After the Great Divide: Modernism, Mass Culture, Postmodernism (Theories of Representation and Difference) (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: historical avantgarde, classical avantgarde, late igth century, United States, Third Reich, Peter Weiss (more...)

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"One of the most comprehensive and intelligent postmodern critics of art and literature, Huyssen collects here a series of his essays on pomo... " -- Village Voice Literary Supplement

"... his work remains alert to the problematic relationship obtaining between marxisms and poststructuralisms." -- American Literary History

"... challenging and astute." -- World Literature Today

"Huyssen's level-headed account of this controversial constellation of critical voices brings welcome clarification to today's murky haze of cultural discussion and proves definitively that commentary from the tradition of the German Left has an indispensable role to play in contemporary criticism." -- The German Quarterly

"... we will certainly have, after reading this book, a deeper understanding of the forces that have led up to the present and of the possibilities still open to us." -- Critical Texts

"... a rich, multifaceted study." -- The Year's Work in English Studies

Huyssen argues that postmodernism cannot be regarded as a radical break with the past, as it is deeply indebted to that other trend within the culture of modernity -- the historical avant-garde.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (February 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253203996
• ISBN-13: 978-0253203991
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #399,473 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the first book you should read on postmodernism, August 27, 2003

By	Tara F. Chace (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you've already read about 10 books on postmodernism and you're thirsty for more, this will make a great 11th book. It's not the easiest (try Postmodernism for Beginners) or the most insightful (try McHale's Postmodernist Fiction or Jencks's Post-Modern Architecture).

Huyssen clearly knows his stuff and has some great insights, but he spends a lot of time dwelling on the very dichotomies he claims have become outmoded. For exmple, he writes:

"...my main point about contemporary postmodernism is that it operates in a field of tension between tradition and innovation, conservation and renewal, mass culture and high art, in which the second terms are no longer automatically privileged over the first; a field of tension which can no longer be grasped in categories such as progress vs. reaction, left vs. right, present vs. past, modernism vs. realism, abstraction vs. representation, avantgarde vs. Kitsch. The fact that such dichotomies, which after all are central to the classical accounts of modernism, have broken down is part of the shift I have been trying to describe."

He sure uses a lot of dichotomies to describe the breakdown in the dichotomy system!

FYI: Huyssen is a German professor and relies very heavily on German examples.

If you're really into the topic, it's well worth reading. It's a must for theory junkies and anyone writing a dissertation on postmodernism or doing graduate work in German modernism or postmodernism.