How have modernism and postmodernism affected society’s notions about gender identity?

Are you for or against postmodernism?

• For my final grade 12 essay, we have to write an essay on if we are for or against post modernism. I have decided I am for it but quite honestly I'm not a hundred percent why. Can anyone give me a few reasons why it's either good or bad? Both would be greatly appreciated. Here is my thesis statement: As our world and belief systems are constantly changing, so do our art forms change. Since the 1960’s we have been living in a postmodern world with its specific beliefs about the notions of truth, identity, gender, and belonging. These beliefs manifest themselves in specific ways in postmodern literature and film. Thank you

• Answer:

  Modernism and Postmodernism tend to mean different things, depending on whether you are talking about Art, Morality, or Social Theory. Talking about literature for the moment. The great classic of Modernist literary theory is I A Richards' Practical Criticism (there are works by Leavis, Pound and Eliot which are also important). I A Richards argues that it is important for us to study how language works - because almost everything we know comes from language one way or another. He then suggests that an excellent way to study how language works is by studying literature (since everyone agrees that literature is an example of first class language). So I A Richards (a modernist) says that we need to study literature because language is important, and studying literature is a good way of studying language. That makes sense to me; that sounds like wisdom. A classic of Postmodernist literary theory would be Stanley Fish' Is There a Text in this Class. In Is There a Text in this Class, Professor Fish explains that people study literature because they want to get degrees (to go on to careers in finance or the law). They have to accept as 'literature' whatever their professor tells them to (otherwise they won't get the grades). Fish even gives an example of when he forced a literature class to study random words which had been left on the board from a previous lecture. Postmodernism seems to me just bullying: the people who already have senior academic jobs are able to do anything they like, so they will. What Stanley Fish says isn't very different from the core message of other important Postmodernists: Luce Irigaray (men are evil), Jacques Derrida (words are not important), Michel Foucault (pedophilia is not that big a deal), Jean Baudrillard (politics doesn't matter) - all basically are just bullies abusing the positions of power they have reached. I can't think of anything more evil than postmodernism. I'd say Creation Science - but even that is a postmodern idea.