A movement in the arts and humanities known as post-modernism gained a foothold in Western society in the 1980s and 1990s. The term was coined originally by architects in the early 1970s to designate an architectural style that aimed to break away from the dominant modernist style, characterized by indistinct boxlike skyscrapers, apartment complexes, and government buildings that had degenerated into a sterile and monotonous structural formula. Postmodern architects called for greater individuality, complexity, and eccentricity in design, along with the use of symbols with historical value. Shortly after its introduction into architecture, the term started to catch on more broadly, adopted by many in other arts and the humanities.

Philosophical Roots

Postmodernism became fashionable as the articulation of a continuing cultural reaction against "scientific modernism" that initially emerged in Europe during the Romantic period. The origin of scientific modernism is generally traced to the scientific revolution and...