After the New Modernist Studies: Rethinking the Postmodern
Seminar @ Modernism Studies Association, Victoria, BC
Nov. 11-14, 2010
Deadline for Seminar Registration: July 31, 2010

By redefining modernism, the new modernist studies have effectively challenged the ways we have been trained to think about postmodernism (Jameson, Habermas, Lyotard). This seminar seeks to approach a “new postmodernist studies.” Laying aside claims that postmodernism is merely an extension of modernism, or a complete break with it, our project will be to find new ways of defining postmodernism such that we can recognize the variety of postmodern practices and appreciate the historical particularity of their emergence. Is World War II the definitive event for the production of postmodernisms? How important are transformations in global capitalism or the revolutionary political movements of the 1960s? What are the relationships between the postmodern and other “posts” (posthumanism, postcolonialism, poststructuralism)? Does the term postmodern refer to a kind of text or to an affective response? Any and all approaches welcome.

To participate in the seminar, simply register for the MSA conference by following the links at MSA.org and indicate your desire to participate in this session. Admission is on a first come, first serve basis. Seminar participants circulate 5-pager position papers prior to the conference.

The seminar has been organized by Robin Blyn. Questions can be sent to rblyn@uwf.edu.