1. HIST300: Historiography Fall 2012
What Is Postmodernism?
HIST300: Historiography
Fall 2012
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2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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, (accessed October 10, 2011).

5. Michel Foucault Leading French intellectual, historian, psychologist, and philosopher

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

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

8. 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),
Second definition from: I. Lessa (2006). "Discoursive struggles within social welfare: Restaging teen motherhood". British Journal of Social Work 36 (2): 283–298. doi: /bjsw/bch256.

9. 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

10. 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