• Enjoyable discussion of a subject popular amongst students and general readers interested in contemporary culture
• Covers a wide range of theorists, artists, and writers
• Highlights the positive and negative aspects of postmodernism
• Examines the aesthetic, philosophical, and political realms of postmodernism
• Chris Butler writes lucidly and perceptively

    
Postmodernism has been a buzzword in contemporary society for the last decade. But how can it be defined? In this Very Short Introduction Christopher Butler challenges and explores the key ideas of postmodernists, and their engagement with theory, literature, the visual arts, film, architecture, and music. He treats artists, intellectuals, critics, and social scientists 'as if they were all members of a loosely constituted and quarrelsome political party' - a party which includes such members as Cindy Sherman, Salman Rushdie, Jacques Derrida, Walter Abish, and Richard Rorty - creating a vastly entertaining framework in which to unravel the mysteries of the 'postmodern condition', from the politicizing of museum culture to the cult of the politically correct.