Pen and Paper

  By Mariam · BS English · Literary Theory Feminism and postfeminism are two of the most useful (and most debated) ideas in literary theory. This post explains both in simple steps: what they mean, how they developed, who the key thinkers are, and how to apply them to texts in your exams. In this post Part 1: Feminism Part 2: Feminist literary criticism Part 3: Postfeminism Part 4: Feminism vs Postfeminism Part 5: Exam tips, questions and further reading The Waves of Feminism at a Glance First Wave late 1800s – early 1900s Right to vote Education, property and legal rights Mary Wollstonecraft Second Wave 1960s – 1980s Work, family, body "The personal is political" de Beauvoir, Friedan Third Wave 1990s – 2000s Difference and identity Race, class, sexuality (intersectionality) Butler, Crenshaw, hooks Fourth Wave 2010s onward Online activism Harassment and consent (#MeToo) Social media campaigns Wave dates are approximate. The wave model is a teaching tool, and some scholars cr...

BS English, Study Notes. These notes cover Modernism and Postmodernism as literary movements and theories. Timeline: From Modernism to Postmodernism Modernism (about 1890–1945) Postmodernism (about 1950 onward) 1890s Early experiments 1914–18 World War I 1922 Ulysses, The Waste Land 1945 End of World War II 1979 Lyotard, Postmodern Condition 2000s Continuing influence Dates are approximate; the two movements overlap and critics debate where one ends and the other begins. Figure 1: Timeline of Modernism and Postmodernism Contents Part 1: Modernism Part 2: Postmodernism Part 1: Modernism 1. Definition of Modernism Modernism is a literary and artistic movement that emerged in the late nineteenth century and flourished in the early twentieth century, particularly between 1900 and 1945. It challenged traditional literary forms, values, and conventions and introduced new ways of representing human experience. Modernist writers explored the psychological, social, and cultural changes of the ...