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Acknowledgments ix <p>Preface x</p> <p>Note on contributors xiii</p> <p>Description xiv</p> <p>Introduction 1</p> <p>Dictionary</p> <p>Barthes, Roland (Tony Thwaites) 3</p> <p>Baudrillard, Jean (Niall Lucy) 7</p> <p>Cultural studies (John Hartley) 12</p> <p>Culture (Niall Lucy) 19</p> <p>Deconstruction (Claire Colebrook) 27</p> <p>Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Felix (Claire Colebrook) 30</p> <p>Derrida, Jacques (Tony Thwaites) 34</p> <p>Dialogue (John Hartley) 39</p> <p>Differend (Niall Lucy) 44</p> <p>Discourse (Robert Briggs) 52</p> <p>Eco, Umberto (John Hartley) 56</p> <p>Essence (Robert Briggs) 62</p> <p>Foucault, Michel (Robert Briggs) 69</p> <p>Globalization (John Hartley) 76</p> <p>Habermas, Jürgen (Claire Colebrook) 81</p> <p>Hassan, Ihab (Darren Tofts) 84</p> <p>Hyperreality (Robert Briggs) 89</p> <p>Jameson, Fredric (Niall Lucy) 96</p> <p>Jencks, Charles (John Hartley) 105</p> <p>Lacan, Jacques (Tony Thwaites) 110</p> <p>Lyotard, Jean-François (Niall Lucy) 113</p> <p>Metanarrative (Niall Lucy) 118</p> <p>Minor(itarian) (Niall Lucy) 128</p> <p>Modernism (Niall Lucy) 130</p> <p>Modernity (Niall Lucy) 137</p> <p>New media (McKenzie Wark) 139</p> <p>Paraliterature (Darren Tofts) 144</p> <p>Phrase (Claire Colebrook) 148</p> <p>Poststructuralism (Tony Thwaites) 149</p> <p>Punk (McKenzie Wark) 151</p> <p>Remix (Darren Tofts) 156</p> <p>Representation (Darren Tofts) 160</p> <p>Ronell, Avital (Claire Colebrook) 164</p> <p>Semiotics (Niall Lucy and John Hartley) 167</p> <p>Simulation (Niall Lucy) 172</p> <p>Situationism (McKenzie Wark) 178</p> <p>Sokal affair (McKenzie Wark) 182</p> <p>Transcendental signified (Robert Briggs) 188</p> <p>Truth (Tony Thwaites) 190</p> <p>?i?ek, Slavoj (Tony Thwaites) 194</p> <p>References 196</p> <p>Index</p>

<p><b>Niall Lucy</b> was Professor of Critical Theory at Curtin University and founding co-editor of the international journal. His books include <i>Literary Theory: An Introduction</i> (Wiley Blackwell, 1997), <i>A Derrida Dictionary</i> (Wiley Blackwell, 2004), and <i>Pomo Oz: Fear and Loathing Downunder</i> (2010). A leading figure in and postmodernism, Lucy died in 2014.</p>

<p>For many, postmodernism is notoriously resistant to definition, but this does not mean its key terms, concepts, figures and issues cannot be explained. <i>A Dictionary of Postmodernism</i> is an authoritative guide to the critical terms and central figures at the heart of postmodernist theory and culture. Offering a series of brief essays rather than strict ‘definitions’, chapters illuminate the names and ideas that have come to define the postmodern condition – from canonical figures including Baudrillard, Jameson, and Lyotard, to the concepts of deconstruction, metanarrative, and simulation – alongside less canonical topics ranging from dialogue to punk.</p> <p>At once a scholarly guide and enduring reference for the field, chapters provide a kaleidoscope of postmodernism perspectives – addressing its lovers (Barthes, Eco, and Hassan) and haters (Habermas, the Sokal affair); its movers (Deleuze and Guattari) and shakers (Derrida); its origins (modernism, semiotics) and outlook for the future (dialogue, globalization). Engaging and thought-provoking, <i>A Dictionary of Postmodernism</i> deftly reveals how there is more to postmodern theory than ‘definitions’ –and so much more to postmodern culture than ‘depthlessness’.</p>

<p>“Quirky, colourful and polemical, this volume is as much mosaic as dictionary, re-laying and reconfiguring established positions, suggesting new angles, and helping current understanding both to encompass, and perhaps finally move beyond, postmodern theories so influential in the late twentieth century.”—<b><i>Randall Stevenson, University of Edinburgh</i> </b></p> <p>“Niall Lucy's Dictionary of Postmodernism is as sharp and sprightly an assembly of essays on postmodernism as one could wish for,  which demonstrates the continuing traction and reach of postmodern thought in contemporary art and culture. All the principal persons and preoccupations are considered and the essays are clear-eyed and invigorating.”—<b><i>Steven Connor, University of Cambridge</i></b></p>

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