Say Hello to Metamodernism offers a guided tour of one of the newer “isms” on the block, metamodernism – the cultural period many say began emerging around the turn of the millennium, after postmodernism had lost much of its charm. By emphasizing qualities such as individual felt experience, and by braiding playful irony and experimentation with an unabashed delight in the intricacies of being human, metamodern artworks both reflect and help generate a new cultural sensibility. To understand it is to come to understand something about ourselves in today’s world.

Within these pages, Greg Dember weaves his own encounters with society’s shifting sensibilities into an exploration of metamodernist works by musicians such as Sufjan Stevens, Elliott Smith, and Billie Eilish; by filmmakers like Miranda July, Wes Anderson, and Greta Gerwig; by novelists such as Dave Eggers, Elif Batuman, and Tope Folarin; and in television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Bojack Horseman and Atlanta, while also considering how the metamodern sensibility is expressed in contemporary developments in religion and philosophy. Dember writes in a thoughtful, engaging style that is effective both at making academic concepts accessible to arts fans and artists themselves, and at introducing original ideas about metamodernism to scholars.

Greg Dember is a proud denizen of Seattle, Washington. He received his B.A. in psychology from Yale University, where he also studied literature, and an MS from Bastyr University where he trained in acupuncture. When not writing and speaking about metamodernism, Greg records and performs as a post-genre singer-songwriter. To pay the bills, Greg creates database systems for small businesses. He enjoys vegetarian cooking (specialty: refried-bean spaghetti) and is not half bad at ping pong.