HIS 227 / PSC 227, POWER AND AUTHORITY
IN NONWESTERN SOCIETIES

SPRING SEMESTER 2003

ASSIGNMENT TWENTY
DUE: FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2003

The term "modern" is commonly used in reference to the contemporary scene -- we live in "modern" times; we see ourselves as "modern" people. The word also can be applied to an entire historic period: the "modern" era (as opposed to ancient times or the medieval world of the past). In another dimension, the term refers to the end product of the modernization process as we currently experience it, the result of an ongoing process of change, growth and development taking place within a given cultural setting and occurring over time.

Given these three disperate associations for the term "modern", describe what the word "postmodern" currently conveys to you personally as we begin a discussion of the concept as it plays itself out in the current Japanese cultural setting. What does the word itself imply? Can you provide specific examples of something you might label "postmodern"? Why might the term have developed and to what effect?

In class we will discuss these initial ideas and attempt to arrive at a common understanding of some of the basic tenets associated with this concept as a meaningful category of analysis. Taken seriously, this exercise should provide a benchmark against which to judge changes taking place in your own personal understanding of what "postmodernism" is all about as our discussions proceed.