodernism and new age thinking among others.

This website looks at the beginning of post modernity and how it has come to define a rather complex society. In order to show just how complex post modernity can be, the website tries to simplify it by first looking at how it was first applied in architecture. It also regards the importance of post modernity in art and how it had a fundamental impact on philosophy where it led to the development of new ideas. It tries to make clear distinctions, though a difficult task, between modernity and postmodernity. This site also emphasizes key components that define post modernity such as fragmentation, blurred boundaries between right and wrong, and complexity. It further goes on to discuss how this fragmentation is seen in the relationship between culture and media, and how that affects the society at large.

This is an article which defines seven different characteristics of postmodernity. The wording helps readers to be able to understand and not become frustrated, as postmodernity is a large and sometimes confusing topic. The characteristics are on a general basis not necessarily individual yet still capture the large, important, and most obvious components to this period of time that we are currently living in and trying to understand. The article also notes that many readers will only relate to some of the characteristics and not all and that is okay, making the article an even easier read knowing there is room for disagreement or change.

The article discusses how globalization is a word widely used today but it is used in SO many different contexts that it is hard to grasp a real meaning. The terms existence seems to mean "suggests that it is part of a reconfiguring and rethinking of contemporary social theory and politics that is caught up in some of the central debates and conflicts of the present age". This is how it directly relates to postmodernity because there is a definite change occurring in this era from the modern era. The site is a bit lengthy but it contains a huge amount of information and looks at both globalization and postmodernity from a few different perspectives to attempt to gain a full and working understanding of both terms. Globalization itself does seem to be postmodern and the article discusses why, giving both a better definition.

Excerpt from a longer work that defines postmodenity in the context of social change, written by David Harvey, a professor of geograpthy and social theory. Includes examples, an explanation of his argument, defintions, etc and a bibiolographty

This article on JSTOR seeks to define the line between Modernity and Post Modernity...without calling it a line. "On the one hand 'post-modernism' is seen as abstract, exotic, fanciful: on the other, it is everyday, experienced, intimate." The abstract from the article itself claims that it argues "that such polarizing metaphors are distinctions that cannot be made without self-contradictions that would make even a post-modernist blush. Instead, we must deconstruct the notion of boundary or border…" Most important to this journal is the idea that there are no boundaries or borders because simply naming things as such is not Post Modern at all. The Modern way of thinking is just in love with categories and lists and the like, whereas to put Post Modernity on one side of a list or the other would negate the idea of studying Post Modernity. "The ambition of the article is to explore a way of deconstructing the unspeakable 'slash' between modernism/post-modernism that can model how similar arguments may be deployed against a wide range of educational topics where questions of identity and difference are brought to the fore, such as equal opportunities, special needs, antiracism, as well as more mundane categories of pupil or teacher-or researcher-identity."

This video starts by beginning the modern movement in art. It shows images that are recognizable pieces of art such as works by Picasso. It moves on to discuss Marx and socialism, capitalism and Freud and psychoanalytic theory. The build up to postmodernism becomes obvious as the voice over becomes faster and louder. As the video discusses postmodernism, rather than flashing images and giving explanations, mouths say names of processes, concepts, images, etc. that are postmodern. The video is fragmented and difficult to define, much like most things in the postmodern era. This video not only discusses how things have become or are postmodern, but is a postmodern video within itself.

In the very beginning of the article, the author states that he feels there is no exact definition of what post-modernity is, so the fact that all of these controversies and conflictions between people about what is or isn't postmodern is no surprise to him. However, he thinks that defining what is simply a characteristic of post-modernity, is a relatively exact science. For this article, he decides to give a few examples of what a postmodern characteristic is, in general, and then goes right into how these characteristics can be applied to dance and how the institution of dance has developed over the years. Some of the general characteristics are of post-modernity are self-referencing, mocking, ironic, parody, and a mixture of "high art" and "low art". Some of the characteristics of post-modernity as applied specifically to dance are vernacular movement and dress, more emphasis on image, and less on plot, and a mixing of genres. This article is great because it is a short read, but there is a lot of very helpful information compacted into a little space so none of your energy and time will go to waste.

In the beginning of this article, the author gives a little background as to how postmodernism has emerged, she feels, starting in the 1980's. She thinks that the very general term of Postmodernism is hard to define, because it is a concept that appears in a wide variety of disciplines or areas of study, including art, architecture, music, film, literature, sociology, communications, fashion, and technology. She feels that there cannot be just one definition to the term "postmodernism", and that there needs to be separate definitions for each discipline. Next, she tells you that she thinks the easiest way of trying to think about postmodernism, and what it really is, is by simply thinking of it as coming after modernism. After that, she tells you some of the basic characteristics of postmodernism, specifically as applied to literature, and makes it relatively easy to understand.

this one too http://hermes.hrc.ntu.edu.tw/lctd/asp/theory/theories/4/concept_2.htm

The site recognizes the inability to truly label a period in which you live and how many different eras have thought themselves modern. Highlights of the modern era are noted as well as the aspect of impressionism, expressionism, surrealism, and absurdism in literature. There is also a list of characteristics of modern literature very clearly describing much to do with classifying a work as modern. Characteristics of postmodernity are then also listed comparing it to modernism and stating what is different. The overall information that the site gives helps readers differentiate what separates the two types of literature in an understandable format.