Postmodernism

To characterize postmodernism, we must look briefly at what cae before: modernism. "Modern" was once used liberally as an adjetive to describe many things--from the latest kithcen gadget to a style of art. But "Modern" also refers to a specific period of time (roughly 1870 through the mind-1960s) and to the range of cultural ideas, beliefs, and artifacts that people generated during that period.