Course
Course 7.5 credits • SASH87
Modernism and postmodernism are well-known concepts characterizing the period from 1789 to the present. Modernism in general includes the ideas behind empirical sciences, anti-idealistic philosophy, liberal democracy, secularism and belief in reason that has emerged since the Enlightenment. Conventionally, modernism and postmodernism are separated into scientific and artistic enterprises.
Teaching – autumn semester of 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our courses and programmes. Teaching and assessment during the first half of the autumn semester 2021 will be conducted both online and on campus. From 1 November more elements will be conducted on campus – the current schedule is available on course websites and/or in Canvas.
This course focuses on the cognitive links between what Foucault called the “human sciences” and aesthetic modernism in the arts including literary criticism. In the dynamic culture of modernism a move towards greater subjectivity was a common feature, however in the human sciences it was modified by a devotion to rationality and scientific progress. In its first phase postmodernism opposed modernism and regarded self and culture as linguistic constructs. Currently a move towards universalism, tradition and religion is articulated among thinkers such as Giorgio Agamben and Slavoj i ek.
The course views modernism and postmodernism primarily as modes of thinking that affirm the power of human beings to create, improve and remake their environment with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and art and thus reshape the world. These modes of thinking and the ideas that constitute them are presented in a historical context.
Study period:
autumn semester 2021
Type of studies:
full time,
day
Study period:
2021-08-31 – 2021-10-07
Language of instruction:
English
Eligibility:
General requirements for university studies in Sweden
Application code:
LU-E1591
Application code:
LU-31251
Introductory meeting: Tuesday, 31 August at 15.15 – 17.30
Teachers:
Victoria Höög