Is Postmodernism Possible Outside the ‘West’? The Case of Greece*

Gregory Jusdanis

doi:10.1179/030701387790203109

Is Postmodernism Possible Outside the ‘West’? The Case of Greece*

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 January 2016

Gregory Jusdanis

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Gregory Jusdanis*: Affiliation:
Indiana University

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The term postmodernism has established itself securely in the discourse on art and literature of the last two decades. The postmodern along with the poststructural and postindustrial are concepts frequently used to designate the art, thought, and condition of our age. They all suggest a break not only in our aesthetic but also in our culture. The prefix ‘post’ seems to be much more final that the word ‘beyond’, in that we are no longer moving beyond modernism but actually find ourselves after it, on the other side looking back nostalgically and reflecting hopefully on what lies ahead. This term has become significant in our attempt to come to grips with recent developments in our culture. It remains, however, a notoriously elusive concept, probably one of the most difficult to appropriate within manageable limits. It is still (and will be for some time) the object of critical debate since the discussions about it are taking place within its still undefined boundaries. While one may propose with relative security an outline of modernism, it is extremely difficult to provide a definition of its successor. One critic’s eclecticism is another’s neoconservative pastiche. Some celebrate it as the dawn of a new and brave episteme while others condemn it for its betrayal of modernism’s experimental and adversary values. Implicit in this debate are issues concerning not just this term but the autonomy of art, its institutional status, and the relationship of high to popular culture.

Type: Research Article
Information: Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies , Volume 11 , 1987 , pp. 69 - 92

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/030701387790203109 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © The Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, University of Birmingham 1987

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