Metamodernism

Postmodernism
Preceded by Modernism
Postmodernity
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Metamodernism is the term for a cultural discourse and paradigm that has emerged after postmodernism. It refers to new forms of contemporary art and theory that respond to modernism and postmodernism and integrate aspects of both together. Metamodernism reflects an oscillation between, or synthesis of, different "cultural logics" such as modern idealism and postmodern skepticism, modern sincerity and postmodern irony, and other seemingly opposed concepts.[1]

Philosophically, metamodern advocates agree with many postmodern critiques of modernism (for example, highlighting gender inequality); however, they often contend that postmodern deconstruction and critical analytic strategies fall short in facilitating desired resolutions. Metamodern scholarship initially focused on interpretting art in this vein and established a foundation for the field, particularly through observing the growing blend of irony and sincerity (or post-irony) in society.[2] Later authors have explored metamodernism in other disciplines as well, with many frequently drawing on Integral Theory in their approach.[3][4]

The term "metamodern" first appeared as early as 1975, when scholar Mas'ud Zavarzadeh used it to describe emerging American literature from the mid-1950s,[5] and later notably in 1999 when Moyo Okediji applied the term to contemporary African-American art as an "extension of and challenge to modernism and postmodernism."[6] It wasn't until Vermeulen and van den Akker's 2010 essay "Notes on Metamodernism" that the subject garnered broader attention within academia.[7]

A pendulum swinging back and forth.
To describe "the structure of feeling" of metamodernism, Vermeulen and van den Akker use the metaphor of a pendulum continually oscillating from the sincere seriousness of modernism to the ironic playfulness of postmodernism.[8][9][10]
  1. ^ "What Is Metamodernism? | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  2. ^ Stoev, Dina (2022). "Metamodernism or Metamodernity". Arts. 11 (5): 91. doi:10.3390/arts11050091.
  3. ^ Rowson, Jonathan, ed. (2021). Dispatches from a Time Between Worlds: Crisis and Emergence in Metamodernity. London: Perspectiva Press. ISBN 978-1914568046.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Zavarzadeh, Mas'ud (1975). "The Apocalyptic Fact and the Eclipse of Fiction in Recent American Prose Narratives". Journal of American Studies. Vol. 9, no. 1. pp. 69–83. ISSN 0021-8758. JSTOR 27553153.
  6. ^ Okediji, Moyo (1999). Harris, Michael (ed.). Transatlantic Dialogue: Contemporary Art In and Out of Africa. Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina. pp. 32–51. ISBN 9780295979335. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  7. ^ Vermeulen, Timotheus; van den Akker, Robin (2010). "Notes on metamodernism". Journal of Aesthetics & Culture. 2 (1): 5677. doi:10.3402/jac.v2i0.5677. ISSN 2000-4214.
  8. ^ Kovalova, Mariia; Alforova, Zoya; Sokolyuk, Lyudmyla; Chursin, Oleksandr; Obukh, Liudmyla (18 October 2022). "The digital evolution of art: current trends in the context of the formation and development of metamodernism" (PDF). Revista Amazonia Investiga. 11 (56): 114–123. doi:10.34069/AI/2022.56.08.12. ISSN 2322-6307. S2CID 253834353.
  9. ^ Vermeulen, Timotheus; van den Akker, Robin (2010). "Notes on metamodernism". Journal of Aesthetics & Culture. 2 (1): 8. doi:10.3402/jac.v2i0.5677. ISSN 2000-4214. S2CID 164789817.
  10. ^ Kersten & Wilbers 2018, p. 719.