Postmodernism’ became the buzzword of contemporary society in the 1990s, ‘yet, even now, it still remains confusing and baffling in its variety of definitions, contexts and associations. This second edition of Beginning postmodernism offers clear, accessible and step-by-step introductions to postmodernism across a wide range of subjects. It encourages readers to explore how the debates about postmodernism have emerged from basic philosophical and cultural ideas, and to develop comparative connections and ideas from one area to another, it has been updated, amended and enlarged, covering the decade since the publication of the first edition. With its emphasis firmly on postmodernism in practice’, the book contains questions designed to help readers understand and reflect upon a variety of positions within the following areas of contemporary culture: philosophy and cultural theory; architecture and concepts of space; visual art, sculpture and material culture; popular culture and music; film, video and television; and the social sciences.
This is a brilliant introduction to the concept of postmodernism in various different forms. Woods successfully weighs up various different views on a full range of arguments surrounding the subject with minimal bias, allowing the reader to pass their own judgement. My only criticism would be that the second chapter, exploring the philosophy surrounding the topic, is written fairly complexly, using terminology that most beginners would struggle with.