A POETICS OF

POSTMODERNISM
By Linda Hutcheon

PRESENTER
S
ZAIN ZAFAR ABDULLAH
QUDSIA MINAHIL
WAJEEHA TEHREEM
Chapter no 7

Historiographic Metafiction: "the

pastime of past time"
Historiography

 Study of how history was written, who wrote it, and what factors
influenced how it was written

 It helps us why historical events have been interpreted so

differently overtime

 FOR EXAMPLE

 Studying the way historians all over the world recorded the
discovery of America, and how and why this has changed over
time
Metafiction

 Metafiction is a type of story that talks about itself as a story. It

reminds the reader what they are reading is fiction, not real life.

 It shows how a story is made, often by breaking the usual rules

of storytelling.

 FOR EXAMPLE

 Dead pool (2016) - movie

 Slaughterhouse five - novel

Meta narrative (Grand narrative)

 A big, over-arching story or idea that people use to explain and

make sense of the world

 FOR EXAMPLE

 Religion, science, etc

Historiographic Metafiction

 Form of postmodern literature that blends historical events with

fiction.

 This term was coined by Linda Hutcheon to describe works that

combine metafiction with a focus on historical events
(historiography)

 It makes us think that whether history is always truthful or just

someone's version of the past.

 Linda states that what we consider "historical truth" is subjective

and influenced by the person telling the story.
Challenges single historical truth

 States that postmodernism questions the idea of singular

historical truth.

 Historiographic metafiction points out that history is not an

objective recounting of facts but rather a narrative constructed
from subjective interpretations.
Multiple histories, not a single truth

 No single, definitive history

 Inclusion of marginalized histories

 Opens the door to a more pluralistic understanding of past

History as a narrative

 Both history and fiction are forms of narrative

 Historians alter reality

 FOR EXAMPLE

 Michael Coetzee's novel 'foe'

 Margaret Atwood's novel 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Subjectivity of historical accounts

 History is shaped by those in power

 There can be multiple versions of "truth"

Blurring of fact and fiction

 Historiographic metafiction blurs the line between what is real

and what is imagined.

 Narratives are constructed just like stories

 FOR EXAMPLE

 Salman Rushdie's "Midnights Children"

Paradoxical representation of Past

 The stories use history but also questions it.

 Reminds reader that events might not be presented as absolute

truth

 FOR EXAMPLE

 Julian Barnes "Flaubert Parrot"

 "The English Patient" by Michael Ondatjee

Conclusion

 Historiographic metafiction challenges the idea that history is a

simple collection of facts, showing that it is often a constructed
narrative, much like fiction and is shaped by interpretation
Chapter 8

Intertextuality, parody and the

discourses of history
Intertextuality in postmodernism

 Refers to how a text connects by referencing or borrowing ideas,

stories or styles.

 IMPORTANCE

 Shows no text is completely original

 Helps postmodernism challenge traditional ideas.

Parody

 Imitates and slightly changes previous text to both celebrate and

critique them

 IMPORTANCE

 Allows authors to highlight hidden issues in older works

 EXAMPLE

 The French Lieutenants Women - novel

Intertextuality and Parody together

Multiple layers of meanings

 When both use together, create layers of meanings

 Ask readers to think critically about the past and the present

Challenging Historical Accuracy

 Historical "truth" is not fixed

 FOR EXAMPLE

 "Possession" by A.S Byatt

How these critique society

Representation and power

 Support powerful groups and exclude others

Gave voice to the marginalized

 Postmodern text often tell the stories of marginalized peoples.

 FOR EXAMPLE

 "Beloved" by Toni Morrison

Conclusion

 Active participation of reader in postmodern text

 Engagement with different layers of references, questioning the

meaning of truth and what they are reading.

 History is something that can be constantly reinterpreted.

Chapter no 9

problem of reference
 Changing Views on Language and
History
 In short, the net effect of thought about language, in
the twentieth century, with its rejection of essence
and such founding principles of history as causality
and sufficient reason, has been to evacuate history
from discourse. And with this evacuation the very idea
of reference becomes problematic. (Allen Thiher)

 Shifted away from fixed truths and questioned historical

concepts like causality.
 Made history difficult to include in discussions; reference
became uncertain.
From Modernism to
Postmodernism
 Evolution from modernist art to
postmodern literature (American
Surfiction, Italian Gruppo
63).Critique of realism and social
norms; blending of fiction with
documentary elements.
 Historiographic Metafiction

 Blurs boundaries between history and fiction.

