1. World of Warcraft (http://www.worldofwarcraft.net/info/beginners/index.html) Although this site mentions nothing on postmodernity, the game that it is dedicated to and ran for is postmodern in itself. As a 'Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game', or MMORPG, Warcraft connects thousands of people together at any one time, all in a fantasy world. Global connections are facilitated through special servers that allow subscribers to join players across the world in role playing and questing for fun. At the same time, the game never ends, but always continues, just like a postmodern novel; even when a player reaches the highest possible level, he can be sure that there will still be new activities for him in Warcraft, as the developers are constantly adding more content, in the form of expansion packs for sale in stores as well as in free updates and special holiday events.
2. Virtual Communities (http://www.humanities.uci.edu/mposter/writings/internet.html) Virtual communities can be anything from roleplaying groups to chatrooms, although this essay appears to focus primarily on the first in its attempt to study postmodern behaviors. Discussing the ways in which internet or "virtual" groups differ from those found in the modern era, the essayist spends a good deal of time on the lack of stability within these groups; the members are likely to change their identities whimsically with their moods, and even gender isn't safe from these swings. While Mark Poster doesn't give very much in the way of explanation on how all of the information he presents is postmodern, the details he provides on group interaction in this postmodern age of the internet are very useful.
3. Ihab Hassan's Writings on Local/Global Postmodernity (http://www.ihabhassan.com /postmodernism_to_postmodernity.htm) Ihab Hassan's work on postmodernity works well in two directions: it explains the meaning of postmodernity, and discusses the global aspects in great detail. In his point of view global postmodernity has two aspects; there are the cultural aspects that he finds only truly apply to the well developed countries, such as the United States and Japan, and then there are the aspects of postmodernity that apply to the entire world. Although his work can be difficult to read-he is prone to the academic tendency to make up his own words and not explain them for several paragraphs- it is an excellent source of information on the changes countries go through when faced with new technologies and philosophies.
4.David Wells on the End of Modernity (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us3AOS-OjCg) To properly understand postmodernity, one needs to understand the issues with modernity, the previous age; David Wells, in this brief video, discusses those. As he explains, the truths of the enlightenment, the key truths of modernity, are no longer cherished. People now fear progress as much as they appreciate it, as they understand it to be a double edged blade. What can be used for the benefit of society can also be used to destroy. For example, our country's large spending budget goes heavily towards weaponry; we use what we have to kill others. However, all of that money, such as the 9.4 billion dollars spent on missile defense in 2009, could easily have gone towards finding a cure for cancer. Though short and simple, this video is highly thought provoking and provides clear points of view.
5. Postmodernity: A Problem for the Conservative Christians (http://www.crossroad.to/charts/postmodernity.htm) The teachings of the Bible are over 2,000 years old; in no way are they postmodern. This chart is presented by a clearly biased group, but it has a few excellent points in detailing the conflict between aspects of postmodernity and the conservative interpretation of the bible. For example, as the chart points out, the multiculturalism of postmodernity places all religions on an equal scale. This group, though, is offended by that, citing the Bible as evidence that only their religion is the 'true religion'. While the majority of people do not conform to these ideas, they provide a potential starting point for a discussion on the effect of postmodernity on the spheres of religion, and for the effect on global attitudes as well.
Although this site mentions nothing on postmodernity, the game that it is dedicated to and ran for is postmodern in itself. As a 'Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game', or MMORPG, Warcraft connects thousands of people together at any one time, all in a fantasy world. Global connections are facilitated through special servers that allow subscribers to join players across the world in role playing and questing for fun. At the same time, the game never ends, but always continues, just like a postmodern novel; even when a player reaches the highest possible level, he can be sure that there will still be new activities for him in Warcraft, as the developers are constantly adding more content, in the form of expansion packs for sale in stores as well as in free updates and special holiday events.
2. Virtual Communities (http://www.humanities.uci.edu/mposter/writings/internet.html)
Virtual communities can be anything from roleplaying groups to chatrooms, although this essay appears to focus primarily on the first in its attempt to study postmodern behaviors. Discussing the ways in which internet or "virtual" groups differ from those found in the modern era, the essayist spends a good deal of time on the lack of stability within these groups; the members are likely to change their identities whimsically with their moods, and even gender isn't safe from these swings. While Mark Poster doesn't give very much in the way of explanation on how all of the information he presents is postmodern, the details he provides on group interaction in this postmodern age of the internet are very useful.
3. Ihab Hassan's Writings on Local/Global Postmodernity (http://www.ihabhassan.com
/postmodernism_to_postmodernity.htm)
Ihab Hassan's work on postmodernity works well in two directions: it explains the meaning of postmodernity, and discusses the global aspects in great detail. In his point of view global postmodernity has two aspects; there are the cultural aspects that he finds only truly apply to the well developed countries, such as the
United States and Japan, and then there are the aspects of postmodernity that apply to the entire world. Although his work can be difficult to read-he is prone to the academic tendency to make up his own words and not explain them for several paragraphs- it is an excellent source of information on the changes countries go through when faced with new technologies and philosophies.
4.David Wells on the End of Modernity (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us3AOS-OjCg)
To properly understand postmodernity, one needs to understand the issues with modernity, the previous age; David Wells, in this brief video, discusses those. As he explains, the truths of the enlightenment, the key truths of modernity, are no longer cherished. People now fear progress as much as they appreciate it, as they understand it to be a double edged blade. What can be used for the benefit of society can also be used to destroy. For example, our country's large spending budget goes heavily towards weaponry; we use what we have to kill others. However, all of that money, such as the 9.4 billion dollars spent on missile defense in 2009, could easily have gone towards finding a cure for cancer. Though short and simple, this video is highly thought provoking and provides clear points of view.
5. Postmodernity: A Problem for the Conservative Christians (http://www.crossroad.to/charts/postmodernity.htm)
The teachings of the Bible are over 2,000 years old; in no way are they postmodern. This chart is presented by a clearly biased group, but it has a few excellent points in detailing the conflict between aspects of postmodernity and the conservative interpretation of the bible. For example, as the chart points out, the multiculturalism of postmodernity places all religions on an equal scale. This group, though, is offended by that, citing the Bible as evidence that only their religion is the 'true religion'. While the majority of people do not conform to these ideas, they provide a potential starting point for a discussion on the effect of postmodernity on the spheres of religion, and for the effect on global attitudes as well.