1980年代、脱近代をめざした芸術家たちがそれぞれの分野で新たな活動を始めました。この現象はポストモダニズムと呼ばれ一世を風靡しましたが、単なる流行との見方もあり、その定義は難しいとされています。本書では、その主な思想を解明すべく、当時の芸術家たちはもとより、知識人や評論家の主張を通じて、その美学や哲学について掘り下げます。
   

• 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.