Introducing Postmodernism

By: Richard Appignanesi

Narrated by: William Roberts

What on earth is postmodernism? Here, at last, is the perfect audio guide to the maddeningly enigmatic concept that has been used to describe our cultural condition of the late-20th and early-21st centuries.

Postmodernism claims that "modernity", which grew from the Enlightenment to the Industrial Revolution and Marxism, has collapsed. We now live in an endlessly "contemporary" culture, a virtual world of "hyperreality" containing such strange phenomena as post-Holocaust amnesia, Disneyland, cyberspace, and Fukuyama's proclaimed "end of history".

Richard Appignanesi, author of the best-selling book Introducing Postmodernism, takes the listener on a roller-coaster ride through the key areas of postmodern debate and explains the essentials of structuralism, semiotics, and deconstruction as developed by Foucault, Levi-Strauss, Barthes, Derrida, Lacan, Lyotard, and others. It is a crucial guide for anyone wanting to understand the hall of mirrors that is postmodernism.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2005 Naxos AudioBooks Ltd. (P)2005 Naxos AudioBooks Ltd.

Critic reviews

"Brilliantly wide-ranging." (Sunday Times)

"A perfect match of form and content." (Times Educational Supplement)

interesting though difficult to understand start

What made the experience of listening to Introducing Postmodernism the most enjoyable?

It is accurate to the confusion your feel when trying to understand postmodernism.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The desire to overcome the phenomenon which is postmodernism.

What about William Roberts’s performance did you like?

sure

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

Postmodernism really at the root leaves you feeling less and less human in the end even though there are some very good aspects that have taken place because of the concern for others and there plight.

Post Modernism Dramatized

Wonderful fun! The exquisite plurality of voices speak the text and playfully materialize the fragmentation of the subject!

very good!

A very quick and entering overview of Modernism. Very good performances from the many voice actors. 5/5

Less Flash more Facts

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, I got this book to listen to during my commute but this honestly was not what I was expecting.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The different characters speaking made this book really hard to listen to. To tell you the truth I never finished listening to it because I became slightly annoyed at the acting taking place when they were discussing art history.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Less flash and more facts!

Did Introducing Postmodernism inspire you to do anything?

not really

Good intro.

A little cheesy and a little scatter-brained, but that's the way it goes with Postmodernism. I'm left with wanting to know more and to have a better grasp of what connects it all together.