Abstract

What comes after "postmodernism"? A buzzword which began as an energising, radical critique became, by the 20th Century's end, a byword for fracture, eclecticism, political apathy and intellectual exhaustion. The last few years have seen growing interest in critical realism as a possible, alternative way of moving forward. The virtues of critical realism lie in its successful provision of a philosophical grounding for the social sciences and humanities and of a methodology applicable to many different fields of analysis. After Postmodernism brings together some of the best-known names in the field to present the first truly interdisciplinary introduction to critical realism. The book presents the reader with a compendium of accessible essays illustrating the connections between meta-theory, theory and substantive research across Sociology, Philosophy, Literary Studies, Politics, Media Studies, Psychology and Science Studies. The flexibility of critical realism is illustrated in the range of topics discussed - ranging from quantum mechanics to cyberspace, to literary theory, nature, smoking, the future of Marx, the unconscious and, of course, postmodernism and the future of theory itself.