Hmm maybe a worthwhile document for some quotes...but this was written when I was in high school and imagined myself a great intellectual/was in a rush to finish this project within that understanding of self. Terrible, terrible, terrible.OVERVIEWThe purpose this piece is to discuss postmodernist literature from both a critical and historical perspective. I aim to discover more about a topic not often covered elsewhere in the Australian school curriculum. Academics have had great difficulty in giving a definition of postmodernism that is both thorough and widely accepted. I will instead attempt to give a basic definition based on 'empirical' evidence. I will develop this definition by using my existing knowledge of realist and modernist literature and noting the differences between these and works widely considered to possess postmodern qualities. I will attempt to use appropriately terminology common to studies of postmodernist literature.To aid me with this overarching goal there will be a few, more precise questions. These are:–Who were the practitioner’s of postmodernist literature?– How did postmodernism distinguish itself from earlier literary movements i.e. modernism and realism? (With an emphasis on formal techniques.)– What external forces within society led to the emergence of postmodernism or were reflected in the themes of the resulting works?–What is the importance of postmodernism for today’s literature and, in my personal view, the relevance?This topic, and the approach, is a clear progression from my wider interests in the potential of literature. I see this as an applied study of how literature depicts, if not affects, change in our society. I hope to discover how society, and certain epoch, were defined by literature.
