HIST300: Historiography Fall 2012 What Is Postmodernism? HIST300: Historiography Fall 2012 Template by PresenterMedia.com.

The “Ages” of Western Historiography Premodernism From Herodotus to the 1700s History not yet an academic discipline (no citations, primarily broad narratives or chronicles, etc.) Modernism From the 1700s to the 1940s History becomes its own discipline (with an emphasis on empiricism, objectivity, ethical standards, etc.) Focused on nationalism and “great white men” First appearance of specific schools of thought (e.g. Marx) Postmodernism From the 1940s to the present Post-war reaction against nationalism, “absolute truth,” etc. Focuses on marginalized groups (women, ethnic minorities, etc.) Questions how we understand language

Definitions of Postmodernism 1. Postmodernism is a philosophical and intellectual worldview that rejects absolute truth, because “reality is unrepresentable;” we must question objectivity and embrace subjectivity, particularly as it pertains to language First definition from: Callum G. Brown, Postmodernism for Historians (New York: Pearson Longman, 2005), Introduction.

Definitions of Postmodernism 1. Postmodernism is a philosophical and intellectual worldview that rejects absolute truth, because “reality is unrepresentable;” we must question objectivity and embrace subjectivity, particularly as it pertains to language 2. Postmodernism insists on “subverting, resisting, opposing, or countering features of modernism,” which includes “suspicion and rejection of ‘master narratives’” First definition from: Callum G. Brown, Postmodernism for Historians (New York: Pearson Longman, 2005), Introduction. Second definition from: The Po-Mo Page, http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/theory/pomo.html (accessed October 10, 2011).

Michel Foucault Leading French intellectual, historian, psychologist, and philosopher http://cruciality.wordpress.com/2009/10/01/michel-foucaults-madness-and-civilisation/michel-foucault/

Two of His Key Contributions 1. Power and knowledge as social constructions

Two of His Key Contributions 1. Power and knowledge as social constructions 2. Discourse as the defining force in shaping human behavior

Definition of Discourse 1. A message imbedded in language that claims to be truth in such a way as to become obviously true to the viewer, and in so doing, this message has power over cultures and societies 2. A “system of thoughts composed of ideas, attitudes, courses of action, beliefs and practices that systematically construct the subjects and the worlds of which they speak” First definition from: Callum G. Brown, Postmodernism for Historians (New York: Pearson Longman, 2005), 61-63. Second definition from: I. Lessa (2006). "Discoursive struggles within social welfare: Restaging teen motherhood". British Journal of Social Work 36 (2): 283–298. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch256.

Postmodern Challenges Is all data ultimately textual and, if so, what are its implications? Should history be written primarily according to literary rules and, if so, what are they? What is the significant difference between literary and figurative speech in history and how does it create historical meaning? Can history ever exist beyond discourse? Is history what happened, or what historians tell us happened? Alun Munslow, “What History Is,” 2001 From http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Whatishistory/munslow6.html.

Summary of Key Points The “linguistic turn” signaled the coming of postmodernism Postmodernists… …Consider “authorial presence” to be a significant force …Emphasize the importance of language (i.e. semiotics) …Believe in the absence of one, absolute truth …Are suspicious of “meta-narratives” …Believe that our worldview (i.e. discourse) inescapably shapes our interpretations of events Postmodern thought has affected many disciplines, including history, literary criticism, psychology, philosophy, and others