Books on Postmodernism

Postmodernism, Abstracts, Bibliography, Syllabus, Journals

Postmodernism: A Graphic Guide to Cutting Edge Thinking by Richard Appiananesi

Modern Art: Impressionism to Post-Modernism by David Britt

Consumer Culture and Postmodernism Book by Mike Featherstone

Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church (The Church and Postmodern Culture) Book by James K. A. Smith

The Routledge Companion to Postmodernism Book by Stuart Sim (Editor)

Technology, Pessimism, and Postmodernism (Sociology of the Sciences Yearbook) Book by Yaron Ezrahi (Editor), E. Mendelsohn (Editor), Howard Segal (Editor)

Postmodernism Is Not What You Think: Second Edition Charles Lemert, Charles C. Lemert

Postmodernism and a Sociology of the Absurd and Other Essays on the "Nouvelle Vague" in American Social Science (Studies in American Sociology, V. 5) Book by Stanford M. Lyman

Undoing Culture: Globalization, Postmodernism and Identity Book by Mike Featherstone

Postmodernism and Social Inquiry Book by David R. Dickens, Andrea Fontana (Editors)

The Sociology of Postmodernism (International Library of Sociology Series) Book by Scott Lash

Against Postmodernism : A Marxist Critique Book by Alex Callinicos

The Postmodern Presence: Readings on Postmodernism in American Culture and Society Book by Arthur Asa Berger

Postmodernism and Popular Culture Book by Angela McRobbie

Postmodernism and Management: Pros, Cons and the Alternative (Research in the Sociology of Organizations) Book by Edwin A Locke

Consumer Culture and Postmodernism (Theory, Culture and Society Series) Book by Mike Featherstone

Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction Book by Christopher Butler

Social Postmodernism : Beyond Identity Politics (Cambridge Cultural Social Studies) Book by Linda Nicholson, Steven Seidman (Series Editor), Jeffrey C. Alexander (Series Editor)

Leaky Bodies and Boundaries: Feminism, Postmodernism and (Bio)Ethics Book by Margrit Shildrick

Negotiating Postmodernism Book by Wayne Gabardi

Postmodern Social Analysis and Criticism: (Contributions in Sociology)
Book by John W. Murphy

Sociology after Postmodernism Book by David Owen (Editor)

Reviews:

The Routledge Companion to Postmodernism Book by Stuart Sim (Editor)
What is "deconstruction"? What authors are considered "postmodern novelists"? Truly readable guide to the world of postmodernism. Articles on Postmodernism and philosophy, politics, feminism, lifesyles, television, and other postmodern essentials. A range of entries on the people, terms and theories connected with postmodernism, including: Ackroyd, Peter; Baudrillard, Jean; Chaos Theory; Death of the Author; Desire; Fractals; Michel Foucault; Frankfurt School; Generation X; Minimalism; Poststructuralism; Retro; Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty;  Trans-avant-garde; and much more. For students concerned with any aspect of postmodernist thought.

Technology, Pessimism, and Postmodernism Book by Yaron Ezrahi (Editor), E. Mendelsohn (Editor), Howard Segal (Editor)
If the hallmark of the Enlightenment was a firm belief in technology as a principal instrument of universal progress, the hallmark of postmodernism may well be skepticism, even despair, over technology's role in shaping our world.

Postmodernism Is Not What You Think: Second Edition Charles Lemert, Charles C. Lemert
The second edition of Postmodernism Is Not What You Think explains the historical connections between the postmodern and globalization. Those who wish to kill the term postmodernism still must face the facts that the former nationalistic world-system has collapsed and is slowly being replaced by a more global set of structures.

Postmodernism and a Sociology of the Absurd and Other Essays on the "Nouvelle Vague" in American Social Science Book by Stanford M. Lyman
Postmodernism, poststructuralism, and deconstructionism are interrelated aspects of the newest theoretical development in sociology and the social sciences. This new wave of thought challenges virtually all paradigms currently in use. Among the basic themes and issues explored are the allegation that modernity has defaulted on the promise of the Enlightenment; the question of whether the rational basis for knowledge and action is still valid; the controversy over the place of metanarratives and macrosociological outlooks; and newer concerns over race, gender, sexual preferences, the self, and the "Other."

