“Theorizing The Postmodern” by Linda Hutcheon: Summary and Critique

Introduction: “Theorizing The Postmodern” by Linda Hutcheon

“Theorizing The Postmodern” by Linda Hutcheon was first published in 1989 in the collection “Postmodern Studies”. The book emphasized the importance of literature and literary theory in understanding and interpreting postmodern culture. Hutcheon argued that postmodern literature offers a unique lens through which to examine the complexities of contemporary society, challenging traditional notions of reality, truth, and representation.

Summary of “Theorizing The Postmodern” by Linda Hutcheon

• Challenging Institutions
• Postmodernism often challenges the authority of established institutions like media, universities, museums, and theaters. This is evident in postmodern dance performances that move outside of traditional theatrical spaces, thereby contesting the conventions of the theatrical environment. Hutcheon points out that these performances often “foreground the unspoken conventions of theatrical time” (Hutcheon, 1988, 9), challenging the established norms of the institution.
• Blurring Boundaries
• Postmodern works blur the boundaries between different genres, disciplines, and even fiction and non-fiction. For example, many postmodern novels incorporate historical elements, challenging the traditional distinction between fiction and non-fiction. Hutcheon highlights the fluidity of genre boundaries in works like Alice Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women, Michael Ondaage’s Coming Through Slaughter, and Salman Rushdie’s Shame (Hutcheon, 1988, 9-10). These works play with the conventions of different genres, blurring the lines between them.
• Parody and Intertextuality
• Postmodern works often employ parody and intertextuality to challenge traditional notions of originality. By incorporating and subverting existing genres and traditions, postmodern works reveal the constructed nature of meaning. Hutcheon notes that postmodern parody “paradoxically both incorporates and challenges that which it parodies” (Hutcheon, 1988, 11). This self-reflexive approach challenges the idea of a single, original source of meaning.
• Decentered Perspective
• The traditional idea of a unified, reliable narrator is challenged in postmodern literature. Instead, postmodern narratives often feature multiple perspectives or unreliable narrators, undermining the idea of a coherent, meaning-generating subject. Hutcheon discusses examples like D.M. Thomas’s The White Hotel and Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, where narrators are either multiple or limited in their perspective (Hutcheon, 1988, 12).
• Questioning Universals
• Postmodernism critiques the idea of universal truths and experiences. Instead, it emphasizes the importance of local and marginalized voices. Hutcheon argues that postmodernism “challenges the idea of a homogeneous monolith” (Hutcheon, 1988, 13) and highlights the importance of “decentralized community” (Hutcheon, 1988, 13). This shift away from universalism allows for a more diverse and inclusive understanding of culture.
• Self-Reflexivity
• Postmodern art and theory often draw attention to their own construction and limitations. This self-reflexivity challenges traditional notions of objectivity and authority. Hutcheon notes that postmodern theory “realizes this paradox or contradiction” (Hutcheon, 1988, 14) and avoids claiming absolute authority.
• Contradictions
• Postmodernism embraces contradictions and resists easy categorization. It challenges established norms while offering alternative ways of understanding the world. Hutcheon argues that postmodernism “reveals rather than conceals the tracks of the signifying systems that constitute our world” (Hutcheon, 1988, 15), challenging the idea of a fixed and stable reality.

Literary Terms/Concepts in “Theorizing The Postmodern” by Linda Hutcheon

Concept/Theory/Device	Description
Institutional Critique	Postmodernism challenges traditional institutions (e.g., media, universities, museums) and their norms.
Transgression of Boundaries	Postmodern works often blur the lines between different arts, genres, and even between art and life.
Parody	A form of postmodernism that both incorporates and critiques the original work, highlighting irony and discontinuity.
Intertextuality	The interconnectedness of texts, where one text references or echoes another, often with a critical purpose.
Narrative Complexity	Postmodern narratives often feature complex structures, including multiple perspectives and non-linear timelines.
Decentered Subjectivity	Challenges the notion of a unified, coherent self, instead presenting fragmented or multiple perspectives.
Questioning of Totalizing Narratives	Postmodernism rejects overarching, homogenizing narratives in favor of local, provisional, and contingent truths.
Self-Reflexivity	Postmodern works often reflect on their own construction, questioning their own assumptions and methods.
Hybridity	Blending of genres and forms, such as the mixing of fiction and non-fiction, or the convergence of high and low culture.

Contribution of “Theorizing The Postmodern” by Linda Hutcheon to Literary Theory/Theories

Examples of Critiques Through “Theorizing The Postmodern” by Linda Hutcheon

Literary Work	Critique Through “Theorizing The Postmodern”
Don DeLillo’s White Noise	DeLillo’s novel critiques the impact of mass media and consumer culture on individuals and society. The fragmented narrative, focus on surface-level experiences, and use of advertising slogans reflect the postmodern emphasis on the superficiality of contemporary life. The novel also challenges the idea of a coherent, unified self, as characters are often defined by their consumption patterns and media exposure.
Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow	Pynchon’s novel challenges traditional notions of history and narrative. The complex plot, labyrinthine structure, and vast array of characters reflect the postmodern emphasis on the fragmentation of meaning and the impossibility of a unified perspective. The novel’s exploration of conspiracy theories and paranoia also reflects the postmodern distrust of institutions and authority.
Peter Ackroyd’s Hawksmoor	Ackroyd’s novel enacts the paradoxes of continuity and disconnection, totalizing interpretation and the impossibility of final meaning. The novel’s structure, which alternates between historical and contemporary narratives, reflects the postmodern emphasis on the fragmentation of time and the limitations of historical narratives. The novel also explores the relationship between architecture, history, and identity, challenging traditional notions of cultural heritage.
Giorgio Manganelli’s Amore	Manganelli’s novel blurs the boundaries between genres, playing with the conventions of theoretical treatise, literary dialogue, and novel. This blurring challenges traditional notions of genre and authorial intent. The novel’s fragmented narrative and playful exploration of language and meaning reflect the postmodern emphasis on the instability of language and the limitations of representation.

