At last! Everything you ever wanted to know about postmodernism but were afraid to ask.
Hans Bertens' Postmodernism is the first introductory overview of postmodernism to succeed in providing a witty and accessible guide for the bemused student. In clear and straightforward but always elegant prose, Bertens sets out the interdisciplinary aspects, the critical debates and the key theorists of postmodernism. He also explains, in thoughtful and illuminating language, the relationship between postmodernism and poststructuralism, and that between modernism and postmodernism.
An enjoyable and indispensible text for today's student.

Hans Bertens is Professor and Director of American Studies at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands. He has written extensively on the subjects of postwar fiction, popular literature, mass culture, and postmodern theory.

Part I Postmodernisms 1 INTRODUCTION 2 ANTI-MODERNISMS 3 MODERNISM, EXISTENTIALISM, POSTMODERNISM: THE 1970s 4 THE 1970s CONTINUED: ARCHITECTURE, THE VISUAL ARTS, POSTMODERNISMS 5 POSTMODERN DECONSTRUCTION: THE POLITICS OF CULTURE Part II ...and postmodernities 6 THE 1980s: THEORIZING THE POSTMODERN CONDITION 7 ANTITHETICAL RADICALISMS: RICHARD RORTY AND JEAN BAUDRILLARD 8 FREDRIC JAMESON: FEAR AND LOATHING IN LOS ANGELES 9 POSTMODERN POLITICS 10 THE POSTMODERN AS A NEW SOCIAL FORMATION 11 CONCLUSION