What is "postmodernism"

also post-modernism, by 1977, from post- + modernism. Defined by Terry Eagleton as "the contemporary movement of thought which rejects ... the possibility of objective knowledge" and is therefore "skeptical of truth, unity, and progress" ["After Theory," 2003]. Related: post-modernist (1965).

n. Any style in art, architecture, literature, philosophy, etc., that reacts against an earlier modernist movement.

n. genre of art and literature and especially architecture in reaction against principles and practices of established modernism

Postmodernism describes both an era and a broad movement that developed in the late-20th century across philosophy, the arts, architecture, and criticism which marked a departure from modernism. While encompassing a broad range of ideas and projects, postmodernism is typically defined by an attitude of skepticism or distrust toward grand narratives, ideologies, and various tenets of Enlightenment rationality, including the existence of objective reality and absolute truth, as well as notions of rationality, human nature, and progress. Instead, it asserts that knowledge and truth are the product of unique systems of social, historical, and political discourse and interpretation, and are therefore contextual and constructed. Accordingly, postmodern thought is broadly characterized by tendencies to epistemological and moral relativism, pluralism, self-referentiality, and irony.

The term postmodernism has been applied both to the era following modernity, and to a host of movements within that era (mainly in art, music, and literature) that reacted against tendencies in modernism. Postmodernism includes skeptical critical interpretations of culture, literature, art, philosophy, history, linguistics, economics, architecture, fiction, and literary criticism. Postmodernism is often associated with schools of thought such as deconstruction and post-structuralism, as well as philosophers such as Jacques Derrida, Jean Baudrillard, and Frederic Jameson.

Postmodern International relations is an approach that has been part of international relations scholarship since the 1980s. Although there are various strands of thinking, a key element to postmodernist theories is a distrust of any account of human life which claims to have direct access to the "truth". Post-modern international relations theory critiques theories like Marxism that provide an overarching metanarrative to history. Key postmodern thinkers include Lyotard, Foucault and Derrida.

Postmodernism is a philosophical concept.

Postmodernism may also refer to:

• Postmodernism (international relations)
• Postmodernism (political science)
• Postmodernism (music)
• Postmodern art