In 1984 Fredric Jameson publishes Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism in the New Left Review: postmodernism is not a style among others but the cultural dominant of the multinational economy, marked by depthlessness, waning of affect, and pastiche. The essay, expanded into his 1991 book, gives the movement its Marxist account and its most serious internal critic.
Tagged: Postmodernism
The Event
- Date
- 1984 (exact)
- Era
- The Naming; Standard periodization of postmodern history
- Location
- Durham; today Durham, North Carolina
- Traditions
- Postmodernism
- Streams
- Postmodernism
- Key figures
- Fredric Jameson
- Key texts
- Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism
Connections
Primary Sources
- Jameson, Fredric. Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. New Left Review I/146, 1984.
Secondary Sources
- Bertens, Hans. The Idea of the Postmodern: A History. London: Routledge, 1995.
- Hassan, Ihab. The Postmodern Turn. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1987.
- Hutcheon, Linda. A Poetics of Postmodernism. New York: Routledge, 1988.
Provenance: HIST-1446; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-30.
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World View
Postmodernism
Postmodernism doubts every grand story that claims to explain everything; it treats truth as shaped by language, culture, and power rather than simply discovered.