Professional Documents
Culture Documents
At its beginning in the 1960s, postmodern theory was concerned mainly with
aesthetic phenomena, as evidenced in the early essays of Leslie Fiedler, Susan
Sontag, and Ihab Hassan. In the 70s, however, it was further developed by
architects such as Robert Venturi, Robert Stern, and Charles Jencks; by
philosophers and cultural critics like Jean-François Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard,
Frederic Jameson, and Richard Rorty; by feminists such as Linda Hutcheon, Nancy
Fraser, and Linda Nicholson; and by sociologists like Amitai Etzioni, Zygmunt
Bauman, Scott Lash, Ernesto Laclau, and Chantal Mouffe. From the beginning,
postmodernism had a dual meaning: on the one hand, a critical stance toward the
petrification, dogmatization, and self-imposed limitations of modernism, and on the
other hand, a comcept of an era, an attempt to grasp the cultural configuration of
the present that has continued since the 60s.
Like modernism, postmodernism is a Western phenomenon and as such is
connected to the democratizing processes of the Western world. I share this opinion
with postmodern theoreticians and historians such as Ronald Inglehart, Wolfgang
Welsch, Hans Bertens, John Keane, and John McGowen. From early on,
postmodernism was understood as a stage of modernism in its self-criticism and
self-reflection. When postmodern theoreticians like Lyotard did not validate the
unquestioning acceptance of the Enlightenment's metanarratives, such as those
concerning the progress of freedom, it did not mean that they shunned
Enlightenment ideals. Here we find the basis of Habermas's misunderstanding of
postmodernism. Lyotard's skepticism was aimed at the untouchable historical and
philosophical tenets of the Enlightenment, not at its professed goal to continue
democratization with regard to tolerance, equality, and personal freedom or to fight
for human rights. To the contrary, these political and legal ideals play an important
role in postmodern theory, as is demonstrated by the works of Lyotard, Wolfgang
Welsch, and Hans Bertens.
The philosophies and ideologies of modernism are replete with metanarratives that
focus on a common denominator of a whole era. Modernism had already stated that
these metanarratives were no longer able to carry out the tasks accorded them, but
it had done so with an expression of regret and melancholy. One of the most
impressive intellectual literary formulations of this regret is the essay collection
"The Disintegration of Values" in the last volume of Hermann
Broch's Sleepwalkers trilogy of 1932. Lyotard's preference for smaller, more
limited narratives was a further expression of the radical pluralism of
postmodernism and served as an additional impetus to the variety of discourses in
multiculturalism and postcolonialism. In contrast to modernism, postmodernism
does not register the increasing variety of life styles and world views as a loss, but
rather counts it as a gain; it is understood as a possibility to maximize freedom and
as an expression of the valuation of what is heterogeneous and different in
democratically organized societies. The general characterization of postmodernism
can be supported by mentioning the contributions of several theoreticians.
In the 1960s, Leslie Fiedler and Susan Sontag contributed in the field of literary
and art criticism to the revaluation of the popular - a constant irritation to Clement
Greenberg. Fiedler and Sontag opposed dogmatized views of modern art and
literature, especially with respect to their autonomy and their remoteness from the
everyday world. Both deserve credit for having taken the popular art movements
seriously and for having bridged the gap between elite and mass culture. Their texts
emphasize what from then on exemplified contributions to the topic of
postmodernism: the fundamental pluralism of artistic and intellectual processes and
paradigms. The insistence on a radical pluralism is the expressly democratic
component or postmodern knowledge. The age of postmodernism is the era of
pluralism, and it was in this climate that new emancipatory discourses could
blossom. Those initial texts on postmodernism by Fiedler and Sontag described the
establishment of the paradigm of plurality and of the construction of a bridge to the
feminist and multicultural discourses. Subsequently, during the 70s and 80s, the
revision of the canon was heavily debated internationally under the auspices of
postmodernism and multiculturalism, feminism and postcolonialism. The
revaluation of popular art and the examination, revision, and expansion of the
canon resulted in new scholarly methods, and with the consideration accorded to
everyday history and culture, openend up new areas in the humanities and social
sciences. In the course of pluralization and Euro-centric self-criticism, new
scholarly fields have evolved such as gender, minority, and ethnic studies. Charles
Jencks applied to architecture the thesis of the dual and multi-level codification of
literature that Ihab Hassan had propounded. Dual codification is also one of the
characteristics of Cindy Sherman's postmodern photography.
