Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 23:27:00 +0100
Subject: Re: Postmodernism


>Can somebody give a good, philosophical explanation of postmodernism?  I
>have a generall understanding, but I must admit I don't know enough.


I think you'd be well advised to read through Rosemary Hennessy's book,
Materialist Feminism and the Politics of Discourse, Routledge (sorry,
remove all the caps!), 1993. It'll give you a good idea of where the
various protagonists are at.

Of course, this might be what you call 'a general understanding', but even
then, the book is a very useful reference source for deeper dipping.

ciao4now,

Hugh sorry hugh

ps I almost forgot to add, there is no good philosophical explanation of
postmodernism on its own terms. Chomsky's pieces rip away a lot of its
pretentiousness, but he refuses to go further and waste his time going into
detailed refutation etc. Very sensible, but a bit frustrating for all those
faced with pomo oppression in the academic workplace and needing serious
objections for people taking it seriously -- of course, you could argue
that they don't really take it seriously at all, it's just a convenient
fetish to worship at, and no amount of exposure of the fact it's made of
wood will affect it's social power.

pps By the way, talking about good explanations, I wonder how From owner-marxism2  Fri May 24 18:59:06 1996