The Life and Times of Post-Modernity

This critical review of 'postmodernity' argues that we are not living in the midst of a new 'great transformation'. Rather, the problems and possibilities of contemporary culture reflect the paradoxes and dreams of modernity.

''Postmodernity'' is often claimed as a great transformation in society and culture. But is it? In this book Keith Tester casts a cautious eye on such grandiose claims. Tester draws on a series of themes and stories from European sociology and literature to show that many of the great statements from ''postmodernity'' are misplaced. ''Postmodernity'' is not the harbinger or expression of a new world. It is a reflection of the unresolved paradoxes and possibilities of modernity. The author establishes a clearly expressed and stimulating model of modernity to demonstrate the stakes and consequences of ''postmodernity''. This book uses a wealth of sources which are usually denigrated or ignored in the debates on ''postmodernity''. As such it sheds new light on old claims. But it never fails to acknowledge the profound insights of sociologists and other authors. The Life and Times of Post-Modernity is a continuation of the themes which Tester raised in his earlier books with Routledge, The Two Sovereigns and Civil Society .