Undoing Culture: Globalization, Postmodernism and Identity (Theory, Culture and Society Series) Book by Mike Featherstone
Discussion of postmodernity and modernity that overlaps theoretically with Rojek's Decentring Leisure. What is the relationship between culture and postmodernism? How has globalization influenced our understanding of culture? Undoing Culture provides a guide to the dramatic changes that everyday life is currently witnessing. It explores the meaning of ordered life, the heroic life, revolutionary myth, symbolic power, and forms of consumer culture. A original attempt to ground culture in the context of globalization and postmodernism.

Postmodernism and Social Inquiry Book by David R. Dickens, Andrea Fontana (Editors)
Ten essays address the relevance of postmodernism to the social sciences and explore the application of postmodern thinking to the study of society.
"A constructive attempt to bridge the often wide divide between ever multiplying postmodern frameworks and sociological theory and methods. The authors have succeeded in demonstrating both the value and limits of various postmodern theories for sociological inquiry....I was impressed with the authors' clarity of presentation as well as the critical stance they took with regard to assessing the value of each postmodern approach for sociology....This book is a worthwhile resource for sociologists interested in gaining familiarity with the multiple faces of postmodern theories....It should prompt the reader to take postmodern critiques seriously as challenges to the thinking and doing of sociology as well as a new focus of study." - Clinical Sociology Review

The Sociology of Postmodernism (International Library of Sociology Series) Book by Scott Lash
The first sociological examination of postmodernism. Written by a noted scholar in the field, it considers the diffferences between modernism and postmodernism, describes the social and historical context which gave rise to both, and provides the clearest explanation of why postmodernism is important.

Against Postmodernism : A Marxist Critique Book by Alex Callinicos
It has become an intellectual commonplace to claim that we have entered the era of 'postmodernity'. Three themes are embraced in this claim; the poststructurist critique by Foucault, Derrida and others of the philosophical heritage of the Enlightenment; the supposed impasse of High Modern art and its replacement by new artistic forms; and the alleged emergence of 'post-industrial' societies whose structures are beyond the ken of Marx and other theorists of industrial capitalism.
Against Postmodernism takes issue with all these themes. It challenges the idealist irrationalism of post-structuralism. It questions the existence of any radical break separating allegedly Postmodern from Modern art.
Drawing on philosophy and history, Against Postmodernism takes issue also with some of the most forthright critics of postmodernism -- Jurgen Habermas and Fredric Jameson, for example.
Postmodernism, Alex Callinios argues, reflects the disappointed revolutionary generation of '68, and the incorporation of many of its members into the porfessional and managerial 'new middle class'.

The Postmodern Presence: Readings on Postmodernism in American Culture and Society Book by Arthur Asa Berger
Postmodern is a popular term, but difficult to define. Is it a movement? Discipline? Lifestyle? Or all these things? What are the limits of its jurisdiction? Instead of summing up the various perspectives of scholars and the variety of ideas to which the term postmodernism has been assigned, Berger lets this diversity speak for itself. By bringing together in a reader format articles and essays on the impact of the postmodern temper on an eclectic range of subjects from MTV and "The X-Files" to museums and university culture, Berger presents a few of the many ways different theorists have come to terms with postmodernism, while examining manifestations of postmodernism in the culture of everyday life. The collection is sure to engage students and encourage a real involvement with the issues of postmodernism. When paired with its "postmodern murder mystery" companion, "Postmortem for a Postmodernist" the pair make an engaging exploration into the world of the postmodern presence.

Postmodernism and Popular Culture Book by Angela McRobbie
Cultural studies began as a radical political project, establishing the cultural centrality of everday life and popular culture. In a postmodern world where old uncertainties are undermined and identities fragmented, the way forward for those working with popular culture has become less clear. In contrast to more pessimistic readings of the possibilities of postmodernity, Postmodernism and Popular Culture engages with postmodernity as a space for social change and political transformation.

Postmodernism and Management: Pros, Cons and the Alternative (Research in the Sociology of Organizations) Book by Edwin A Locke
Postmodern philosophy has had a profound effect on intellectuals throughout the world. Its influence has seeped into many fields other than philosophy including literature, psychology, sociology, political science, history, journalism and management. The book includes four chapters by the most highly regarded pro postmodern scholars and an equal number of chapters by the most highly regarded anti postmodern scholars. Adding to the controversy is a final chapter which argues that Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is the proper alternative to postmodernism.

