The Postmodern Presence Readings on Postmodernism in American Culture and Society

by Berger, Arthur Asa

• ISBN13: 9780761989790
• ISBN10: 076198979X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-04-21
• Publisher: AltaMira Press

Summary

"Postmodern" is a popular term, but difficult to define. Is it a movement? Discipline? Lifestyle? Or all these things? What are the limits of its jurisdiction? Instead of summing up the various perspectives of scholars and the variety of ideas to which the term postmodernism has been assigned, Berger lets this diversity speak for itself. By bringing together in a reader format articles and essays on the impact of the postmodern temper on an eclectic range of subjects from MTV and "The X-Files" to museums and university culture, Berger presents a few of the many ways different theorists have come to terms with postmodernism, while examining manifestations of postmodernism in the culture of everyday life. Highly entertaining and thought-provoking, the collection is sure to engage students and encourage a real involvement with the issues of postmodernism. And, when paired with its "postmodern murder mystery" companion, Postmortem for a Postmodernist (also published by AltaMira Press), the pair make an amusing and engaging exploration into the world of the postmodern presence.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	7	(2)
Introduction: Homo Postmodernus: A New Kind of Human Being?	9	(8)
ARTHUR ASA BERGER
1. Postmodernity and Popular Culture: Understanding our National Pastime	17	(18)
GREG MILLER
MICHAEL REAL
2. Our Decentered Culture: The Postmodern Worldview	35	(16)
JACK SOLOMON
3. A Spy Guide to Postmodern Everything	51	(7)
BRUCE HANDY
4. Postmodernism: What Are They Talking About	58	(16)
TODD GITLIN
5. Themed Environments of Everyday Life: Restaurants and Malls	74	(14)
MARK GOTTDIENER
6. Postmodern/Postmuseum? Popular Culture and Museums in Contemporary Society	88	(15)
ARTHUR ASA BERGER
7. The Westin Bonaventure Hotel	103	(9)
FREDRIC JAMESON
8. Stepping Into Wayne's World: Exploring Postmodern Comedy	112	(13)
JASON RUTTER
9. Not Your Parents' FBI: The X-Files and "Jose Chung's From Outer Space"	125	(32)
EILEEN MEEHAN
10. The Terminator: A Case Study in High Tech Paranoia	157	(9)
ARTHUR ASA BERGER
11. MTV: Post-Structural, Post-Modern	166	(9)
JOHN FISKE
12. MTV: The (Dis)Appearance of Postmodern Semiosis, or the Cultural Politics of Resistance	175	(5)
KUAN-HSING CHEN
13. Higher Education at the End of the Millennium	180	(13)
PETER SACKS
14. Fashion in the Face of Postmodernity	193	(19)
CHARLOTTA KRATZ
BO REIMER
15. Postmodernism and Jokes	212	(27)
N.J.C. VASANTKUMAR
16. Being Analog	239	(15)
CAROL WILDER
17. Postmodern Virtualities	254	(20)
MARK POSTER
18. Teledildonics and Beyond	274	(14)
HOWARD RHEINGOLD
19. Exploring Modernity: Postmodern Theory: Critical Interrogations	288	(12)
STEVEN BEST
DOUGLAS KELLNER
20. America	300	(11)
JEAN BAUDRILLARD
Selected Bibliography	311	(2)
Index	313	(7)
List of Contributors	320