Literature

Many considered the encyclopaedic novels of the late '90s and early 2000's such as Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves and most prominently, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest to be, variously, postmodernist, or post-postmodernist – 'New Sincerity," being a label applied to the latter. In the case of DFW, the abandonment of irony in place of sincerity was defined as the source of the departure from the genre or movement, while Danielewski's act of essentially drawing out postmodern literature and all its tropes and threads to their logical conclusions was, essentially, concluding it there and then.
I read House of Leaves in my first year of university, and some years later, it is now the subject of my doctoral thesis. As I studied my way through the university, and particularly in grad school, I found very few scholars wanting to discuss postmodern literature or philosophy. In classes I took on Modernism, postmodernism was included in a one-lecture session where it was deemed to have been subsumed into "New Modernist Studies," as essentially, a subgenre of modernism rather than (depending on who was writing it) an elaboration on or even ar reaction to Modernism.
While there were stragglers throughout the '80s, '90s and naughties, many consider the heyday of postmodern literature to have taken place during the late sixties and throughout the seventies. Even Raymond Federman who wrote extensively on the self-reflexivity that defined these novels concluded during the '90s that this era of self-reflexive experimentation was essentially, over. It is worth noting that while these essays were collected, many were written at the time before the term "postmodernism," had even been applied to this kind of literature (a term that was first applied to architecture before carrying over into the other arts; many of the seminal writers like Vonnegut and DeLillo were often called black humorists in their present tense). While Federman perhaps made that call prematurely in 1992, given the popularity of the first two novels I mentioned for this topic, the fact remains that whether or not the movement is "dead," it has fallen terribly out of favour. A professor confessed to me once, that it was very trendy at a time before I'd been born, or perhaps even when I was very young and as a grad student in their 20's in the '10s I had missed out Is postmodernism dead because it's out of fashion? Or will it return, much like the mullet?

Analyze how gender issues in the writings of the past and present are similar to how things are now. For example, look at The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and explore something like The Golden Girls, or a play like A Raisin In The Sun. What do they say about womanhood? How have things changed? How is there still relevance from the past? What does this say about women's role in society today?

Call Me By Your Name – the book version, ends with Elio and Oliver's separation, but their longings for each other last for what seems like an eternity. Find Me – the sequel, picks up the storyline a few years later, and, spoiler alert, slowly leads the two star-crossed lovers back together in the end. However, the perspective has changed as the Find Me is in the POV of Elio's father, now divorced, and his journey of finding new love with a woman much younger than himself. If Call Me, under Elio's POV, was so successful critically and commercially, why did the author switch to his father's, whose outlook on life may not be on who was responsible for some of the most soul-touching, sentimental and inspiring dialogues in the prequel

Analyse the texts that surround the current royal fantasy trend within young adult books. Worth noting Sarah J. Maas's contribution and how texts such as Red Queen and others compare. Are there any archetypes concerning the female hero within?

Numerous stories have featured plants in the role of villains. These plants range from minor nuisances (like the mandrakes in Harry Potter) to central antagonists (as in the musical Little Shop of Horrors). Why are people so fascinated by the idea of plants as villains? What are some examples of real-life dangerous plants? Are there any particular real-life plants that seem to get used as models for evil plants more often, and if so, why?

Since humanity's earliest days the ability to fly has long been one of the most innate yearnings of our species. This is reflected heavily in our fictional works, perhaps most noticeably in superhero comic books and films. However, not all heroes can fly (Besides the story's internal reasoning for their powers) what does this indicate about heroes who do have this ability and why? What does it say about those that don't? Comparison of multiple works may yield the most interesting results.

There is a vast array of literature that, in its time, was written with the intention of some form of social justice. An example of this is the much-cited "Uncle Tom's Cabin," by Harriet Beecher Stowe. However, as modern ideas progress and the willingness to allow every human their basic rights grows, we look back on texts like this and realize that the philosophy within it is antiquated and that its ideas on how to overcome racism simply don't suffice.

This in mind, how should we deal with texts like hers? Should we look at them graciously and say that, given the lack of understanding about true social justice, the author did the best she could based on limited knowledge? Or should we stop circulating and supporting texts like those because they do not go far enough in their attempts at fighting the social injustices of our day? Is there a middle ground?

The writer does not have to choose "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as their example–any older text with out-of-date social justice views would suffice.

As someone who is an avid reader, I'm always going to bookstores and browsing through stacks of books. However, every time I return to a bookstore, I notice that the prices have significantly increased. Many people are not crazy about e-books; they prefer the written word. Therefore, it is difficult to justify spending so much money on a few books. On average, I have observed that they range anywhere from $25-$30. Why is it that movies can be rented for $4.99, but valuable pieces of literature cost almost triple that? Shouldn't the reading of literary masterpieces be encouraged? Books are outrageously expensive, and that detracts customers from wanting to spend the money. If books were less expensive, perhaps more people would read. Putting such an expensive price on creative writing seems non-sensical, and the world could benefit from this being changed. Authors must make commission somehow, but perhaps more people would buy the books if they could afford them. Yes, there are libraries, but bookstores have a wider range of books, and people can customize them by highlighting their favourite phrases or making notes. To put it simply, the increase in the price of books is unnecessary and creates more harm than help. The world could benefit from reading more literature.