Ulrich Beck stressed the aspects of self-reflection, ecology, and risk taking in
postmodern society. He coined the expressions of the "other" or "second
modernity," the "zweite Moderne." However, since what he has described is
essentially synonymous with what we understand as the postmodern condition, this
alternative formulation is simply an accentuation of the modern in the postmodern.
The term "postmodern" signals a greater willingness, as far as revision is
concerned, and a more critical distance than does the term "second modernity."
The theory of multiculturalism has essentially been developed in the U.S., Canada,
and Australia, the so-called settler colonies. The diversity of this theory is
exemplified by the divergent studies of, for example, the Americans Avery Gordon
and Christopher Newfield, the Canadian Charles Taylor, and the Australian
Stephen Castle. What these theories share is that they replace the older cultural
identity paradigms such as specific national identity or the so-called "melting pot"
with models that propagate the acceptance of the diversity and hybridity of varying,
even contrasting cultures.
During the study of the works on the postcolonial discourse, two prominent aspects
emerge: a descriptive concept of postcolonialism and a programmatic concept. The
descriptive aspect deals with the examination of the relationships between the
formerly or presently colonizing and colonized countries; the programmatic
concept, however, marks the political goals, goals that have to do with the
overcoming of old and new colonial structures, racial bias and cultural prejudice, as
well as overcoming the imbalance of power between the "First" and "Third World"
or "North" and "South." Both the analytical and the operative aspects are essential
for the postcolonial theory, and they are rarely strictly separated: the analytical
interest generally goes back to the operatively directed intent. The theory of
postcolonialism is focused on working out the intellectual means by which one can
descriptively enable the understanding of early as well as recent colonial
dependencies and programmatically deconstruct these inequalities in the sense of
decolonization. The operative aspect, whose foremost proponent is
Radhakrishanan, intends to achieve that state which is marked by the prefix "post,"
that is, it is lastly a matter of presenting the future relationship of the so-called
"Third World" to the so-called "First World" on a new basis, in the true sense of the
word post-colonial. The postcolonial view is thus at once detached and visionary: it
wishes to recognize factual colonial conditions in order to change them through
decolonization.
Since the 60s, the postmodern concept has been expanded continuously; it has
attracted an increasing number of disciplinary discourses and has thus been able to
develop into a cultural periodization concept. In contrast, the postcolonial view
continues to be confined essentially to its usage in the humanities. The theoreticians
and historians of this discourse are largely professors of literature or philosophy. In
the meantime, the discourse has achieved international acclaim within literary
scholarship, and there is hardly a country in the "First" or the "Third World" where
academics of the most diverse backgrounds have not contributed their share to the
theory and practice, method and goal of the postcolonial discourse. An internet
search in the "World Catalog" for bibliographical material yields under the
term postcolonial a list of several hundred book publications for the English-
language sector alone. A look at the abbreviated comments quickly reveals that the
contributions are in general of a literary nature, dealing with aspects of literature
from all continents. Since literary scholarship has tendentiously developed into an
interdisciplinary cultural field during the past few decades, there are a number of
studies that touch strongly on historical, sociological, anthropological,
psychological, and ecological areas but are rarely written by representatives of
these very fields. Since it is impossible to gain a complete overview of what has
been written on postcolonialism, one is thankful for collections and readers that
provide at least an impression of the variety and internationality of the literature
dealing with postcolonial aspects. The discussion initially centered on works of
authors from former colonial countries of countries of the so-called "Third World."
They counted among their existential experiences living between civilizations and
dealing with cultural hybridity. The application of postcolonial theory has since
been expanded considerably. First, those authors from the past who thematized
colonialism are examined from a postcolonial viewpoint, and second, contemporary
literary documents written in the vein of the postcolonial project are analyzed.
More recently there are also tendencies to read the literature of minorities and
foreigners in a postcolonial light, which at times brings forth interesting fusions of
the multicultural and the postcolonial discourse. The focal point of the
postcolonially oriented literary research, however, continues to be, on the one hand,
the confrontation with the literature of the colonial era and, on the other hand, the
discussion of the European and non-European literature that deals with the neo-
colonial or post-colonial relationships between the "Third "World" and the "First."
