Negotiating 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. A comprehensive survey, Negotiating Postmodernism also marks the arrival of a powerful, critical presence on the scene, one that advances the idea of a late modern-postmodern social and cultural transition.
Beams an intelligent searchlight on some of the major philosophical and social-political trends of our time.
Journal of Politics
Philosophy/Critical Theory
A comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of this essential debate.
No longer is there one postmodernism. Joining the modern-postmodern debate at a critical juncture, Wayne Gabardi suggests that the polarizing polemics of the radical postmodernists have given way to a new "critical postmodernism" characterized by dialogue, accommodation, and synthesis. Negotiating Postmodernism marks the arrival of a powerful, critical presence on the scene, one that advances the idea of a late modern-postmodern social and cultural transition.
From the battle lines drawn between neo-Marxist writers and postmoderns in the early sixties to the shifting positions staked out in the eighties and nineties, Gabardi identifies the salient features of the evolving discussion and searches out common ground for the contending parties. Engaging the work of contemporary social and political thinkers from Lyotard and Bauman to Giddens and Habermas, from Heidegger and Arendt to Foucault and Wolin, Garbardi provides a comprehensive overview and interpretation, while offering major theoretical propositions regarding the future of democracy.
Translation Inquiries: University of Minnesota Press
Beams an intelligent searchlight on some of the major philosophical and social-political trends of our time.
Journal of Politics
The range of references is persuasive, and Gabardi’s synoptic readings provide a useful introduction to some difficult social theorists.
Canadian Literature
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction:The Nature ofOur Present
Part I
1. The Modern-Postmodern Debate and Its Legacy
2. A Society in Transition
Part II
3. The Idea of Critical Postmodernism
4. Foucault’s Presence
Part III
5. Complexity,Governmentality,and the Fate ofDemocracy
6. Postmodern Strategies and Democratic Politics
Conclusion:Negotiating the Late Modern/Postmodern Transition
Notes
Index
