>but, in australia, do you get the
>impression, as i do, that the wars between 'postmodernism' and 'marxism'
>have been pretty much left behind as irrelevant and gratuitous in the
>face of the wars which escalated over 'black armband history', etc? the
>only ones going on about the dangers of 'postmodernism' now are
>right-wingers like kramer, who know that both 'postmodernism' (whatever
>that is) and marxism signal a politicisation of the academy and its
>work. and that struggle is hardly romantic, especially as it relates
>to land rights, compensation, apologies and so on.
Really like your politics and usually love the way you argue, Ange - but the methane escaping from the dead cow that is postmodernism (get well soon, Robert Hughes) is not arguing with Marxism because, in Oz, the latter corpse can't even muster methane. Do you read Quadrant (a right-wing fogeys-with-degrees rag, for all you Yancquis)? They don't attack Marxism any more either. The whole left gets put under the poststructuralist/postmodernist umbrella in these ravings, coz that's the only enemy they see. Perhaps the weight of their bitter paranoia is all that keeps the dead cow on its feet ... or perhaps they just want it on its feet.
>derrida's lecture in
>melbourne was precisely a way of working through the issues of justice
>and recompense and apologies -- all very significant issues in
>australian politics at the moment,
I dare you to tell us precisely where that 'way of working through the issues' has taken us, Ange!
>and certainly not as
>self-congratulatory or easy to digest for the audience as a pat on the
>back for apparently working in 'the public good'.
I'll take the pat on the back please.
Cheers, Rob.