After the postmodern criticism of the totalitarian comcepts of modernism, the urge
must be suppressed to construct a "spirit of postmodernity," a sort of master key
that would explain all historical and cultural phenomena of the postmodern decades
at the end of the 20th century. Instead, an attempt should be made to enumerate a
few outstanding characteristics of the postmodern constellation, characteristics that
distinguish postmodernity from the dominant tendencies of modernity in the first
half of the 20th century. This can only be done in an additive and descriptive
manner, keeping in mind that this list is certainly incomplete. The following
comparisons are not concerned with the establishment of binary opposites but with
a description of the changes in direction, each with different degrees of radicality.
These tendentious changes make clear that one can speak less of a break between
modernity and postmodernity than of a postmodern self-criticism of modernity, a
kind of reworking and understanding of modernism in the postmodern
constellation.
With regard to political and social issues, postmodernism is concerned with the
change from radical either/or ideologies to an attitude of compromise; from
thinking in strict left/right schemes or progress and reaction alternatives to the
acceptance of blending and transformation; from a friend-or-foe mentality to a
differentiated perspective that moves global interdependencies into the foreground;
from favoring monistic solutions to pluralistic considerations; from the priority of
technical progress to greater respect for the environment and recognition of its
fragility; from relying on constant economic growth to post-material values with
their acknowledgment of the limitations and exhaustibility of resources; from a
mentality searching for security to a more flexible attitude toward risk-taking; from
a male-dominated society to a social structure characterized by the equality of
women; from a Western or Euro-centric view to a multicultural and postcolonial
identity in which understanding of minorities and their cultures plays an increasing
role; from national market and information societies to continental and global
economic exchange processes and communicative networks.
Finally, in art, architecture, and literature, it is a matter of the movement away from
merely functional beauty toward a pluralism of style, a rediscovery of the ornament
and the consideration of the historical architectonic surroundings; from a dogged
seriousness to an acceptance of the playful, which brings with it a preference for
pastiche techniques; from a favoritism toward elitist art and "pure" styles to a
preference for popular forms and eclectic and hybrid styles; from aristocratic and
exclusionary aesthetic forms to a more public-oriented and reader-friendly
literature; from a search for constant innovation requiring originality to the
recollection of older or the discovery of foreign styles; from a preference for
monologic discourses to dialogic interaction; from definitive categorization to
multi-coding; from ambivalence to polyvalence; from an avant-garde anti-
historicism to an occupation with the past.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Albrow, Martin: Abschied vom Nationalstaat. Staat und Gesellschaft im Globalen Zeitalter. Frankfurt am Main
1998.
Beck, Ulrich: Risikogesellschaft: Auf dem Weg in eine andere Moderne. Frankfurt am Main 1986.
Bertens, Hans: The Idea of the Postmodern. A History. London and New York 1995.
Bhabha, Homi K.: The Location of Culture. London and New York 1994.
Bronfen,Elisabeth and Benjamin Marius (eds.): Hybride Kulturen. Beiträge zur anglo- amerikanischen
Multikulturalismusdebatte. Tübingen 1997.
Castles, Stephen: Mistaken Identity: Multiculturalism and the Demise of Nationalism in Australia. Sidney 1992.
Cohn-Bendit, Daniel and Thomas Schmid: Heimat Babylon. Das Wagnis der multikulturellen
Demokratie. Hamburg 1992.
Etzioni, Amitai: Die aktive Gesellschaft. Eine Theorie gesellschaftlicher und politischer Prozesse. Opladen
1975.
Fiedler, Leslie: "The New Mutants." In: Partisan Review 32 (1965): 505-25.
Fiedler, Leslie: "Cross the Border - Close the Gap: Postmodernism (1969)." In: Marcus Cunliffe (ed.), American
Literature Since 1900. London 1975, pp. 344-66.
Fraser, Nancy and Linda Nicholson: "Social Criticism without Philosophy: An Encounter between Feminism and
Postmodernism." In: Andrew Ross (ed.), Universal Abandon? The Politics of Postmodernism. Minneapolis
1988, pp. 83-105.
Fukuyama, Francis: The End of History and the Last Man. New York 1992.
Gehlen, Arnold: "Über kulturelle Kirstallisation." In: A.G., Studien zur Anthropologie und Soziologie. Neuwied
and Berlin 1963, pp. 311-28.
Gordon, Avery F. and Christopher Newfield (eds.): Mapping Multiculturalism. Minneapolis and London 1996.
Greenberg, Clement: "Modern and postmodern." In: Arts Magazine 54 (1980): 64-66.
