1950 Present How Did it Come About The aftermath of WW II ushered in an age of rapid developments in science and technology The postwar years offered many Americans increased opportunities for economic and cultural growth but the individual person seems lost in the fastpaced computerize ID: 252288
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Contemporary Literature" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Contemporary Literature
1950 – PresentSlide2
How Did it Come About?
The aftermath of WW II ushered in an age of rapid developments in science and technology.
The postwar years offered many Americans increased opportunities for economic and cultural growth, but the individual person seems lost in the fast-paced, computerized world.Slide3
Contemporary fiction
Contemporary fiction allows for multiple meanings and multiple worlds, uses nontraditional forms, and comments upon itself.
However, it embraces traditional storytellers as well as postmodern risk-takers.
It features cultural diversity, criss-crosses the boundaries between fiction and nonfiction, and uses subjects, images, and themes from the past fearlessly.Slide4
Contemporary Nonfiction
Contemporary nonfiction has become a field equal to fiction, though questions about terminology and accuracy still give rise to controversy.
New Journalism (or Literary Journalism) has added personal and fictional elements to nonfiction, enhancing its popularity with today’s readers.Slide5
Contemporary Poetry
By the early 1950s, many writers and readers felt that modernist poetry – impersonal, allusive, difficult – was no longer appropriate. The times called for a more personal and accessible approach that challenged complacency and convention.
Landmarks in the revolt against modernist poetry included poems by Alan Ginsberg, Sylvia Plath, and Ann Sexton.Slide6
Contemporary Literature (1945-present)
Historical Context:
The British Empire declines.
The legacy of the WWII, especially the Holocaust, the American A-bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki inform much of the literature of the earlier period; literature reflects a sense of psychic exhaustion resulting from the trauma and deprivation of the war years.
Increased immigration is brought about by the need for a larger workforce; racism becomes an issue.
Cold War develops between the Allies and the USSR.
Changes take place in class structure, social hierarchy, gender identity, the role of women, moral values, attitudes towards family.
World grows smaller due to advances in technology; media culture interprets values and events for individuals; world enters a new milleniumSlide7
Contemporary Literature (1945-present)
The key social, political, and cultural changes in Britain, and in the world, since the WWII has had a profound impact on literature.
Established notions of the literary have been challenged from a previously marginalized perspectives (e.g., feminist, post-colonial).
The thematic and linguistic range of literature has widened; a more liberal cultural climate allowed greater freedom in the representation of sexuality and sexual orientation.
By 1970’s, the departure from traditional narrative modes gained momentum, shifting away from traditional realism to magic realism, leading to post-modernism.Slide8
Contemporary Literature (1945-present)
Fragmentary, non-linear narrative structures, increasingly adopted throughout the 70’s and 80’s mirrored the period’s gradual breakdown of political and cultural consensus.
Mass genocide and the still-present nuclear threat led writers to reassess the validity of what postmodern theorists called “grand narratives”, stories or myths that offer a single, coherent view of the world.