Metanarrative
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In [[critical theory]], and particularly [[postmodernism]], a '''metanarrative''' (sometimes '''master-''' or '''grand narrative''') is an abstract idea that is supposed to be a comprehensive explanation of historical experience or knowledge. According to John Stephens it "is a [[Universality (philosophy)|global or totalizing cultural narrative]] [[Schema (psychology)|schema]] which orders and explains [[knowledge]] and [[experience]]".<ref>Stephens, John (1998). ''Retelling Stories, Framing Culture : Traditional Story and Metanarratives in Children's Literature''. ISBN 0-8153-1298-9.</ref> The prefix [[meta]] means "beyond" and is here used to mean "about", and a narrative is a story. Therefore, a metanarrative is a story ''about'' a story, encompassing and explaining other 'little stories' within totalizing schemes.
The concept was criticized by [[Jean-François Lyotard]] in his work, ''[[The Postmodern Condition]]: A Report on Knowledge'' (1979). In this text, Lyotard refers to what he describes as the ''[[postmodern condition]]'', which he characterized as increasing skepticism toward the [[Universality (philosophy)|totalizing nature]] of "metanarratives" (or "grand narratives," typically characterised by some form of 'transcendent and universal truth'):
{{cquote|Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives. This incredulity is undoubtedly a product of progress in the sciences: but that progress in turn presupposes it. To the obsolescence of the metanarrative apparatus of legitimation corresponds, most notably, the crisis of metaphysical philosophy and of the university institution which in the past relied on it. The narrative function is losing its functors, its great hero, its great dangers, its great voyages, its great goal. It is being dispersed in clouds of narrative language elements--narrative, but also denotative, prescriptive, descriptive, and so on [...] Where, after the metanarratives, can legitimacy reside? - [[Jean-Francois Lyotard]]<ref> Lyotard, Jean-Francois. [http://www.idehist.uu.se/distans/ilmh/pm/lyotard-introd.htm Introduction:The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge]," 1979: xxiv-xxv.</ref>}}
==Examples of metanarratives==
*Many [[Christianity|Christians]] believe that human nature, since the Fall ([[Genesis]] 3), is characteristically sinful, but has the possibility of [[redemption]] and experiencing eternal peace in [[heaven]] - thus representing a belief in a universal rule and a [[telos (philosophy)|telos]] for humankind. See also [[Universal History]].
*The [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] theorists believed that rational thought, allied to scientific reasoning, would lead inevitably toward [[moral]], [[social]] and [[ethical]] progress.
* The so-called [[Marxist-Leninists]] believe that in order to be emancipated, society must undergo a revolution. Just as the ''[[bourgeoisie]]'' (whose living depends on the control of [[capital]] or technology) took power from the noble class (whose wealth was based on control over [[land]]), they believe that the present system of [[capitalism]] will fall and the ''[[proletariat]]'' (who live by selling their [[labor]]) will take over. This change will be driven by the unstable and cyclical nature of capitalism, and by the [[Marx's theory of alienation|alienation]] felt by the labourers who keep the system working.
*[[Sigmund Freud|Freudian]] theory holds that human history is a narrative of the repression of libidinal desires.
*Categorical and definitive [[periodization]]s of history, such as the [[Fall of the Roman Empire]], the [[Dark Ages]] and [[Renaissance]].
*Many [[Feminism|feminists]] hold that the [[patriarchy]] has systematically oppressed and subjugated women throughout history.
==Poststructuralist skepticism toward metanarratives==
{{Refimprovesect|date=April 2007}}
Lyotard and many other [[post-structuralism|poststructuralist]] thinkers have viewed this as a positive development for a number of reasons. First, attempts to construct grand theories tend to dismiss the naturally existing chaos and disorder of the universe. Second, metanarratives are created and reinforced by [[power structure]]s and are therefore not to be trusted. 'Metanarratives' ignore the heterogeneity or variety of human existence. They are also seen to embody unacceptable views of historical development, in terms of progress towards a specific goal. The latent diverse passions of human beings will always make it impossible for them to be marshalled under some theoretical doctrine and this is one of the reasons given for the collapse of the [[Soviet Union]] in the early 1990s.
==Replacing grand, universal narratives with small, local narratives==
According to the advocates of postmodernism, metanarratives have lost their power to convince – they are, literally, stories that are told in order to legitimise various versions of "the truth". With the transition from modern to postmodern, Lyotard proposes that metanarratives should give way to 'petits récits', or more modest and "localised" narratives.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} Borrowing from the works of [[Wittgenstein]] and his theory of the "models of discourse",<ref>Hans Bertens, ''The Idea of the Postmodern: A History'', Routldge, 1995, p124. ISBN 0415060117</ref> Lyotard constructs his vision of a progressive politics that is grounded in the cohabitation of a whole range of diverse and always locally legitimated [[Language-game|language games]]. Postmodernists attempt to replace metanarratives by focusing on specific local contexts as well as the diversity of human experience. They argue for the existence of a "multiplicity of theoretical standpoints"<ref>Michael A. Peters, ''Poststructuralism, Marxism, and Neoliberalism: Between Theory and Politics'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2001, p7. ISBN 0742509877</ref> rather than grand, all-encompassing theories.
==Is poststructuralism a metanarrative?==
Lyotard's analysis of the postmodern condition has been criticized as being internally inconsistent. For example, thinkers like [[Alex Callinicos]]<ref>Callinicos, Alex. ''Against Postmodernism: A Marxist Critique''. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1991.</ref> and [[Jürgen Habermas]]<ref>Habermas, Jürgen. "Modernity versus Postmodernity". New German Critique, No. 22, Special Issue on Modernism, pp. 3-14. 1981.</ref> argue that Lyotard's description of the postmodern world as containing an "incredulity toward metanarratives" could be seen as a metanarrative in itself. According to this view, [[post-structuralist]] thinkers like Lyotard criticise universal rules but postulate that postmodernity contains a universal skepticism toward metanarratives; and this 'universal skepticism' is in itself a contemporary metanarrative. Like a post-modern neo-romanticist metanarrative that intends to build up a 'meta' critic, or 'meta' discourse and a 'meta' belief holding up that Western science is just taxonomist, empiricist, utilitarian, assuming a supposed sovereignty around its own reason and pretending to be neutral, rigorous and universal. This is itself an obvious sample of another 'meta' story, self-contradicting the postmodern critique of the metanarrative.
Thus, the postmodern incredulity towards metanarratives could be said to be self-refuting. If one is skeptical of universal narratives such as "truth", "knowledge", "right", or "wrong", then there is no basis for believing the "truth" that metanarratives are being undermined. In this sense, this paradox of postmodernism is similar to the [[liar's paradox]] ("This statement is false."). Perhaps postmodernists, like Lyotard, are not offering us a Utopian, [[teleological]] metanarrative, but in many respects their arguments are open to metanarrative interpretation. They place much emphasis on the irrational, though in doing so apply the instruments of reason{{Fact|date=June 2007}}. Postmodernism is an anti-theory, but uses theoretical tools to make its case. The significance of this contradiction, however, is of course also open to [[interpretation]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
*Lyotard, Jean-François. ''[[The Postmodern Condition]]: A Report on Knowledge''. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1984, reprint 1997. Translated by Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi.
*Stephens, John and Robyn McCallum (1998). ''Retelling Stories, Framing Culture : Traditional Story and Metanarratives in Children's Literature''. ISBN 0-8153-1298-9.
[[Category:Literary criticism]]
[[Category:Metanarratives]]
[[Category:Postmodern terminology]]
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