Habermas, Jürgen: "Die Moderne - ein unvollendetes Projekt." In: J.H., Kleine politische Schriften I-
IV. Frankfurt am Main 1981, pp. 444-64.
Habermas, Jürgen: Staatsbürgerschaft und nationale Identität. Überlegungen zur europäischen Zukunft. St.
Gallen 1991.
Harvey, David: The Condition of Postmodernity: An Inquiry into the Origins of Social Change. Oxford, UK and
Cambridge, Ma 1989.
Hassan, Ihab: The Dismemberment of Orpheus: Toward a Postmodern Literature. New York 1971.
Huntington, Samuel P.: The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York 1996.
Hutcheon, Linda: A Poetics of Postmodernism: History, Theory, Fiction. London and New York 1988.
Hutcheon, Linda: The Politics of Postmodernism. London and New York 1989.
Hutcheon, Linda: "Colonialism and the Postcolonial Condition." In: Publications of the Modern Language
Assosiation 110.1 (1995): 7-16
Huyssen, Andreas: "Mapping the Postmodern." In: A.H., After the Great Divide. Modernisms, Mass Culture,
Postmodernism. Bloomington 1986, pp. 179-221.
Jameson, Fredric: Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham, NC 1991.
Jenks, Charles. "Post-Modern und Spät-Modern. Einige grundlegende Definitionen." In: Peter Koslowski et al.
(eds.), Moderne oder Postmoderne? Zur Signatur des gegenwärtigen Zeitalters. Weinheim 1986, p. 209.
Keane, John: "The Modern Democratic Revolution: Reflections on Jean-François Lyotard's 'La Condition
postmoderne.'" In: Chicago Review 35 (1987): pp. 4-19.
Krauss, Rosalind: "John Mason and post-modernist sculpture: New Experiences, New Words." In: Art in
America 67 (1979): 120-27.
Laclau, Ernesto and Chantal Mouffe: Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic
Politics. London 1985.
Leggewie, Claus: Multi Kulti. Spielregeln für die Vielvölkerrepublik. Berlin 1990.
Lützeler, Paul Michael: "Nomadentum und Arbeitslosigkeit. Identität in der Postmoderne." In: Merkur 52.9/10
(1998): 908-18.
Lützeler, Paul Michael (ed.): Schriftsteller und 'Dritte Welt'. Studien zum postkolonialen Blick. Tübingen 1998.
Lützeler, Paul Michael: "'New Historicism': Methoden-Experimente in den USA." In: Klio oder Kalliope?
Literatur und Geschichte. Berlin 1997, pp. 170-79.
Lützeler, Paul Michael (ed.): Spätmoderne und Postmoderne. Beiträge zur deutschsprachigen
Gegenwartsliteratur. Frankfurt am Main 1991.
Lyotard, Jean-François: Das Patchwork der Minderheiten. Für eine herrenlose Politik. Berlin 1977.
Lyotard, Jean François: Le différend. Paris 1983.
Marquard, Odo: "Nach der Moderne. Bemerkungen über die Futurisierung des Antimodernismus und die Usance
Modernität." In: Peter Koslowski et al. (eds.), Moderne oder Postmoderne? Zur Signatur des gegenwärtigen
Zeitalters. Weinheim 1986, pp. 45-54.
Radhakrishnan: Diasporic Mediations. Between Home and Location. Minneapolis and London 1996.
Rorty, Richard: "Habermas and Lyotard on Postmodernity." In: Richard J. Bernstein (ed.), Habermas and
Modernity. Cambridge, MA 1985, pp. 165-75.
Said, Edward W.: Kultur und Imperialismus. Einbildungskraft und Politik im Zeitalter der Macht. Frankfurt am
Main 1994.
Sennett, Richard: Der flexible Mensch. Die Kultur des neuen Kapitalismus. Berlin 1998.
Sontag, Susan: Against Interpretation and Other Essays. New York 1967.
Stern, Robert: "At the Edge of Post-Modernism." In: Architectural Design 47.4 (1977): 274-88.
Venturi, Robert (et al.): Learning from Las Vegas: The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form. Cambridge,
MA 1972.
Welsch, Wolfgang (ed.): Wege aus der Moderne. Schlüsseltexte der Postmoderne-Diskussion. Weinheim 1988.
Welsch, Wolfgang: "Topoi der Postmoderne." In: Hans Rudi Fischer et. al. (eds.), Das Ende der großen
Entwürfe. Frankfurt am Main 1992.
Williams, Patrick and Laura Chrisman (eds.): Colonial Discourse and Post-Colonial Theory. A Reader. New
York 1994.