What is Metamodernism?

I Wrote a Book on That—And It's Out Today!

Been intrigued by talk of metamodernism, but can’t quite wrap your head around it?

Or are you a full-blown metamodern ninja, dropping cited terminology like “sincere irony” in every academic article you write?

Either way, this book is for you.

Metamodernism: Or, The Cultural Logic of Cultural Logics is an easy-to-read introduction to the various strands of metamodern thought. At the same time, it also presents a new theory of the metamodern that aims to synthesize and unite those different strands into a coherent account.

In the process, I offer an overview of the work of metamodern thinkers like: Timotheus Vermeulen, Robin van den Akker, Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm, Hanzi Freinacht, Moyo Okediji, Greg Dember, Alexandra Dumitrescu, Tomas Björkman, Gregg Henriques, Linda Ceriello, Lene Rachel Andersen, Bobby Azarian, and many others.

Here’s a look at the Table of Contents:

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• 0. Preface iii

• 1. Going Meta: Future as Recursion

  • Beyond Postmodernism 1

  • Eternal Recursion and Infinitesimal Progress 3

  • Epistemic Bootstrapping and Perspective Toggling 12

• 2. Aesthetics

  • Pre-2010 Precursors / Intimations of Integration 23

  • Oscillation, Metaxy, and the Donkey-Carrot Double-Bind 33

  • New Depths and Performing Transcendence 44

  • Reconstructive Hyper-Self-Reflexivity 50

  • Meaning in a Multi-[Perspectival-]Verse 61

• 3. Complexity

  • Recursion as Hierarchical Complexity 70

  • Social Organization and Multi-Layered Meaning 88

  • Phase Transitions, Bifurcation Points, Paradigm Shifts 94

• 4. Philosophy

  • Recursion as Dialectical Advance 107

  • Real Constructs and a Process Ontology for Social Kinds 114

  • The Matter of Meaning 125

  • The Is-Ought Connection: Value and Knowledge 130

• 5. Metanarrative

  • Meta-Physics and Justification Systems 137

  • Poetic Meta-Naturalism and Recursive Emergence 152

  • Religion Beyond Religion 162

• 6. Worldview

  • A Comprehensive Approach 174

• Glossary 187

• Notes 193

• Index 211

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If you liked my last video in the After Postmodernism series, there’s a lot more where that came from in this book—224 pages worth, to be exact!

Many thanks so much to ARC Press for publishing this. I hope it provides a valuable resource for folks navigating the metamodern discourse space.

You can order the book HERE.