Information on the Contemporary Literary Period?

Question: Information on the Contemporary Literary Period!?

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Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

There's not really an academic period called the "Contemporary Literary Period!." That's sort of a made up a term I first saw on your question about 451!.

Most scholars agree that we are still in the period called Post-modernism!. Which is basically a simultaneous continuation of and reaction to modernism!. If you dig down the right rabbit hole you'll find a lot of commentary saying that WW2 caused a psychotic break in the mind of society and that's the primary cause for post-modernism, another rabbit hole will generally try to tell you that post-modernism doesn't even exist and literature as art died with modernism!. It's a slippery slope to be sure!.

Right now one of the most interesting things happening is that we seem to finally be leaving post-modernism!. Literary periods are always a reaction to society, and oddly enough seem to transition with wars!. Many scholars are beginning to look for and theorize that globalization and the Iraq wars are causing a new literary movement to emerge that focuses more on universal ideas than the characteristic self-obsessed nature that marks most works of post-modernism!.

Since it's impossible to understand one without the other I'm going to post some of the more noticeable and important characteristics of each period below!. These are straight from my lecture notes and paper research:

Modernism:
Themes:1) Breakdown of social norms and cultural surities
2) Alenation of the individual
3) Valorizes the despairing, disillusioned individual or artist
4) The Metropolis
5) Decadence, Death, Decay
6) Fragementation of meaning
7) Art and the artist as the subject

Formal Characteristics:
1) Stream of Consciousness
2) juxtaposition of high and low culture
3) Intertextuality
4) Borrowing from other cultures
5) unconventional use of metaphor
6) Texts as riddle or labyrinth
7) Intellectual, aceademic, elit audience

Post-Modernism:
Characteristics of Postmodernism
The characteristics of Postmodernism as a literary period includes all of the elements of Modernism (The exception is the elite audience, post-modernism aims at everyone as an audience, largely because it emerged at the fortunate time in history when most people were literate!.)!. New elements include the following:
1!. THE WORLD IS COMPLEX AND UNCERTAIN
reality is not fixed; everything is in flux
everything is in question; no reason to emphasize one thing over another
string theory, chaos theory
2!. ALL TRUTH IS RELATIVE
there is no immutable truth; all depends on one’s viewpoint
all “isms” fail to properly explain things; rejection of all metanarratives
morality is relative
representations are the fiction of a specific point of view
3!. IMPROVED FRAGMENTATION
fragmentation is good, not bad
ambiguity is normal
deconstructed, decentered narratives
truth can only be made of fragments
4!. PLURALISM
preference for the local and specific over the universal and abstract
lack of consensus in matters of taste
the views of small groups are just as important/valid
renewed interest in storytelling
5!. LANGUAGE CANNOT ACCESS REALITY
language is merely a collection of signs; culture is saturated with signs
language constructs and reveals a subjective reality
language and texts are contradictory; embraces contradiction
all texts have blind spots and paradoxes that reveal meaning
6!. REJECTING ALL BOUNDARIES
violating the conventional narrative
there is no “high” or “low” culture
breakdown between artist and audience
destroying suspension of disbelief
moving beyond the traditional genres
stylistic preferences for hybridity, pastiche, bricolage, montage, parody, irony, the jump cut, graffiti, etc!.
7!. THE SIMULACRUM
Technically, a simulacrum is an image, representation; an insubstantial, superficial, or vague likeness or semblance!.
The simulacrum may reflect basic reality, mask or pervert basic reality, reveal the absence of a basic reality, or bear no relation to any basic reality (be “pure”)!.
Border between art and reality vanishes; state of “hyperreality” where images interbreed without reference to reality or meaning!.

I hope that helps, and isn't confusing!. It's, honest to god, straight out of my most recent notes, so some of it may be "short hand," but it shouldn't be too bad!. I'm not creative enough for undecipherable note taking!. If you have any questions about any of the terms, or concepts just email me and I'll dig through the rest of my stuff to help you understand!. Have fun!

(And remember, just like science, understanding "literature" is 90% understanding vocabulary!. You get that down, and your set!)Www@QuestionHome@Com