 Literature shapes and questions how history is
understood.
 Examples: Doctor Copernicus, Kepler by John
Banville.
Structuralism and Language

 Saussurian Structuralism: Language forms meaning

through relationships, not direct links to reality.

 Post-Structuralism: Challenges traditional

understanding of how language conveys meaning
(Derrida, Foucault).
Role of Names in Literature

•Names and narratives shape identity (e.g., China

Men, Song of Solomon).

•Postmodern works explore the power and meaning

of names, linking them to historical and cultural
forces.
Critique of Simplified Models of
Reference

 Hutcheon criticizes oversimplified reference

models (e.g., bi-referentiality).
 Proposes a multi-layered model of reference:
within the text, self-referencing, intertextual,
and interpretive.
 Conclusion: Postmodernism’s
Challenge to Traditional Reference

 Postmodern fiction blurs the line between history and

fiction.

 Reference is not fixed; it's questioned and reshaped by the

text and context.
Chapter no 10

Subject is/of /to history and his story

Postmodernism and the Concept
of the "Subject"

 Individuals play a continuous, central role in shaping history.

 Postmodernism, influenced by thinkers like Foucault and Derrida,
challenges this, viewing identity as fragmented and shaped by social
and historical forces.
Decentering the Subject

 The subject is no longer seen as unified or central to history.

 Postmodernism places identity within specific contexts (race,
gender, class)
Feminist Critique of Identity

 Feminist theorists (e.g., Luce Irigaray) argue traditional

views of the subject focus on a male-centered, Western
ideal.

 Both men and women are shaped by cultural systems;

identity is constructed, not stable or independent.
Impact on History and Identity

 Postmodernism challenges the humanist idea of a unified

subject in history, focusing on discontinuity.

 History is not a smooth, unified story centered on

individuals but is shaped by random events (Foucault).
Identity in Postmodern Literature

 The White Hotel and Midnight’s Children challenge traditional

views of identity, especially gender and sexuality.

 Identity is shown as unstable and shaped by history and

society, not a fixed, unified concept.
 Feminism in Literature

 The White Hotel critiques the "male gaze" and shows how women can
engage with and create meaning.

 Feminist theory questions fixed ideas about gender, showing identity as

fragmented and socially constructed.
Critique of Unified Identity

 Identity is shaped by societal narratives; the novel questions

traditional storytelling and critiques humanist ideals.

 Deep connections between identity, history, and gender are

emphasized.
Chapter No 11

Discourse, Power,
Ideology: Humanism
and Postmodernism
The interplay of Ideology and
Historiography in Postmodern fiction
• Ideology is a process of meaning production linked to
power structures, influencing how we live and
perceive in social order.

• Postmodern fiction challenges the boundary between

history and fiction.

• Postmodernism critiques realism for its ideological

limitations, using irony, intertextuality and innovation
to blend aesthetic and political ideas in fiction.
Postmodernism and Humanism

• Hutcheon argues that postmodernism challenges traditional humanist

assumptions about objective truth and universal values. Postmodernism
questions the notion of stable self.

• Postmodernist decenters the autonomous subject of Humanism and

traditional notions of free will and individualism.

• Hutcheon challenges the authority of grand narratives by rejecting the

idea of universal truth and objective knowledge.

• Postmodern parody and irony can function as political strategies to

subvert dominant discourses. Hutcheon also argued that these strategies
can be ambivalent.
Postmodern’s critique of Humanism:
Paradoxes and challenges
• Postmodernism rejects Humanism’s timeless, rational and universally
valid ideas.

• Thinkers like Althusser and writers like Thomas Pynchon and Salman
Rushdie critique Humanism’s essentialist view of individuals and its
alignment with power structures.

• Postmodernism highlights instability and fragmentation and sees cultural

representation as tied to power dynamics.

