Fifty Key Postmodern Thinkers

265 Pages·2013·2.54 MB·English

by  Stuart Sim

FIFTY KEY POSTMODERN
THINKERS
Postmodernism is an important part of the cultural landscape which
continues to evolve, yet the ideas and theories surrounding the sub-
ject can be diverse and difficult to understand. Fifty Key Postmodern
Thinkers critically examines the work of fifty of the most important
theorists within the postmodern movement who have defined and
shapedthefield,bringingtogethertheirkeyideasinanaccessibleformat.
Drawingonfiguresfromawiderangeofsubjectareas, including litera-
ture, cultural theory, philosophy, sociology and architecture, those
covered include:
(cid:1) John Barth
(cid:1) Umberto Eco
(cid:1) Slavoj Žižek
(cid:1) Cindy Sherman
(cid:1) Jean-François Lyotard
(cid:1) Charles Jencks
(cid:1) Jacques Derrida
(cid:1) Homi K. Bhabha
(cid:1) Quentin Tarantino
Each entry examines the thinker’s career, key contributions and the-
ories, and refers to their major works. A valuable resource for those
studying postmodern ideas at both undergraduate and postgraduate
level, this text will appeal across the humanities and social sciences.
Stuart Sim is Professor of Critical Theory and Long Eighteenth-
Century English Literature at Northumbria University. His previous
publications include The End of Modernity: What the Financial &
EnvironmentalCrisisIsReallyTellingUs(2010),TheRoutledgeCompanion
to Postmodernism, 3rd edition (2011), The Lyotard Dictionary (2011) and
Addicted to Profit: Reclaiming Our Lives from the Free Market (2012).
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FIFTY KEY POSTMODERN
THINKERS
Stuart Sim
Firstpublished2013
byRoutledge
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1.Postmodernism.I.Title.
B831.2.S562013
149’.97–dc23
2012049726
ISBN:978-0-415-52585-5(hbk)
ISBN:978-0-415-52584-8(pbk)
ISBN:978-0-203-48597-2(ebk)
TypesetinBembo
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
CONTENTS
Alphabetical list of entries vi
Chronological list of entries viii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction 1
FIFTY KEY POSTMODERN THINKERS 9
Index 247
v
ALPHABETICAL LIST
OF ENTRIES
1 Theodor W. Adorno (1903–69) 11
2 Paul Auster (b. 1947) 15
3 John Barth (b. 1930) 20
4 Roland Barthes (1915–80) 25
5 Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) 29
6 Zygmunt Bauman (b. 1925) 34
7 Daniel Bell (1919–2011) 39
8 Homi K. Bhabha (b. 1949) 43
9 Nicolas Bourriaud (b. 1965) 48
10 Judith Butler (b. 1956) 53
11 John D. Caputo (b. 1940) 58
12 Hélène Cixous (b. 1937) 62
13 Guy Debord (1931–94) 67
14/15 Gilles Deleuze (1925–95) and Félix Guattari (1930–92) 72
16 Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) 81
17 Umberto Eco (b. 1932) 86
18 Paul K. Feyerabend (1924–94) 91
19 Michel Foucault (1926–84) 95
20 Clifford Geertz (1926–2006) 100
21 Kenneth J. Gergen (b. 1935) 105
22 William Gibson (b. 1948) 110
23 Philip Glass (b. 1937) 115
24 Stephen Greenblatt (b. 1937) 119
25 Peter Halley (b. 1953) 124
26 Donna J. Haraway (b. 1944) 129
27 David Harvey (b. 1935) 133
28 Linda Hutcheon (b. 1947) 138
29 Luce Irigaray (b. 1930) 143
30 Fredric Jameson (b. 1934) 148
31 Charles Jencks (b. 1939) 152
vi
ALPHABETICALLISTOFENTRIES
32 Rem Koolhaas (b. 1944) 157
33 Thomas S. Kuhn (1922–96) 162
34/35 Ernesto Laclau (b. 1935) and Chantal Mouffe (b. 1943) 167
36 David Lynch (b. 1946) 175
37 Jean-François Lyotard (1924–98) 180
38 Brian McHale (b. 1954) 185
39 Benoit B. Mandelbrot (1924–2010) 190
40 Steve Reich (b. 1936) 194
41 Richard Rorty (1931–2007) 199
42 Edward W. Said (1935–2003) 203
43 Cindy Sherman (b. 1954) 208
44 Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (b. 1941) 213
45 Quentin Tarantino (b. 1963) 217
46 René Thom (1923–2002) 222
47 Robert Venturi (b. 1925) 226
48 Graham Ward (b. 1955) 231
49 Hayden White (b. 1928) 236
50 Slavoj Žižek (b. 1949) 240
vii
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST
OF ENTRIES
Theodor W. Adorno (1903–69) 11
Roland Barthes (1915–80) 25
Daniel Bell (1919–2011) 39
Thomas S. Kuhn (1922–96) 162
René Thom (1923–2002) 222
Paul K. Feyerabend (1924–94) 91
Jean-François Lyotard (1924–98) 180
Benoit B. Mandelbrot (1924–2010) 190
Zygmunt Bauman (b. 1925) 34
Robert Venturi (b. 1925) 226
Gilles Deleuze (1925–95) 72
Michel Foucault (1926–84) 95
Clifford Geertz (1926–2006) 100
Hayden White (b. 1928) 236
Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) 29
John Barth (b. 1930) 20
Luce Irigaray (b. 1930) 143
Félix Guattari (1930–92) 72
Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) 81
Guy Debord (1931–94) 67
Richard Rorty (1931–2007) 199
Umberto Eco (b. 1932) 86
Fredric Jameson (b. 1934) 148
Kenneth J. Gergen (b. 1935) 105
David Harvey (b. 1935) 133
Ernesto Laclau (b. 1935) 167
Edward W. Said (1935–2003) 203
Steve Reich (b. 1936) 194
Hélène Cixous (b. 1937) 62
viii
CHRONOLOGICALLISTOFENTRIES
Philip Glass (b. 1937) 115
Stephen Greenblatt (b. 1937) 119
Charles Jencks (b. 1939) 152
John D. Caputo (b. 1940) 58
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (b. 1941) 213
Chantal Mouffe (b. 1943) 167
Donna J. Haraway (b. 1944) 129
Rem Koolhaas (b. 1944) 157
David Lynch (b. 1946) 175
Paul Auster (b. 1947) 15
Linda Hutcheon (b. 1947) 138
William Gibson (b. 1948) 110
Homi K. Bhabha (b. 1949) 43
Slavoj Žižek (b. 1949) 240
Peter Halley (b. 1953) 124
Brian McHale (b. 1954) 185
Cindy Sherman (b. 1954) 208
Graham Ward (b. 1955) 231
Judith Butler (b. 1956) 53
Quentin Tarantino (b. 1963) 217
Nicolas Bourriaud (b. 1965) 48
ix