by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: January 30, 2009

Postmodernism is a cultural, intellectual and artistic movement which developed out of the disillusionment with modernism which had dominated society during the first half of the twentieth century. Modernism was characterised by a general sense of optimism and belief in science, technology, and the unstoppable force of progress. Postmodernism really gained ground in the 1960s and 1970s when society was undergoing profound change as deindustrialisation intensified and individualism and consumerism permeated society. Postmodernism seemed to offer a fresh new perspective on all areas of life, including the academic discipline of History.

Postmodernism for Historians enabled them to reject the pursuit of a 'universal truth'. Historians had always been aware of their limitations, since they could only work with the primary sources available, but postmodernism opened up more sources, enabling them to explore different people's experience of the past.

Academic disciplines such as History had continued to be very much influenced by their nineteenth-century forebears when it came to approaching their discipline. The nineteenth century had provided History with academic validity as it became increasingly systematic and evidence-led, but it was narrow in scope, something which continued into the twentieth century. Postmodernism seemed to offer Historians the possibility of being able to examine sources which had formerly been rejected and to investigate the pasts of ordinary people, not just at the lives of 'great' leaders.

Postmodernism allowed Historians to incorporate different aspects from other disciplines into their own studies of the past. Postmodernism opened History up to become a more interdisciplinary subject, as it took on board theories and frameworks provided by subjects including sociology, geography, anthropology, archaeology, English literature, and so on.

The idea that Historians could no longer hope to find an all-encompassing, universal truth about the past, and the opening up of a different range of sources enabled Historians to look at different kinds of histories in order to build a more comprehensive picture of the past. The focus was no longer simply on great battles and major political decisions taken by powerful, white men. An interest in reclaiming the pasts of ordinary people, including those of the working classes, women, indigenous peoples and immigrants meant that History became more inclusive.

Postmodernism has enabled Historians to provide a voice for those who had formerly been erased from the Historical record, and has enabled groups who may have been discriminated against or targeted to recognise their own place within the past and to shape their relationship with the present.

There has been some criticism of postmodernism for being too theoretical and for undermining History. This is because postmodern Historians recognise the limitations of primary sources as being subjective and selective, and providing a very narrow view of the past. Postmodern Historians also recognise this of themselves. They, too, take a selective approach to the sources they use and the point of view they take.

This could be seen to undermine the legitimacy of History, but in reality subjectivity always has been, and probably always will be, a part of most academic disciplines. Surely it is better for Historians to recognise that their own perceptions and preconceptions have shaped their historical accounts. If other Historians disagree with a particular narrative or want to interpret the sources differently, there is nothing to stop them. In the end, the more secondary literature there is on a subject, the more comprehensive our picture of the past will be.

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