P OSTMODERNISM

An intellectual
influence of the sixties

carried out by Emna Ouerghi and Imen Jeljeli

OUTLINE
 Introduction
I. The sixties as the origin of postmodernism

II. Postmodernism as the product of the sixties

a) Definitions of Postmodernism

b) The characteristics of postmodernism

l Conclusion
 The sixties and the
Advent of
Postmodernism

By Gerhard Hoffmann
INTRODUCTION
 The book 'The sixties Revisited' edited by the German
historian Jurgën Heidecking (17 April 1947-10 March
2000)is a collection of essays that reexamine the sixties
from a multidisciplinary perspective. It presents a
contemporary understanding of a tumultuous period of
American history characterized by contradicting theories
and events.
 This essay deals with the origin and aspects of
postmodernism in the Sixties and postmodernism as the
main outcome of this era.
 Postmodernism is the era which followed the age of
modernity and developed in the mid-to late-20th century. It
is a generic movement in which arts, philosophy,
architecture, and criticism have witnessed a wave of
liberation.
 Concepts related to postmodernism: Self-referentiality-
Relativism (epistemological and moral)- Pluralism-
Subjectivism-Irreverence-Irony-Skepticism.
THE SIXTIES AND POSTMODERNISM
 Gerhard Hoffman deals with the sixties as a
period full of complexities and contradictions just
as postmodernism.
 The 60's , as a decade marked by social and
political turmoil, is known for the manifestation
of various movements that called for all sorts of
liberation, rebelling against "intellectual, social
and sexual rrestraints'
 The sixties can be seen as a more comprehensive
and ''up-to-date'' paradigm ,in which a '' new
humanism'' is characterized by ''openness,
possibility and freedom''.
 This era influenced many fields:
→ Both the fields of philosophy, criticism, science and arts were
influenced by a new trend of ''expansion'' and ''representation'' of
knowledge both in form and content.
 Pluralismm
→ The sixties and postmodernism are characterized by pluralism of ''
attitudes, activities and form of expression‘.

 The young involvement :

→These movements involved particularly young students ,protesting
against ''poverty, racism,'' and the Vietnam war
→The young generation was seeking primarily a new lifestyle.

 The global scene :

→ The global scene was marked by a wave of decolonization.

 The national scene was marked by:

→ A conflict between the young generation and the old one.
A gap between control and freedom and voids of power.
→New social classification , based on gender, race, feminism ,and
the ''Other'', rather than Marxist class categorizination.
THE POLITICAL SCENE
u The young generation as well as the New Left
revolted against:
 The 'political complacency' of the fifties, which are
regarded as 'the age of conformity' for Howe.
 The class-consciousness of the 'Old Left of the
thirties'
 The systems of state institutions and parliament
u The protests did not prevent the war , but they aided
to unveil it as ''the outflow of a fascit regime''
ü The emergence of a new political style and the
creation of '' a collective self-education'' by protests of
the young .
THE NEW LEFT VS THE OLD LEFT
The New Left :
ü A political movement which arose among campus
groups first in the Uk , then in the US and which
appeared in the 1960's. New Left activists claimed
reforms on various issues such as civil and political
rights, gay rights , abortion rights and drug policy .
ü Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) (1960-1969)

l Advocating democracy, civil rights and various types

of reforms.
The Old Left or Real Left:
ü Relied more on Marxist theory that focused more on
social justice , and questioned social class.
THE SOCIAL SCENE

uActivists revolted against the

bourgeois 'social decorum'
,questioning issues like identity
and equality , and advocating a
more free lifestyle.
THE CULTURAL SCENE
 Culture
These ''polemical movements'‘ also influenced culture.
→The emergence of a ''counter-culture'' of the young
that surpassed social taboos, marking a
comprehensive revolution in terms of sexual habits,
self-image, drugs and alcohol.
The counterculture movement is best known for rock
music , local activities and easy informality
Most demonstrations (that condemned war) formed a
collective identity and a collective ''self-education'' as
well.
p The sixties were characterized by both '' literary and
deconstructive'' drives in culture.
 The Hippies and the Flower People :
→The Hippies, which is originally a youth
movement that began in the United
States during the mid-1960s and spread
to other countries around the world, as
well as Flower People, whose behavior,
dress, and use of drugs, implied a
rejection of conventional values, and who
used flowers to symbolize peace and
naturalness , are two groups of young
people who rebelled against the
restrictions of traditions in a peaceful
way.
Fiction and Art
→Postmodern fiction and Fine Arts are characterized
by an ironic aesthetic attitude.
→People called for liberating art from '' the modern
cult of alienation''
→A break away with the pillars of modern art.
→As Donald Barthelme stated '' There seems to be
considerable energy in American writing at the
moment; it seems a fruitful time''
→The postmodern novel is written in ''anticipatory
spirit'' with a tendency to break '''traditional
schemes''
→Both the political and cultural scenes were marked
by ''energy, intensity and freedom''
A DECREASE IN THE ''REVOLUTIONARY
ENERGY''

