An introduction to and critique of the latest trends in critical theory.

While the academic study of religion has increased almost exponentially in the past fifty years, general theories of religion have been in significant decline. In his new book, Carl Raschke offers the first systematic exploration of how the postmodern philosophical theories of Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, Alain Badiou, and Slavoj Zizek have contributed significantly to the development of a theory of religion as a whole. The bold paradigm he uses to articulate the framework for a revolution in religious theory comes from semiotics--namely, the problem of the sign and the "singularity" or "event horizon" from which a sign is generated.

This lucid and insightful study of a crucial area of current debate covers the three theories of contemporary change: the information society, post-Fordism and postmodernity.

The author critiques postmodern/narrative theory, with its underlying antirealist/constructivist philosophy that the knower makes rather than discovers reality. As an alternative, she introduces readers to the integrative/eclective therapy movement and proposes "modest realism".

In this timely volume, the authors systematically analyze postmodern theory to evaluate its relevance for critical social theory and radical politics today. Best and Kellner provide: * An introduction and critique of the work of Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari, Baudrillard, Lyotard, Laclau and Mouffe, and Jameson, which assess the varying contributions and limitations of postmodern theory * A discussion of postmodern feminist theory and the politics of identity * A systematic study of the origin of the discourse of the postmodern in historical, sociological, cultural, and philosophical studies. The authors claim that while postmodern theory provides insights into contemporary developments, it lacks adequate methodological and political perspectives to provide a critical social theory and radical politics for the present age.

Provides an introductory explanation of postmodernism and its connection to film theory, and how it can be used to interpret Ridley Scott’s film, Blade Runner.

First published in 1997, this volume asks: when was ‘The Postmodern’ in the History of Management Thought? Marta B. Calás and Linda Smircich have chosen this subtitle as entry point to the collection for several reasons. The first, and most evident, is that it prompts us to reflect on the inclusion of a volume on postmodern organization studies within a series of books on the history of management thought. What does such inclusion signal? Are we saying that we are past the postmodern in organization studies? That we have transcended modernity and, beyond, postmodernity? Similar to other social sciences, organization and management studies in the Anglo-American and European academy became impressed by the styles of ‘postmodernism’ and their epistemological companions, ‘poststructuralisms’, during the 1980s. For this collection we have selected twenty two journal articles, published between 1985 and 1996, that we consider emblematic of postmodern endeavours in management thought, as they further our understanding of how ‘truth’ (of any paradigmatic persuasion), is fashioned through particular discourses and other signifying practices. Taken together, these articles address the following questions: What has the field accomplished through attempts at being postmodern? With what consequences? And, where does the field stand now, if it is still/already (going) after ‘the postmodern’? In our view ‘the postmodern’ cannot transcend modern management thought; it is, rather, part of it. Nevertheless, the mere appearance of efforts towards making the field ‘postmodern’ makes it important to account for them in the history of the field. Such is the narrative that we are trying to portray in this volume.