Activity 3: Pushing the boundaries of literature

Activity 3: Pushing the boundaries of literature

Postmodern is one of those words that is familiar to any millennial folk. It is so frequently used that it is often see as a cliché. You might be wondering why are we dealing with postmodernist literature in our English class. Well, I want you to rethink literature and push the boundaries of what you understand as literature. English literature is not only about Shakespeare (don't worry we'll deal with him later on) and the rest of the classics. There are plenty of things going in all the artistic disciplines that are far from being boring. 

*Vaporwave aesthetic & music are a good example of Postmodernism since they combine old elements 
(like Greek sculptures) with contemporary ones (such as digital manipulation of images)

Postmodernism can be defined for its rebellious approach towards social, cultural and artistic boundaries. Nowadays, we might take for granted the actual freedom of the artists, in our society, to express themselves and explore what they want to say through they art. However, there was a time back in the 17th and 18th centuries (that you study in your History class as the Enlightenment period) that was all about unity, cohesion and order... During Romanticism the artists started to go against those static principles, and then the Modernist artists continued this mission. The difference between them and the postmodernists is that postmodernist artists are all about embracing disorder.

Watch the following flipped-classroom video:

Postmodernists tried really hard to break all sort of conventions in the Arts. Think of postmodernist works as a sort of collages, where the authors play with classical texts to subvert them by adding their contemporary perspective on them. The writer Angela Carter and her book "The Bloody Chamber and Other Short Stories" are an illustrative example of this. In this collection of short stories, she revisits well-known folklore tales and fables from a feminist perspective. 

For this reason, you will have to read the following short story by carter that we'll comment on class. Click on the link below:

"The Werewolf", a short story by Angela Carter

Click on the link below to check your understanding of the vocabulary used in the text:

While some other artistic and literary movements tried to separate high and low cultures, Postmodernism mixes them up. Therefore, it can be argued that it challenges the literary canon by refusing to worship the traditional set of "classic" authors and books. In conclusion, Postmodernism has broken down the old school conventions of what what it is "good" or "bad" literature.

Remember my dear students that it is thanks to Postmodernism that Literature classes are now far from being boring!