Consumer Culture and Postmodernism (Theory, Culture and Society Series) Book by Mike Featherstone
If a society is postmodern, it must prioritize the consumption of resources in everyday life. In this view, mass media advertising and market dynamics lead us to a constant search for new fashions, new styles, new sensations, and new experiences. In this volume, Featherstone examines the idea of a postmodern society. He explores the roots of consumer culture, how it is defined and differentiated and the extent to which it represents the arrival of a "postmodern" world. He examines the theories of consumption and postmodernism among contemporary social theorists and relates these to the actual nature of contemporary consumer culture. Consumer Culture and Postmodernism will interest academics and professionals in the areas of sociology, social theory, cultural studies, economics and anthropology. - Humanity and Society

Postmodernism: A Very Short Introduction Book by Christopher Butler
Postmodernism has become the buzzword of contemporary society over the last decade. But how can it be defined? In this highly readable introduction the mysteries of this most elusive of concepts are unraveled, casting a critical light upon the way we live now, from the politicizing of museum culture to the cult of the politically correct. The key postmodernist ideas are explored and challenged, as they figure in the theory, philosophy, politics, ethics and artwork of the period, and it is shown how they have interacted within a postmodernist culture.

Social Postmodernism : Beyond Identity Politics Book by Linda Nicholson, Steven Seidman (Series Editor), Jeffrey C. Alexander (Series Editor)
Social Postmodernism offers a transformative political vision and addresses the live questions in identity politics. The postmodern focus on race, sexuality and gender is sharpened by integrating the micro-social concerns of the social movements associated with these issues and macro-institutional and cultural analysis. Social Postmodernism brings together leading theorists to explore further the implications for the discourses of feminism, post-Marxian cultural studies, African-American, Gay, Latino/a and postcolonial studies. - Cambridge University Press.

Leaky Bodies and Boundaries: Feminism, Postmodernism and (Bio)Ethics Book by Margrit Shildrick
Drawing on postmodernist analyses, Leaky Bodies and Boundaries presents a feminist investigation into the marginalization of women within western discourse that denies both female moral agency and bodylines. With reference to contemporary and historical issues in biomedicine, the book argues that the boundaries of both the subject and the body are no longer secure. The aim is both to valorize women and to suggest that "leakiness" may be the very ground for a postmodern feminist ethic.
The contribution made by Margrit Shildrick is to go beyond modernist feminisms to radically displace the mechanisms by which women are devalued. The anxiety that postmodernism cannot yield an ethics, nor advance feminist concerns is addressed.

Negotiating Postmodernism Book by Wayne Gabardi
A comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of this essential debate.
No longer is there one postmodernism. Joining the modern-postmodern debate as it arrives at a critical juncture, this book suggests that the polarizing polemics of the radical postmodernists who once dominated the discussion have given way to a new "critical postmodernism" characterized by dialogue, accommodation, and synthesis.
Gabardi considers the relevant literatures that make up the second wave of the modern-postmodern debate, engaging the work of contemporary social and political thinkers ranging from Lyotard and Bauman to Giddens and Habermas, from Heidegger and Arendt to Foucault and Wolin.

Postmodern Social Analysis and Criticism: (Contributions in Sociology)
Book by John W. Murphy
In an introductory chapter, Murphy looks at the differences between modernism and postmodernism and discusses the "metanarratives" that characterize the former. He goes on to clarify key assumptions and concepts, especially the postmodern opposition to the traditional Western separation of subject and object. In subsequent chapters, he describes the research methodology used by postmodernists, their views of social ontology and the relationship between order and structure, and the creation of socially responsible institutions. The postmodernists' reconceptualization of key aspects of cultural reality, including time, space, reason, and social relations, is examined in detail. Murphy concludes by exploring the political ramifications of the postmodernist model and its potential as a vehicle for building a genuinely democractic society.

Sociology after Postmodernism Book by David Owen (Editor)
Postmodernism is frequently described as a death-blow to sociology. In proposing the end of society, it is regarded as robbing sociologists of their subject matter. This book examines the effect of postmodernism on sociological thought with individual chapters that address the topics of class, gender, race, criminology and deviance, law, culture, sexuality, emotion, medicine and the body, science and technology, and historical and political sociology. The authors argue that it is a mistake to conceive of postmodernism in terms of a fatal attack on what sociologists do. They locate the identity of sociology "after" postmodernism as a contested site that opens up the possibility of re-imagining the enterprise of sociology. Postmodernism is presented as a source of stimulation that requires sociologists to reconsider some of their central conventional categories and practices.

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