Introducing Postmodernism

Was September 11th the apotheosis of the postmodern era, the supreme trial of symbolism over substance? Or did that day debase the theories of gurus like Derrida, Foucault and Baudrillard? This and more in a newly updated and expanded edition of a classic bestseller.

Postmodernism is the maddeningly enigmatic concept which is supposed to describe our cultural condition the world over. It claims that modernity, which grew from giants like the Enlightenment and Marxism, has collapsed. We now live in an endlessly contemporary culture full of contested meanings, parody, pastiche and cultural cross-over.

Richard Appignanesi asks what this over-used term means in 2003 and beyond. With broadband internet, cell phones and viral marketing, have we really reached the peak of the postmodern world?