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.

The article, "The Postmodern Novel", starts off by giving good definitions of what pre-modernism, modernism, and post-modernism are and how exactly they can be applied to literature. The author says that pre-modernism assumes that the man is ruled by authority or tradition, modernism is influenced by humanism and the Enlightenment, man rejects tradition and authority in favor of a reliance on reason and on scientific discovery, and post-modernism stretches and breaks away from the idea that man can achieve understanding through a reliance on reason and science. Lastly, some examples as to what exactly can be considered post-modernism in literature are given, such as a playfulness with language, experimentation with the form of the novel, and a mixture of "high art" and popular culture.

This article, written by John Barth, goes into much detail about what modernism is, what postmodernism is, and how we are shifting from modernism to postmodernism. He explains to you how he kind of disagrees with the whole idea of modernism as a whole as applied to fiction. He thinks that there is no clear definition for the term postmodernism and for the characteristics of postmodernist fiction in this era, and some scholars claim that postmodernism is the extension or the opposition of modernism in a way. In this essay, John Barth shows his disagreement with this notion, and at the same time he also points out his liking of some qualities of literature of the last century. Towards the end, there is a helpful chart which shows some of the most obvious, and direct, differences between modernity and post-modernity.

The article "Postmodernism in Poetry" starts off by giving you a little history of the idea of postmodernism as applied to poetry by saying that it began in the sixties, when there developed on both sides of the Atlantic a feeling that poetry had become too ossified, backward-looking and restrained. Next, the article delves into the 4 characteristics of postmodernism which the author feels are most relevant to poetry, iconoclasm, groundlessness, formlessness, and populism. Finally, a very detailed explanation as to why all four of these characteristics are important for poetry is given. At the very end, a list of about 15 authors who are considered to be postmodern poets is given. Personally, I feel that this is very important because it is hard to determine what is or isn't postmodern, so having a list of authors is helpful for someone who wants to be sure that they are reading postmodern poetry.