Christopher Isherwood
Postmodernism and the sentimentum
The recoil of the sublime in 18th century war
rhetorique
The
first
thing
to
note
about
the
term
“postmodernism” is that, unqualified, it signifies
both that which has somehow gone beyond the modern –
that is, socio-economic, political, scientific and
philosophical
modernity
(“post-modern/ism”),
the
revolution in the arts in the first decades of the
twentieth century. While this ambiguity may lead to
agonizing debates, it also reflects the fact that
postmodernist
cultural
practices
respond
to
postmodern society and are, to varying extents, awake
to postmodern philosophies and postmodern politics.
Still, I suggest that we try, for reasons of clarity
and to the extent that it is possible, to distinguish
between aspects of society and philosophy, using for
those the words “postmodern” and “postmodernity”, and
aspects of artistic production, using for those the
words “postmodernist” and “postmodernism”. I will try
to stick with this distinction in what follows. The
first thing to note about the term “postmodernism” is
that, unqualified, it signifies both that which has
somehow gone beyond the modern – that is, socioeconomic, political, scientific and philosophical
modernity (“post-modern/ism”). While this ambiguity
may lead to agonizing debates, it also reflects the
fact that postmodernist cultural practices respond to
postmodern society and are, to varying extents, awake
to postmodern philosophies and postmodern politics.
Still, I suggest that we try, for reasons of clarity
and to the extent that it is possible, to distinguish
between aspects of society and philosophy, using for
those the words “postmodern” and “postmodernity”, and
aspects of artistic production, using for those the
words “postmodernist” and “postmodernism”. I will try
to stick with this distinction in what follows.
ACTA UNIVERSITATIS GOTHOBURGENSIS
GOTHENBURG STUDIES IN ENGLISH 85
Distributor: Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis
Box 222, SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
ISSN 0072-503x
ISBN 1211391411