English departments

Gemini

Postmodernism is a late 20th-century intellectual, artistic, and cultural movement that arose as a skeptical reaction to the ideals of Modernism and the Enlightenment. It rejects the concept of universal truths, objective reality, and grand, overarching narratives, arguing instead that knowledge and meaning are subjective and culturally constructed.

Core Concepts

• Rejection of Grand Narratives: Postmodernists, such as Jean-François Lyotard, argued that overarching stories (e.g., historical progress, absolute scientific truth, religious salvation) are myths used to legitimize power.
• Subjectivity of Truth: Reality is viewed as a collection of individual and group interpretations rather than a single, discoverable absolute.
• Relativism: Since all claims to truth are rooted in specific historical and cultural contexts, no single viewpoint is inherently superior.

Key Characteristics in Practice

• Blending of Styles: Postmodern art, architecture, and literature frequently mix high culture (e.g., classical art, fine literature) with pop culture (e.g., comic books, advertising).

• Irony and Metafiction: Creators often incorporate self-awareness, pastiche (the blending of past styles), and unreliable narrators to highlight the artificiality of storytelling and traditional conventions.  
• Deconstruction: The movement heavily emphasizes analyzing the power dynamics and language structures that shape human experiences and values. [stereotypical white European men, or anyone acting or thinking white, oppressing the black, red, yellow man, the effeminate or the transitioned]

 
Major Thinkers & Influences
While the movement is decentralized, it is largely driven by philosophers and cultural theorists who scrutinized how society constructs its values:

• Michel Foucault 1926-1984 white French: explored the relationship between power, knowledge, and social control
• Jean Baudrillard 1929-2007 white French: focused on consumer culture and hyperreality where simulations replace reality
• Jacques Derrida 1930-2004 white French: developed deconstruction, a method of critiquing traditional Western philosophy and language

 
However, to understand what has happened to English departments across America, one must read some well-known authors who fit this mold. I have.

They would guillotine me and everyone on my Reading List.