• Postmodernsim not only critiques but also depends on Humanism, leaving

many dissatisfied with its lack of resolution.
Postmodern’s Challenge to
traditional narratives
• Postmodernism contests the idea of neutrality in discourse, emphasizing
language’s power to shape reality.

• Postmodernism questions the objectivity of history and literature,

highlighting ideological influences and narrative constructions.

• Postmodernism involves critical revisiting of history, acknowledges

ideological forces and biases and contesting traditional views.

• Postmodernists argue that language and narratives are inherently neutral,

challenging neutral discourses and dominant narratives.
Postmodernism and Marginality

• Linda examines how marginalized challenge centralized authority;

intersections of race, gender ethnicity and sexual preferences.

• Postmodernism rejects binary oppositions( male/female, center/margin

etc) and asserts plurality using gender as a model for other power
dynamics.

• Postmodern fiction links past and present, exposing social inequalities

around race, gender and class.

• Linda emphasizes the inherent ideological nature of art, underlining

connection between aesthetics and politics, particularly for marginalized
groups.
Chapter No 12

Political Double-
Talk
Postmodernism’s Paradoxical nature

• Postmodernism combines complicity and critique, embracing

contradiction and leading to complex interpretations.

• Postmodernism employs irony, self-reflection, and historical awareness

to critique both past and present.

• Postmodernism highlights the intersection of cultural politics and real-

life politics, challenging traditional separations.

• Postmodernism emerged from the 1960s' movements (civil rights,

feminism) and ethos of questioning authority.
Complicity, Critique and Ambiguity

• Postmodern art and thought can be interpreted in radically

opposite ways, reflecting its paradoxical nature and double-
coded meaning.

• Postmodernism is politically ambivalent, open to appropriation

by diverse ideologies, challenging Habermas's view of it as
neoconservative.

• Postmodernism questions conventional truth standards,

problematizes history and tradition, and draws on Brechtian
models of confrontation and resistance.
Postmodernism and Marxism: Complexities,
Contrasts, and Shared Concerns

• Marxists view postmodernism as either radical/subversive or complicit

in capitalist culture, with some criticizing its irony and parody as
"unserious.“

• Postmodern art challenges humanist notions of

authenticity/originality and capitalist logic, using parody/self-
referential techniques to question economic underpinnings.

• Both Marxism and postmodernism critique dominant ideologies and

focus on social/historical contexts, but postmodernism refuses
totalizing solutions, emphasizing contradictions/multiple
interpretations.

• 4. Postmodernism challenges totalizing systems, while Marxism

prioritizes class struggle, sometimes marginalizing other struggles
(gender, race, sexuality); postmodernism's irony/demystification
contrasts with Marxism's dialectical materialism.
Postmodernism and Modernism

• Toril Moi's critique of Julia Kristeva highlights paradoxes in

postmodernism's ideological positioning, cautioning against
romanticizing it as inherently oppositional.

• Modernism was often politically engaged, contrary to Terry Eagleton's

view, with figures like Pound, Eliot, and Brecht challenging institutions
and conventions.

• Brecht's self-reflexivity and revolutionary praxis contrast with

postmodernism's non-Utopian future orientation and exploitation of
societal contradictions.

• 4. Postmodern art, historiographic metafiction, and Brechtian epic

theater encourage critical audience engagement, disrupting traditional
narratives and problematizing boundaries between art, life, and ideology.
Chapter No 13

A Poetics or
Problematics?
Poetics and Problematics

• Hutcheon argues that postmodernism is more aptly

described as a problematics—a set of questions,
concerns, and challenges that are raised within
literature and culture.

• Postmodernism, she contends, is characterized by its

focus on problematizing conventional norms,
categories, and boundaries
• Hutcheon argues that postmodernism interrogates and
reinterprets traditional narrative forms and conventions. It does
not reject them outright but instead engages with them critically.

• Hutcheon advocates for an inclusive approach to

postmodernism, recognizing diverse voices and perspectives
that contribute to the richness of cultural discourse.

• She posits that postmodernism reflects both continuity with and

divergence from modernist traditions, illustrating how these
movements influence one another.

• She emphasizes the paradoxical nature of postmodernism,

where meaning is both constructed and deconstructed. This
duality challenges the notion of absolute truths or singular
interpretations.
Any
Questions!