1. Postmodernism 1945-Present(?)

2. Postmodernism is a reaction to Modernism, the Cold War, and the rise of the Internet
Postmodernism arguably peaked during the 1960s and 1970s, but there is no consensus on whether we have entered a new era.

4. Characteristics of Postmodernism
Fragmentation of identity
Paradox
Unreliable narrators
Irony
Playfulness
Black humor
Paranoia

6. Characteristics of Postmodernism
Pastiche: Imitation of other works and periods.
Intertextuality: Works existing in relation to other works. Example-- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead as a different perspective on Hamlet.
Metafiction: self-consciously drawing attention to a work's status as an artifact

8. Characteristics of Postmodernism
Hyperreality: image saturation and media seem more “real” than unmediated experiences.
Maximalism: excess, redundancy, and the idea of “more is more.”
Blurred distinction between “highbrow” and “lowbrow” art; popular culture in art.
Art as process and performance.

10. Modernist literature sees fragmentation and extreme subjectivity as a problem that must be solved, and the artist is often cited as the one to solve it.
Postmodernists, however, often demonstrate that this chaos is insurmountable; the artist is impotent, and the only recourse against "ruin" is to play within the chaos.

12. Key Postmodern Writers
Thomas Pynchon (US)- Gravity's Rainbow
Kurt Vonnegut (US)- Slaughterhouse-Five
Joseph Heller (US)- Catch-22
Vladimir Nabokov (US)- Lolita
Hunter S Thompson (US)- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Alan Moore (US)- Watchmen

14. Key Postmodern Writers
Chuck Palahnjuk (US)-- Fight Club
David Foster Wallace (US)-- Infinite Jest
Bret Easton Ellis (US)-- American Psycho
Toni Morrison (US)-- Beloved
William S Burroughs (US)-- Naked Lunch