Criticism Against “Theorizing The Postmodern” by Linda Hutcheon

• Ambiguity and Lack of Clear Definition: Critics argue that Hutcheon’s work is often ambiguous and does not provide a clear, concise definition of postmodernism, leading to confusion about the boundaries of the concept.
• Overemphasis on Parody: Some critics believe Hutcheon places too much emphasis on parody as a defining feature of postmodernism, potentially oversimplifying the complexity and diversity of postmodern practices.
• Inconsistent Application of Theories: There is criticism that Hutcheon’s application of postmodern theories is inconsistent, with some arguing that she selectively uses examples that fit her argument while ignoring those that might challenge her claims.
• Neglect of Political and Social Dimensions: Critics point out that Hutcheon’s focus on aesthetics and form may neglect the political and social dimensions of postmodernism, which are crucial to understanding its impact.
• Paradox of Anti-Theory within Theory: Some argue that Hutcheon’s work falls into the paradox of being a theory that critiques the very idea of theorizing, which can be seen as self-contradictory or hypocritical.
• Overgeneralization of Postmodernism: Hutcheon has been criticized for overgeneralizing postmodernism, potentially flattening the nuances and variations within postmodern practices across different cultures and contexts.
• Limited Engagement with Non-Western Perspectives: Critics note that Hutcheon’s work primarily focuses on Western postmodernism, with limited consideration of how postmodernism might manifest differently in non-Western contexts.
• Reduction of Postmodernism to Artistic and Literary Phenomena: Some argue that Hutcheon reduces postmodernism to merely an artistic and literary phenomenon, ignoring its broader implications in areas such as philosophy, politics, and sociology.
• Theoretical Self-Contradiction: There is criticism that Hutcheon’s acknowledgment of the contradictions in postmodernism does not adequately address the implications of these contradictions, leaving her analysis theoretically unresolved.

Suggested Readings: “Theorizing The Postmodern” by Linda Hutcheon

1. Hutcheon, Linda. The Politics of Postmodernism. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2002.
2. Hutcheon, Linda. A Poetics of Postmodernism: History, Theory, Fiction. Routledge, 1988.
3. Jameson, Fredric. Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Duke University Press, 1991.
4. Lyotard, Jean-François. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Translated by Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi, University of Minnesota Press, 1984.
5. McHale, Brian. Postmodernist Fiction. Methuen, 1987.
6. Bertens, Hans. The Idea of the Postmodern: A History. Routledge, 1995.
7. Waugh, Patricia. Postmodernism: A Reader. Edward Arnold, 1992.
8. Newman, Charles. The Post-Modern Aura: The Act of Fiction in an Age of Inflation. Northwestern University Press, 1985.
9. Docherty, Thomas. Postmodernism: A Reader. Columbia University Press, 1993.

Representative Quotations from “Theorizing The Postmodern” by Linda Hutcheon with Explanation

Quotation	Explanation
“The important contemporary debate about the margins and the boundaries of social and artistic conventions is also the result of a typically postmodern transgressing of previously accepted limits.”	This quote highlights postmodernism’s tendency to challenge and transgress traditional boundaries and conventions, both within and outside of art.
“The traditional verifYing third-person past tense voice of history and realism is both installed and undercut by the others.”	This quote emphasizes the postmodern critique of traditional historical narratives and the use of multiple perspectives to undermine the authority of a single, objective viewpoint.
“The borders between literary genres have become fluid.”	This quote illustrates the postmodern blurring of genre boundaries, as evidenced in works that combine elements of different literary forms.
“Parody is a perfect postmodern form, in some senses, for it paradoxically both incorporates and challenges that which it parodies.”	This quote highlights the self-reflexive nature of postmodern parody, which both incorporates and critiques existing traditions.
“The perceiving subject is no longer assumed to be a coherent, meaning-generating entity.”	This quote challenges the traditional idea of a unified, coherent subject and emphasizes the fragmented nature of subjectivity in postmodern literature.
“Historical and narrative continuity and closure are contested, but again, from within.”	This quote suggests that postmodernism critiques traditional notions of historical and narrative continuity, but does so from within the very structures it challenges.
“The ‘marginal’ and what I will be calling the ‘ex-centric’ (be it in class, race, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity) take on new significance in the light of the implied recognition that our culture is not really the homogeneous monolith we might have assumed.”	This quote emphasizes the importance of marginalized voices and the recognition of cultural diversity in postmodernism.
“Any certainties we do have are what he calls ‘positional,’ that is, derived from complex networks of local and contingent conditions.”	This quote suggests that knowledge is always situated and contingent, and that there are no absolute truths.
“In Derrida’s words, such artistic practices seem ‘to mark and to organize a structure of resistance to the philosophical conceptuality that allegedly dominated and comprehended them.'”	This quote highlights the postmodern critique of traditional philosophical concepts and the use of art to challenge dominant discourses.
“A postmodern artist or writer is in the position of a philosopher: the text he writes, the work he produces are not in principle governed by preestablished rules, and they cannot be judged according to a determining judgment, by applying familiar categories to the text or to the work.”	This quote emphasizes the experimental and open-ended nature of postmodern art, which resists traditional rules and categories.