Markthetripper wrote:Does anyone have a good book suggestion concerning Post-modernism? I would really like to understand modernity and post-modernity on a deeper level. So I am looking for books that you have read that really help to see where these ideas come from and what they mean. I am interested in the philosophical side of it, but also would like to read somthing that encompasses the visual arts and other aesthetics.
This seemed to me to be a tricky subject: Postmodernism is often described as undefinable and post-modernists refrain from defining anything. Sarah Palin is often described as a post-modernist politician....have you read any of her books?
Definition in Nature there be....however.
Chad
Markthetripper wrote:Does anyone have a good book suggestion concerning Post-modernism? I would really like to understand modernity and post-modernity on a deeper level. So I am looking for books that you have read that really help to see where these ideas come from and what they mean. I am interested in the philosophical side of it, but also would like to read somthing that encompasses the visual arts and other aesthetics.
Mark -- consider taking or auditing a course, perhaps philosophy or literature, on post-modernism. I did -- can't say that I totally understand, but was very interesting. For a sense of post-modern literature, try
Top Girls by Caryl Churchill
Maps by Nuruddin Farah
Postmodern American Fiction by Paula Geyh, Fred G. Leebron, Andrew Levy (editors)
Poems for the Millennium by Jerome Rothenberg, Pierre Joris (Editors)
Although I have at least one text on Postmodernism on my shelf, I would not particularly recommend it for an overview. If you want to stay on the self-exploration route, I would suggest visiting your local library and pulling several books on the subject that look as if they might appeal, scan their TOCs and a bit about the authors, as well as the text if you have the time, then check out and spend time with a couple of them. Good luck. Would love to hear back on what you find useful.
(We visited the Museum of Modern Art and had a curator lecture as a part of our course, as well as several academic papers to study. We also watched a couple of movies.)
