...Joyce Samantha B. Gula Introduction / Summary of Postmodernism Postmodernism is the belief that: (1) Most theoretical concepts are defined by their role in the conjectured theoretical network. (A subset are 'operationally' defined by a fairly direct tie to observations.) (2) The theoretical network is incomplete. (3) It follows that theoretical concepts are 'open', or what logicians call 'partially interpreted'. Research continues precisely because they are open; the research task is to 'close' them, although never completely. The current Postmodern belief is that a correct description of Reality is impossible. This extreme skepticism, of which Friedrich Nietzsche, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn are particularly famous, assumes that; a) All truth is limited, approximate, and is constantly evolving (Nietzsche, Kuhn, Popper). b) No theory can ever be proved true - we can only show that a theory is false (Popper). c) No theory can ever explain all things consistently (Godel's incompleteness theorem). d) There is always a separation between our mind & ideas of things and the thing in itself (Kant). e) Physical reality is not deterministic (Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics, Bohr). f) Science concepts are mental constructs (logical positivism, Mach, Carnap). g) Metaphysics is empty of content. h) Thus absolute and certain truth that explains all things is unobtainable. As Taborsky writes of Postmodern philosophy; .. the Mediated concept...
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...of the necessary complex and contradictory architecture, which essentially contains ambiguity and tension. Rather than exclude everything, inclusion of unity becomes the task of his architecture. He emphasizes the play of compromising of element which leads to difficult whole. The writing doesn’t reject nor accept any prevailing style, instead it abstracts the element of the building that demonstrates the complexity and contradiction in his thought and from them he combines and derives a new form of hybrid architecture. On the other hand, it had been a controversy topic which he claimed that he was never and won’t be a post- modernism architect. However, his works and theory demonstrate postmodernism architecture which they claimed that they never intended to do so. The tension begins to surface, such influential pieces towards the post modernism, is claimed that the intention was never to be one. The relation between practice and theory of his work is then interrogated and investigated in this writing. Analysis Ambiguity and tension are everywhere in an architecture of complexity and contradiction. Architecture is a form and substance-abstract and concrete and its meaning derives from is interior characteristics and its particular context (Venturi, 1977, p20). Presents day architect, in their visionary compulsion to invent new techniques, have neglected their obligation to be experts in existing conventions. (Venturi, 1977, p43) Old clichés in new settings...
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...Notes on post-Fordism and postmodernism Post-Fordism and Postmoderism: * Capitalism requires a large number of low-skilled workers willing to put up with alienating, repetitive work on mass production assembly lines. This system is often called Fordism because the Ford motor company was the first to introduce this. * Bowles and Gintis’ correspondence principle states that school mirrors the work place, and see the mass education system as preparing pupils to accept this kind of work. * Postmodernists argue that this view is out-dated and that society has entered a new postmodern phase and are now fundamentally different from the modern society that both Marxists and Functionalists have written about. * Postmodernists reject the Marxist idea that we still live in a two class society, and the claim that education reproduces class inequality. * They argue that class divisions are no longer important and that society is now much more diverse an fragment. * Postmodernists also argue that the economy has shifted away from assembly-line mass production and is now based on ‘flexible specialisation’ where production is customised for small specialist markets. * The Post-Fordism system requires a skilled, adaptable workforce able to use advanced technology and transfer their skills rapidly from one specialised task to another. * Post-Fordism calls for a different kind of education system where instead of preparing pupils to be low-skilled, low-paid...
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...Post-modernism is the sociological perspective that talks about modern social development as the end of the industrial era, while being critical of the Enlightenment era that its bid to achieve “certainty and universal criteria of perfection and a ‘good life’ was a wasted effort” as stated by Zygmunt Bauman. Furthermore, they challenge the positivistic view of objectivity and challenge it with the concept of relativism. Stating that there are no universals, or any objective scientific truths. The post-modernists further shed light on the changes in society from the industrial era or the modern age to the now post modern age. Much of the post-modern perspective is about how it is almost impossible to scientifically analyze the industrial world...
