The words 'postmodernism' and 'postmodernity' have become pervasive throughout the humanities, but their meanings frequently seem difficult to pin down. Anyone with an interest in contemporary culture is likely, sooner or later, to face a wide range of questions, such as: what is the postmodern? How does it relate to the world today? Have we entered a new age in which the problems facing modernity are no longer relevant, or does modernity mark a new way of thinking about those same issues? How does cultural postmodernism shape our experiences of contemporary society? These are just some of the questions that are explored in this book. Postmodern Debates introduces modernity, postmodernism and postmodernity through a series of debates between prominent thinkers in literary theory, philosophy and cultural studies. The book explores this topic through thinkers who are at odds and encourages readers to consider the wide implications of postmodern thought in several areas.

This is a comprehensive study of the most influential figure in postwar American literature. Over a writing career spanning more than fifty years, Thomas Pynchon has been at the forefront of America's engagement with postmodern literary possibilities. In chapters that address the full range of Pynchon's career, from his earliest short stories and first novel, V., to his most recent work, Inherent Vice, this book offers highly accessible and detailed readings of a writer whose work is indispensable to understanding how the American novel has met the challenges of postmodernity. The authors discuss Pynchon's relationship to literary history, his engagement with discourses of science and utopianism, his interrogation of imperialism, and his preoccupation with the paranoid sensibility. Invaluable to Pynchon scholars and to everyone working in the field of contemporary American fiction, this study explores how Pynchon's complex narratives work both as exuberant examples of formal experimentation and as serious interventions in the political health of the nation.

The rise of literary theory spawned the rise of anti-aestheticism, so that even for cultural theorists, discussions concerning aesthetics were often carried out in a critical shorthand that failed to engage with the particularity of the work of art, much less the specificities of aesthetic experience. This text introduces the notion of a new aestheticism - "new" insofar as it identifies a turn taken by a number of important contemporary thinkers towards the idea that focusing on the specifically aesthetic impact of a work of art or literature has the potential to open radically different ways of thinking about identity, politics and culture. The appearance of a new aestheticism at a moment that is often termed "post-theoretical" is a direct index of the extent to which, as "theory" now enters a more reflective phase, there is an increased willingness among critics and philosophers to consider the ways in which literary and cultural theory often overlooked key aspects of its reliance on philosophical aesthetics. With its impressive array of contributors, This work should be of particular interest to students and scholars of literature, philosophy and cultural studies.

Now in a fully updated second edition The Routledge Companion to Critical and Cultural Theory is an indispensible guide for anyone approaching the field for the first time. Exploring ideas from a diverse range of disciplines through a series of 11 critical essays and a dictionary of key names and terms, this book examines some of the most complex and fundamental theories in modern scholarship including:

• Marxism
• Trauma Theory
• Ecocriticism
• Psychoanalysis
• Feminism
• Posthumanism
• Gender and Queer Theory
• Structuralism
• Narrative
• Postcolonialism
• Deconstruction
• Postmodernism

With three new essays, an updated introduction, further reading and a wealth of new dictionary entries, this text is an indispensible guide for all students of the theoretically informed arts, humanities and social sciences.

Simon Malpas investigates the theories and definitions of postmodernism and postmodernity, and explores their impact in such areas as identity, history, art, literature and culture. In attempting to map the different forms of the postmodern, and the contrasting experiences of postmodernity in the Western and developing worlds, he looks closely at:

* modernism and postmodernism
* modernity and postmodernity
* subjectivity
* history
* politics.

This useful guidebook will introduce students to a range of key thinkers who have sought to question the contemporary situation, and will enable readers to begin to approach the primary texts of postmodern theory and culture with confidence.

Jean-François Lyotard is one of the most celebrated proponents of what has become known as the 'postmodern'. More than almost any other contemporary theorist, he has explored the relations between knowledge, art, politics and history, in ways that offer radical new possibilities for thinking about modern culture.
Simon Malpas introduces students to issues at the heart of Lyotard's work, including
*modernity and the postmodern
*the sublime
*ethics
*history and representation
*art and the unpresentable
*knowledge, the university and the future.
Lyotard's work is impossible to dismiss or ignore for anybody who is serious about contemporary literature and culture, and this guide provides the ideal companion to the wide variety of his critical texts.

Jean-François Lyotard is one of the most celebrated proponents of what has become known as the 'postmodern'. More than almost any other contemporary theorist, he has explored the relations between knowledge, art, politics and history, in ways that offer radical new possibilities for thinking about modern culture.
Simon Malpas introduces students to issues at the heart of Lyotard's work, including
*modernity and the postmodern
*the sublime
*ethics
*history and representation
*art and the unpresentable
*knowledge, the university and the future.
Lyotard's work is impossible to dismiss or ignore for anybody who is serious about contemporary literature and culture, and this guide provides the ideal companion to the wide variety of his critical texts.

Now available in paperback, this is a comprehensive study of the most influential figure in postwar American literature. Over a writing career spanning more than fifty years, Thomas Pynchon has been at the forefront of America's engagement with postmodern literary possibilities. In chapters that address the full range of Pynchon's career, from his earliest short stories and first novel, V., to his most recent work, this book offers highly accessible and detailed readings of a writer whose work is indispensable to understanding how the American novel has met the challenges of postmodernity. The authors discuss Pynchon's relationship to literary history, his engagement with discourses of science and utopianism, his interrogation of imperialism and his preoccupation with the paranoid sensibility. Invaluable to Pynchon scholars and to everyone working in the field of contemporary American fiction, this study explores how Pynchon's complex narratives work both as exuberant examples of formal experimentation and as serious interventions in the political health of the nation. -- .

HOW CAN ONE UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THE PRESENT?
WHAT MIGHT IT MEAN TO SAY THE WORLD HAS BECOME POSTMODERN?
Simon Malpas investigates the theories and definitions of postmodernism and postmodernity, and explores their impact in such areas as identity, history, art, literature and culture. In attempting to locate the essence of the postmodern, and the contrasting experiences of postmodernity in the Western and developing worlds, he looks closely at:
- modernism and postmodernism
- modernity and postmodernity
- subjectivity
- history
- politics
This useful guidebook will introduce students to a range of key thinkers who have sought to question the contemporary situation, and will enable readers to begin to approach the primary texts of postmodern theory and culture with confidence.

Now in a fully updated second edition The Routledge Companion to Critical and Cultural Theory is an indispensible guide for anyone approaching the field for the first time. Exploring ideas from a diverse range of disciplines through a series of 11 critical essays and a dictionary of key names and terms, this book examines some of the most complex and fundamental theories in modern scholarship including:

• Marxism
• Trauma Theory
• Ecocriticism
• Psychoanalysis
• Feminism
• Posthumanism
• Gender and Queer Theory
• Structuralism
• Narrative
• Postcolonialism
• Deconstruction
• Postmodernism

With three new essays, an updated introduction, further reading and a wealth of new dictionary entries, this text is an indispensible guide for all students of the theoretically informed arts, humanities and social sciences.