postmodernity

Postmodernity is a term used to describe a social, cultural, and intellectual condition associated with late 20th-century Western societies and characterized by skepticism toward universal explanations, a mixing of styles, and a suspicion of fixed meanings. It is often presented as a departure from modernity, though some scholars treat it as an ongoing extension of modern ideas rather than a clean break.

In theory, postmodernity emerges from critiques of grand narratives and universal truths. Thinkers such as Jean-François Lyotard argued that knowledge has become no longer unified by overarching stories; Jean Baudrillard discussed simulacra and hyperreality; Jacques Derrida developed deconstruction; Michel Foucault analyzed power-knowledge regimes. These ideas influenced disciplines from philosophy to sociology, literature, and art.

Cultural production in this frame tends toward pluralism, intertextuality, pastiche, irony, and the democratization of meaning. Aesthetic practices often mix high and low culture and foreground the processes of interpretation. In architecture and media, postmodern sensibilities challenged functionalist forms and embraced fragmentation, bricolage, and simulacra in the sense of simulated realities rather than direct representations.

Scholars debate its status: some view postmodernity as a historical era or condition distinct from modernity, while others see it as a posture within late capitalism and globalization. Critics argue that postmodernism can foster relativism, political disengagement, or stylistic surface without substance, while supporters see it as a critical tool for resisting totalizing narratives and for enabling plural voices in complex societies.