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...Christian Response to Postmodernism in the Twenty-first Century Today, a new insidious trend is blazing its way through the twenty-first century church. In the name/guise of keeping Christianity relevant in today's culture, many churches are opening the door to a doctrine/belief system that undermines the infallibility of the Bible. Today, we will discuss postmodernism and its effects on the church. We will also discuss what Christians can do to counter its effect/attack in the spread of the gospel. The term postmodernism, has been applied to many areas such as literature, philosophy, fiction, architecture, art and so on. It is mainly our response to what is considered concrete data (scientific or objective) about the world around us. Postmodernism suggests that something is reality not only because humanity generally understands it to be so but rather that reality is built upon personal interpretation as the mind attempts to process information only in relation to that particular individual's sense of reality. What this translates to is that postmodernism allows each individual to create his or her own reality based on what their mind considers to be right for them. As a result of its definition, postmodernism feeds on the premise that there are no absolute truths. It seeks to invalidate the arguments/explanations of whole groups of people in different cultures, traditions and races and instead propagates that truth is relative to each individual. Postmodernism is fueled...
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...Professor Kenefick 9:30 – 10:45 “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid (Post-Modernism) Based on our lecture in class, I view “Girl” as a Post-Modern work. If “Girl” is viewed as ‘Modern’, the work is seen as nurturing, however if viewed as ‘Post-Modern’, the work is seen as abusive. The structure and language convey a tone of repressiveness and obedience. The mother is preaching at the girl to tell her how to act. The daughter meekly accepts what the mother says and only twice does she speak against her mother. Even then, she spoke in a passive manner. The mother-daughter relationship lacks real intimacy. The use of the word “slut” tells us the mother does not have a high opinion of the daughter even before the mother’s orders can be carried out. The mother is extremely dictatorial, which in itself is not a nurturing quality. Post-Modernism is work that denotes negativity and hopelessness and is meant to shake up the audience. Kincaid does an excellent job of this. Her use of sentence structure (the long sentences); the excess use of semi-colons; and the open ending of the story are demonstrative of Post-Modern writings. An important element is ‘deconstruction’ for example, how the story is really more of a speech and not a formalized story with definite structure. Another example is the writing style, which is the narrative. We do not know exactly who is speaking, and absolute clarity is absent because in Post-Modern writing it does not necessarily exist. Presumably...
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...The dominant artistic movement from about 1900 to 1940, modernism was characterized by the reexamination of existence from every possible angle. Modernist writers sought to leave the traditions of nineteenth-century literature behind in terms of form, content, and expression. They realized that a new industrial age—full of machines, buildings, and technology—had ushered out rural living forever, and the result was often a pessimistic view of what lay before humankind. Frequent themes in modernist works are loneliness and isolation (even in cities teeming with people), and a significant number of writers tried to capture that sense of solitude by engaging in stream-of-consciousness writing, which captures the thought process of a single character as it happens without interruption. Some of the most famous modernist authors include Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolf, and James Joyce. 1. Open form and free verse are distinguishing characteristics of modernist poetry. Though commonplace now, this style was quite a break from nineteenth-century rules about meter and rhyme. 2. The moniker “The Lost Generation” was coined by Gertrude Stein and refers to those artists of the 1920s who had become disillusioned with America and found themselves living as ex-patriots in Europe, chiefly in France. 3. An example of stream-of-consciousness (also called “interior monologue”) from Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway: “She felt somehow very like him—the young man who...
