‘Postmodernismus’: Ein begriffsgeschichtlicher Überblick

Abstract

The essay traces the development in American criticism of the concept of ‘postmodemity’ and discusses the relative merit of the various definitions it received. Like its Spanish equivalent ‘postmodernismo’ the English ‘postmodernism’ is primarily used as a technical term in literary history. Introduced by Arnold Toynbee in the context of general history in the late forties, the term was applied to the study of literature by Irving Howe and Harry Levin in the late fifties. In their estimate post-war writing — which they dubbed ‘postmodern’ — was a mere decline from Modernist achievements. Since the mid-sixties, however, a more positive assessment has prevailed. Critics such as Leslie Fiedler, Ihab Hassan, William Spanos and David Antin have maintained that a good deal of recent writing cannot any longer be judged by Modernist standards, since it establishes a new period style, i. e. postmodernism, with a poetics of its own. At the same time a similar reappraisal of recent developments was initiated in other disciplines, notably in art and dance criticism and sociology. Despite persisting controversies as to what constitutes the characteristic traits of the new era, the term ‘postmodern’ is now generally applied to all cultural phenomena which have emerged roughly since the second World War and are indicative of a change in sensibility and attitude, making the present an age ‘post the Modern.’

Ergänzende Literaturangaben zu diesem Beitrag wurden in die Bibliographie zum Beitrag Hoffmann/Hornung/Kunow, “‘Modern,’ ‘Postmodern’ and ‘Contemporary’ as Criteria for the Analysis of 20th Century Literature”, aufgenommen — s. u., S. 40 ff. (Anm. d. Red.)