Beyond Postmodernism: Toward an Aesthetic of Trust

Abstract

My theme is the evolution of postmodernism, or rather, our own evolution in postmodern times. Since I owe readers clarity and concision, which have all but abandoned us in academe, let me focus the issue at the start. What lies beyond postmodernism? Of course, no one knows; we hardly know what postmodernism was. But questions have a way of inveigling an answer. I will offer a double response in the form of two, major intertwined themes: postmodernism expands into geopolitical postmodernity while seeking to become a postmodernism not of suspicion but of trust.
The braided strands of this proposition may define the cultural code of our moment. How?