Is Hanzi Freinacht really Metamodern?

This discussion reflects on whether 'Hanzi' can meaningfully be considered metamodern, with Greg Dember doubting it, and Jonathan Rowson making the case on 'Hanzi's' behalf.

Metamodernism is a relatively new phenomenon, but there are already various 'schools' of thought within it. One of the main divergences is political metamodernism and cultural metamodernism. The former has been developed mostly by the quasi-fictional character Hanzi Freinacht who is ostensibly the author of two books of political metamodernism, The Listening Society and The Nordic Secret. The latter is more grounded in cultural theory within academia, and is often called 'The Dutch school'.

Details of cultural metamodernism are developed in an excellent essay by Greg Dember in The Side View magazine: What is Metamodernism and why does it matter?

In The Listening Society it is openly admitted in the appendix, that it was an act of 'idealistic piracy' to appropriate the term metamodern, using the term to broaden its use for normative purposes.

There are other angles on the meaning of metamodernism, which is often used more loosely as an umbrella term, and Seth Abramson, who has taught university classes on the subject, appears to see value in both political and cultural versions of the term.

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[gregdreams]

Thank you for the great conversation, Jonathan! I want to clarify about "The Dutch School." As far as I know, that name is only used by folks in the Hanzi-sphere to distinguish broader metamodernism (metamodernism as an episteme/sensibility/period equivalent in its scope to postmodernism and modernism) from their own later, specialized usage of the term. The general community of scholars, arts critics and writers who research metamodernism as a broad cultural sensibility and cultural period don't call themselves "The Dutch School."

[hanksy]

IG @han_ksy ta-Da artist. Tantric dada occilatingtions