2011: The Turning Point for Postmodern Literature? A Case Study on Julian Barnes and Ali Smith

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2024-06-15

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en

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This thesis investigates the transformation from Postmodernism into the new structure of feeling in British literature by means of a case study on two successful novels from the year 2011. It explores in which ways The Sense of an Ending (2011) by Julian Barnes and There but for the (2011) by Ali Smith can be seen as a product of this transformative phase and whether the year 2011 can be seen as a turning point in literature. The novels incorporate characteristics that can be associated with theories of both Postmodernism and Metamodernism, but The Sense of an Ending is predominantly a Postmodern novel, while There but for the leans towards the new structure of feeling. The thesis concludes that both novels can be seen as a product of the time, but the year 2011 cannot be seen as a turning point in literature, because the transformative phase spans over a wider period than a single year.

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Faculteit der Letteren