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...Modern Art or Modernism is the loose term given to the succession of styles and movements in art and architecture which dominated Western culture from 19th Century up until the 1960’s. Movements associated with Modern art include Impressionism, Cubism, Bauhaus, Surrealism, Futurism, Pop Art and Op Art. Modern Art rejects the past as a model for the art of the present and is characterized by constant innovation. Modern Art grew out of the Impressionist's rejection of the 'imitation of life' school of art. Their emphasis on the act of painting, on the paint itself, can be seen in the Expressionist and Cubist art of the turn-of-the-century. Modern art was also often driven by various social and political agendas. These were often utopian, and modernism was in general associated with ideal visions of human life and society and a belief in progress. From the 1970’s artists and movements began to react against Modernism and post-modernism was formed. Some different types of the movements in art are: abstract, action art, American realism, architecture, art deco, and art nouveau, Asian, Bauhaus, black and white, celebrity, cityscape, colorful, comic book art, conceptual art, contemporary art, cubism, cuisine, exclusive, expressionism, fauvism, figurative, floral, framed prints, Modern art and many more. There were a lot of movements in the art industry ever since the beginning of Modern art which started in the 19th Century. Surrealism is a style of art and literature developed principally...
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...‘Society has now entered a postmodern age and we need new theories to understand it.’ Assess this view. Society has experienced important changes in recent times. Some sociologists argue that these changes are so reflective that they represent an important shift, from the modern society of the past two centuries, to a new, postmodern society from the era of modernity to the era of postmodernity. Other sociologists disagree and argue that although recent changes have been very significant, these are actually part of modernity itself. In addition to this, opinions are also divided on what theory we need to understand these changes in society. Some have adopted the perspective known as postmodernism to describe society today while others have adopted existing modernist theories such as Marxism. Most sociologists agree that modern society emerged during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century in Western Europe. Before understanding whether our current society is modern or postmodern, it is important to define a modern society. Modern societies are nation states; they are a key political unit in a bounded territory ruled by a centralized state and the people usually share the same language and culture. Another aspect of modern societies is capitalism, based in private ownership of means of production, maintaining the conditions under which it operates. Lash and Urry describe this as `organized capitalism. Wealth distribution in modern societies is uneven and Fordist principles...
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...The birth of modernism and modern art is assumed to be traced back to the Industrial Revolution, the time period which lasted from the 18th to the 19th century, in which fast changes in manufacturing, and technology greatly affected the social, economic, and cultural conditions of life in Western Europe, North America, and finally the world. New forms of transportation, including the railroad, the steam engine, and the subway gave the people a way to expand their worldview and access to new ideas. As urban centers prospered, workers flocked to cities for industrial jobs, and urban populations boomed. Before the nineteenth century, artists were most usually commissioned to make art work via rich shoppers, or establishments like the church. Tons of this...
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...Modernism/Postmodernism A representation of belonging in the poem ''I Too'' by Hughes Williams and ''A Wife'S Story'' by Mukherjee In this essay, I compare Hughes poem ''I, too'' published in 1925 (Modernism) and Mukherjee's story ''A Wife' Story'' published in 1988 (Postmodernism). The focus of my comparison will be on belonging as I believe this theme could be attributed to both texts. First of all, the poem ''I, too'' is about a black man who belongs to and wants to be seen as an American which is especially emphasised by the poem's title ''I, too''. A similar expression is used in the last line of the poem which therefore forms a frame. Evidently, this can be understood as a statement which expresses that this person is a citizen of America because he is represented throughout the whole poem from the beginning to the end. The little difference between the first and 18th line can be interpreted as a sort of improvement which takes place within the poem because singing America means he does something to actually belong to it. The statement ''I, too, am America'' can be seen as rather passive; hence it can be argued that the narrator is accepted and finally belongs to the American culture. Furthermore, it becomes apparent that the narrator is excluded from American society by stating that ''they sent me to eat in the kitchen when company comes'' (l.3-4). This citation suggests that he is separated from the others as they do not wish to eat with him but; hence it...
