Re: Marxism vs. Pomo (a partial bibliography)

[Jon Beasley-Murray <jpb8@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A couple of things...

First of all, it's strange to think of this Sokal affair as a clash
between marxism and postmodernism: neither term describes either "side."
If one is to look at the prehistory of this dispute, the argument between
CP Snow and FR Leavis over the thesis of "Two Cultures" seems far more to
the point.

However, on the topic of marxism and postmodernism, I'd like to add
just a couple of suggestions:

i.  It really is hard to look at this topic while ignoring Jameson, for
example his introduction to _The Postmodern Condition_ or his _NLR_ essay
on "Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism."  I have a
feeling that he would very much agree with Doug's recent observation on
postmodernism being the intellectual consciousness of intellectuals in an
era when the fact of production may seem less apparent.

[for more on this, cf. Meaghan Morris' "The Banality of Cultural Studies,"
which appeared in _Discourse_ a little while back.  This is perhaps the
best critique of cultural studies (as I say, cultural studies is actually
what _Social Text_ is about) available, or so I think, but it might also
be worth checking out _From the Class Stuggle to the Politics of Pleasure:
the impact of Gramscianism on Cultural Studies_ and _Cultural Populism_.
This latter is by Jim McGuigan, but I forget the author of the first.
Maybe I can dredge better details up later]

ii.  I'd also highly recommend Neil Larsen's work.  There's much I don't
agree with--he's a Lukacian realist at heart--but he engages well with
postmodernism, and his critiques are more informed and acute than most
(certainly much more so than the nonsense that people like Christopher
Norris, Terry Eagleton or Alex Callinicos are apt to put out about
postmodernism).  See his collection of essays, _Reading North by South_.

Take care

Jon

Jon Beasley-Murray
Literature Program
Duke University
jpb8@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/~spoons


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