Postmodernism

Abstract

When presented with subjects unfamiliar to the general public, the selection of an appropriate and rounded catalog is important to libraries, both public and academic. And stretching across multiple genres of subjects, including literature and philosophy, the concept of postmodernism may not be an easy undertaking for those not in the field to grasp. Fortunately Rachel Fischer, who holds a MLIS from Dominican University and a BFA in Fine Arts from Columbia College, has provided a well-rounded collection focusing on the topic, ranging from introductory texts, art, and literature, all the way to religion and multimedia. This is her second contribution to the Alert Collector.-Editor I f you really do not understand what postmodernism is yet, you are not alone. The term was first coined in the 1950s but did not become a well-known philosophical term in France until the 1970s; however, it was not uncommon for those who studied philosophy and sociology in the United States to have never heard of the term. Postmodernism is still not taught widely in universities outside of art history, philosophy, humanities, and cultural theory classes, yet postmodernist theories have truly impacted how we understand our society and interact with other societies today.So what is postmodernism? It is a term that is inseparable with the study of other known philosophies. Postmodernism' s precursors include linguistic theory, semiology, phenomenology, and modernism, and were closely associated with German philosophers like Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. French philosophers like Jean-François Lyotard, Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, and Jacques Derrida contributed to making postmodernism what it is today. Since then other "post" terms have become more common in the classroom, such as postcolonialism, postethnic, poststructuralism, postproduction, and even postblack.In relation to art and literary theory, Jean-François Lyotard stated in The Postmodern Condition, "The postmodern would be that which, in the modern, puts forward the unpresentable in presentation itself; that which denies itself the solace of good forms, the consensus of a taste which would make it possible to share collectively the nostalgia for the unattainable; that which searches for new presentations, not in order to enjoy them but in order to impart a stronger sense of the unpresentable." With this quotation, one can see that postmodernism is tied strongly to cultural theory. As an example, it explores how our society has viewed stereotypes throughout history and how the cultures of our world are intermingling in a globalized society to become hybrids of each other.While the meaning of postcolonialism may seem obvious Rachel k. Fischer