 → The ''revolutionary energy'' of the sixties

witnessed a decay, mainly because of the reforms
introduced by the state as wel as social and
cultural institutions.
→ Also due to the economic depression that
started in the early 70's.
DEFINITIONS OF POSTMODERNISM
 In the second part of the essay, the author presents a survey of
the various definitions and characteristics of postmodernism
between the early 1960s and the late 1980’s.
 Hoffman stresses the unstable, ever-changing nature of
postmodernism as a concept and the fact that it reaches
beyond the sixties in the sense that it directs the political,
social, and cultural scenes of the 1970s and the 1980’s. Indeed,
the author describes Postmodernism as a paradigm that has
extended to all fields of life.
 The term gained popularity in the late 1980s and collapsed, as
a concept, by 1989 with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
However it is still manifested across aspects of consumer and
mainstream culture.
 According to Marxist American literary critic Fredric
Jameson, the postmodern is “a complex of artistic attitudes
and strategies or a new “cultural logic”, determined by the
hegemony of capitalism and an ever-increasing
commodification of culture, or a set of intellectual propositions
and theoretical assumptions”.
 Postmodernism is characterized by Anti-modernism, an
“anything-goes” attitude, and Pluralism.
THE EARLY MEANINGS OF POSTMODERNISM

 The author uses the French post-structuralist

philosopher Lyotard’s term “postmodern condition” of
media to describe the early onset of postmodernism as
it emerged through mainstream consumer culture.
Postmodernism indicates the beginning of a new era
characterized by Pluralism and multiplicity.
 At its early stages, Postmodernism didn’t acquire a
clear definition due to its fast widespread on all areas
of life. The author highlights the immanence
characterizing the term postmodernism, that is a an
intrinsic approach or an inspection that rejects
simplicity towards all areas of life.
 The term was first used in architecture and literature
to describe "new, anti-modern sensibility and style”.
 THE CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERNISM
 Deconstruction in the realm of aesthetics: Postmodernism favored the
‘imaginary’ over the ’real’ in its approach to art. The "existential imagination’
aims to deconstruct and thus includes the different parts of reality. It tends to
explore and convey intensities such as spiritual experiences through the means
of deconstruction and reconstruction.

 Hybridity and inclusion: Through the expansion and diversification of style,

hybridity aims to connect the ‘imaginary’ or the ‘ideal’ to the ‘real’.
Postmodernism celebrates diversity and attempts to unite it in order to explore
its meaning. Hybridity is reflected through he concept of “double coding”: a
superimposition of forms, evident in artistic techniques of collage and
assemblages as well as in architecture, inciting multiple interpretations from
the receiver. Thus, this diverse collage of form and meaning appeals to all
members of society.

 The deconstructive features in literature and philosophy:

Postmodernism dissolves the subject and gives importance to experience and
language . It is set in contrast to representation and reason. It presents the
"postmodern sublime” as “the combination of oppositional extremes of realism
and reflexivity”.

 The socio-economic feature of postmodernism: The author puts forward

David Harvey’s negative view of postmodern society as being totally controlled
by consumption and the power of the market. Harvey’s theory consists of the
cultural repercussions of the transition from the rigid economic system of
accumulation and profit towards a more flexible system intensified by the rise of
technology and advertisement.
The repoliticization of postmodernism in the mid 1980s:
 Postmodernism as a way toward “a more diverse, open and contextual
politics that refuse to privilege any general recipes for social change “.
Postmodern politics promotes “horizontal social relations, multiplicity
over hierarchy, juxtaposition over usurpation, and difference over
deference.” The mid 1980s witnessed a more inclusion in the socio-
political arena allowing for vast social criticism namely through
ethnic literature.

The Marxist critical approach to Postmodernism:

 The author furthers a two-fold approach to Postmodernism, a “good”
Postmodernism characterized by Pluralism, respect for difference and
otherness in opposition to a ‘bad’ Postmodernism characterized by an”
“anything-goes” attitude of indifference and mere consumption.”
Postmodernism is criticized for abandoning the modernist project of
progress and for substituting aesthetics for ethics.
 The negative view of Postmodernist is further illustrated by the
"crisis theorists”, namely Baudrillard, who describe postmodern
society as being devoid of meaning : The emergence of the hyper real
manifested through symbols propagated by the media. →The creation
of a simulacra of meaning. →The dissolution of values and ideals
caused by the exaggeration of the "anything-goes” attitude and high
consumerism.
CONCLUSION

→The sixties were ''the crucial development'' in all of

the rest of the century.
→The civil rights movement gained success and opened
the chance for criticism even against the late
capitalism as well as postmodernism later on.
→The relationship between the sixties and
postmodernism ,is based on ''rational'' (the civil rights
movement) as well as ''poetic'' trends.
→Postmodernism is a diversified entity that
encompasses all parts of society and culture.
Postmodernism defies time boundaries since one can
find postmodernist traits in the work of Cervantes
and Shakespeare among others.
 Thank you
!