The Cambridge History of Postmodern Literature

The Cambridge History of Postmodern Literature offers a comprehensive survey of the field, from its emergence in the mid-twentieth century to the present day. It offers an unparalleled examination of all facets of postmodern writing that helps readers to understand how fiction and poetry, literary criticism, feminist theory, mass media, and the visual and fine arts have characterized the historical development of postmodernism. Covering subjects from the Cold War and countercultures to the Latin American Boom and magic realism, this History traces the genealogy of a literary tradition while remaining grounded in current scholarship. It also presents new critical approaches to postmodern literature that will serve the needs of students and specialists alike. Written by a host of leading scholars, this History will not only engage readers in contemporary debates but also serve as a definitive reference for years to come.

1. Postmodernism and its precursors Joe Bray; 2. After the Holocaust Robert Eaglestone; 3. Empire's ebb Theo D'Haen; 4. Cold War culture at the mid-century Alan Nadel; 5. Mass mediation John Johnston; 6. Countercultures David Shumway; 7. New novels Randall Stevenson; 8. The Latin American boom and the invention of magic realism Wendy B. Faris; 9. Rise of theory Thomas Docherty; 10. The architectural paradigm Brian McHale; 11. The dematerialization of the art object – a conversation Amanda Gluibizzi and Michael Mercil; 12. The new Hollywood cinema and after John Hellmann; 13. Second-wave feminism and after Robin Warhol; 14. Gay and lesbian subcultures from Stonewall to Angels in America Martin Dines; 15. The 'post' in 'postcolonial' Sara Upstone; 16. 'Celtic' postmodernism and the break up of Britain Len Platt; 17. Historiographic metafictions Amy Elias; 18. High/low, or avant-pop Brian McHale; 19. The oulipo, language poetry, and proceduralism Andrew Epstein; 20. Punk and MTV Barry Shank; 21. Cyberpunk and postmodern science fiction Elana Gomel; 22. The art market and the revival of painting in the 1990s Frazer Ward; 23. Hip hop is (not) postmodern James Braxton Peterson; 24. Postmodern Japan and global visual culture Takauko Tatsumi; 25. Digital culture and posthumanism Dave Ciccoricco; 26. Culture war at the turn of the millennium Ellen G. Friedman; 27. Second-generation postmoderns Stephen Burn; 28. Postmodern China Wang Ning; 29. Towards cosmodernism? Christian Moraru; Epilogue: Y2K and after Andrew Hoberek.

Brian McHale is Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor of English at the Ohio State University. He is the author of Constructing Postmodernism, The Obligation toward the Difficult Whole, and The Cambridge Introduction to Postmodernism (Cambridge, 2015). He also coedited, with Inger H. Dalsgaard and Luc Herman, The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Pynchon (Cambridge, 2012).
Len Platt is Professor of Modern Literatures at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He is the author of Joyce and the Anglo-Irish; Joyce, Race and Finnegans Wake; and James Joyce: Texts and Contexts. He also edited Modernism and Race (Cambridge, 2010) and, with Sara Upstone, Postmodern Literature and Race (Cambridge, 2015).