Books, journal articles, conference themes and university courses have resounded to the debates about postmodernism that focus on the uniqueness of our times, where computerization, the global economy and the media have irrevocably transformed all forms of social engagement. As a professor of sociology who teaches about culture, I include myself in this environment. Indeed, I have a great interest in postmodernism both as an intellectual movement and as a practical problem. In my experience there seems to be a gulf between those who bemoan the postmodern turn as a sad move away from Marxist-dominated cultural theory, and those who see it as a long overdue break with modernist doctrines in education, aesthetics and politics. However, I think the real gulf is not so much positional as rhetorical.
Posture can be as important as politics when it comes to the intelligentsia.
In other words, it may be less important whether or not you like postmodernism than whether or not you can speak and write postmodernism. Perhaps you would like to join in conversation with your local mandarins of cultural theory and all-purpose deep thinking, but you don't know what to say. Or, when you do contribute something you consider relevant, even insightful, you get ignored or looked at with pity. Here is a quick guide, then, to speaking and writing postmodern. First, you need to remember that plainly expressed language is out of the question.