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...Universität Bayreuth “ Notes on Indian Country: Native American Literature” SS 2012 Claudia Deetjen American Modernism and House Made of Dawn Daniel Quitz Matrikelnummer: 1164204 Englisch (5) / Geschichte (5), LA Maximilianstrasse 16, 95444 Bayreuth Tel.: 0176/ 73911615 danielquitz@t-online.de Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Defining American Modernism 3. American Modernism in House Made of Dawn 3.1 Complex and Modern Urban Life 3.2 Alienation: The Portrait of a Lost Generation 3.3 The Stream of Consciousness 3.4 Other Features 4. Conclusion 5. Bibliography Quitz 1 1. Introduction When Navarre Scott Momaday first published his award-winning novel House Made of Dawn, literary critics celebrated the book as the Renaissance of Native American Literature. The novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1969, has influenced both readers and well-known Native American writers such as Leslie Marmon Silko or Sherman Alexie since its first publication. Moreover, it has certainly made the success of Native American Literature possible. This is one of the reasons why Momaday can be considered as the “dean of Native American writers“ (Hager 2). House Made of Dawn is about Abel, a young Native American who returns home to Walatowa from World War II. There, he struggles to reintegrate into the tribal community as he is torn between two different worlds. On the one hand, it is the traditional environment of his pueblo...
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...(1575)An Analysis of Non-Usefulness of Post-Modernity and the Importance of “Critical Thinking” in the Humanities This sociological study will define the non-usefulness of “post-modernism” as a threat to the scientific foundations of modernism in the lack of “critical thinking” in the humanities. The premise of modernism is defined by the notion of human “progress” through a deterministic and scientific view of the humanity into higher functionality of civilized society. In contrast to this objective view of human progress, post-modernism has created various subjective assumptions about western civilization, which form academic opinions that are not based on objective reality. Latour’s (2004) examination of the “hermeneutics of suspicion”...
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...Experiment in Modernist Fiction Modernism is a current which defines everything that is new in matters of art, literature or music. The main focus of our interest is modernist literature which is a subdivision of modernism and begins during the early stages of the 20th century, being seen in opposition to the traditional values promoted until the first World War. Many branches develop during this period (psychology, philosophy, political institutions etc.) and the realism of the earlier times is now rejected and replaced by the idea that everything is relative. Things take a new shift and the absolute truths vanish, leaving room for multiple interpretations and personalized opinions which are presented now, in writing. But how can one define something that has no clear conclusion? An element of this sort cannot have a finality, therefore, it is understood according to one’s personal background and experience. Modernist literature will always raise serious issues concerning the purpose and form of literature, questioning its former aspects. What are the reasons for writing a novel and what should a novel consist of? For example, the notion of “novel” becomes ambiguous in the mind of Virginia Woolf, who declared after writing “Mrs. Dalloway” that “I’m glad to be quit this time of writing a novel, and hope never to be accused of it again.” Next to Virginia Woolf which is believed to be one of the greatest modern authors, the faithful readers come across names like James Joyce...
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...Three Perspectives Of Organizational Theory Management Essay Organizational theory is based on its three perspectives, which are the modern, symbolic-interpretive and the post-modern. The perspectives each have different approaches when it comes to the management of an organization. Modernists are objectivists who focus on reality of knowledge which is build based upon the conceptualization and the theorization. An Example would be that a company earns profits based on the CEO’s ability to make right decisions while investing the money of an organization. The results of the actions can be measured in profit and loss and can be directly measured. The data which modernists recognize are from the five senses, through what they see, heard, touch, smell and tasted. Modern Perspective builds a set of rules that can be used in organization so that all employees will be able to follow, perform and function, ensuring the entire process in the organization runs smoothly. Modernists do not take into account the symbolic perspective of looking outside of the five senses and looking at emotion and intuition (Hatch & Cunliffe, 2006). This essay is an example of a student's work Disclaimer This essay has been submitted to us by a student in order to help you with your studies. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers. Essay Writing Service Essay Marking Service Example Essays Who wrote this essay Become a Freelance Writer Place an Order Modernists...
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