A Postmodern Reader

by Linda Hutcheon (editor), Joseph Natoli (Editor)

Those who recognize that the concept of postmodernism is with us to stay and who meet the necessary responsibility of bringing it to our students will welcome this book. It is ample in its offerings; and from the point of view of the potential user, the convenience and utility of the collection are prime virtues.

"The mix is refreshing. The selections are both varied and representative; they touch on essential aspects of the topic and exhaust its full range; they also underscore the conflictive nature of what is called 'the postmodern'. " -- John W. Kronik, Cornell University

"This is an outstanding book--timely, lucid, and much-needed--whose aims are well-fulfilled and that moves with ease from theory to practice."-- Alison M. Lee, The University of Western Ontario

These readings are organized into four sections. The first explores the wellsprings of the debates in the relationship between the postmodern and the enterprise it both continues and modernism. Here philosophers, social and political commentators, as well as cultural and literary analysts present controversial background essays on the complex history of postmodernism. The readings in the second section debate the possibility--or desirability--of trying to define the postmodern, given its cultural agenda of decentering, challenging, even undermining the guiding "master" narratives of Western culture. The readings in the third section explore postmodernism's complicated complicity with these very narratives, while the fourth section moves from theory to practice in order to investigate, in a variety of fields, the common denominators of the postmodern condition in action.

Genres: Philosophy, Literary Criticism

598 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1993

Reviews

[Derek Frasure · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great reader of many of the primary texts of postmodernism as of the early 90s. It includes some forgotten stuff that should be read more, and some that was well forgotten. As with all anthologies, there is a falling off of quality as the book progresses. Obviously, Baudrillard, Foucault, Lyotard, Derrida, Habermas, Jameson, Cornel West, and bell hooks are all great. Additionally, Zygmunt Bauman's "Postmodernity, or Living with Ambivalence" is the best overview I've read of various uses and origins of postmodernism and related terminology like surfiction. Hutcheon and Hassan are the great literary critics and their work quoted here is classic. Essays on women and black people in relation to postmodernism close out this volume with a strong call for diversity. Too bad this volume largely ignores Asian, African, and Latin American postmodernisms. The enduring debates are contained in this volume, but the conversation has also moved a lot from where this volume leaves it.