Review
"A pre-eminently sane, lucid, and concise statement about the central issues, the key examples, and the notorious derilections of postmodernism. I feel a fresh wind blowing away the miasma coiling around the topic."--Ihab Hassan, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
"The most intellectually incisive, coherent and comprehensive meditation upon the history and significance of postmodernism that I have yet encountered."--Patricia Waugh, University of Durham
"Easily the best introduction to postmodernism currently available."--Hans Bertens, Utrecht University
Product Description
Postmodernism has been a buzzword in contemporary society for the last decade. But how can it be defined? In this Very Short Introduction Christopher Butler challenges and explores the key ideas of postmodernists, and their engagement with theory, literature, the visual arts, film, architecture, and music. He treats artists, intellectuals, critics, and social scientists 'as if they were all members of a loosely constituted and quarrelsome political party' - a party which includes such members as Cindy Sherman, Salman Rushdie, Jacques Derrida, Walter Abish, and Richard Rorty - creating a vastly entertaining framework in which to unravel the mysteries of the 'postmodern condition', from the politicizing of museum culture to the cult of the politically correct.
About the Author
Christopher Butler is Professor of English Literature at Oxford University, and is the author of many books, including Early Modernism (OUP, 1994).
