Culture, (Post)modernity, and Geography 

1. Discussion Question: In your opinion, in which aspects of society and culture has/is modernism most prevalent?

2. Reading Reflection: Solid ONE-page reflection paper about your thoughts on the reading. This could include a brief summary and your opinion. There are not many guidelines or format (e.g., APA, MLS style) for these weekly reading reflection assignments. But please use 12 point font, Times New Roman, and don’t get ridiculous with the margin settings.

Culture, (Post)Modernity, and
Geography

Lecture 3

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect
culture?

“New” Cultural Geography
(1980s – 1990s)

Modern societies

“Old” Cultural Geography
(1980s – 1990s)

Pre-modern societies

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect
culture?

“Postmodern” Cultural Geography
(1990s – 2000s)

Post-modern societies

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect
culture?

Pre-modern – Modern – Post-modernPre-modern ! Modern ! Post-modern

1. Eras
2. Artistic/Aesthetic Styles

3. Philosophical/Theoretical Styles

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect
culture?

Pre-modern – Modern – Post-modern

!

!
!
!

Pre-modern
Era

Modern
Era

Post-modern
Era

?? – 1500s 1500s –
mid-late
1900s

mid-late
1900s –
present

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Pre-modern Era
Widely used descriptions:

– Tradition

– Ritual/religious

– Society was “solid” and
“hard”

‣ Social mobility

‣ Political Structure

‣ Economics

‣ Transportation
Technology

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Modern Era
Widely used descriptions:

– Bureaucratic

– Anonymous

– Rational

– Capitalist

– Society was becoming
“liquid”

‣ Increased movement
of people, things,
and ideas

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Post-modern Era
Widely used descriptions:

– Consumption over
production (post-Fordist)

– Surface over depth

– Ironic detachment (no
larger truth)

– Pastiche (remix culture)

– Society is “gaseous”

‣ Instantaneous
movement of
information

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect
culture?

Pre-modern – Modern – Post-modern

!!
Pre-modern
Art/Culture Modernism Postmodernism

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Pre-

Modern Art/Culture

• Religious

• Political

• Ritualistic

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Modern Art/Culture

• Intellectual

• High Art/High Culture

• Comments/reflects
upon society

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Post-modern Art/Culture

• Boundary between
high and low culture is
blurred

• Pastiche/Re-mix/
Hybrids

• Ironic, blasé attitude
toward society

• Rejection of universal
values (Truth, Justice,
Beauty)

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

How does history affect
culture?
Pre-modern – Modern – Post-modern

!
Modern

Theory/Philosophy

Postmodern

Theory/Philosophy

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Modern Theory/
Philosophy

• Universal/
foundational theories

• Objective truth

• Rational analysis

• Progress/development

• Stability of meaning

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

Post-modern Theory/
Philosophy

• Anti-foundational, local,
contingent

• No TRUTH, only truths

• Rationality seen as a
power play

• Progress and development
seen as a power play

• Meaning is contingent and
fluid – symbols only refer
to other symbols

Michel Foucault

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

So, what is culture in
post-modern theory?

• The metaphor of choice
for culture is “text”

• Texts makes up our entire
world–we do not
experience the world
directly, but only through
texts (words, concepts,
symbols, values)

Jacques Derrida

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

So, what is culture in
post-modern theory?

• Texts are made up of
symbols that never refer
to anything absolute and
concrete–they only refer
to other texts and symbols

• “Floating Signifiers”

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310

So, what’s the upshot?

• Identity politics is necessary
but ultimately irrelevant

• Marxian analyses of culture
fall flat because culture is
not stable and cannot be
controlled easily

• Progressive values become
local commitments instead
of universal truths

Eastern Washington University

CSBS 310