On Mon, 7 Feb 2005, Jon Johanning wrote about postmodernism:
> I conclude that it's all an elaborate hoax. (And the famous Sokal Affair only
> confirms that opinion, IMHO.) And since it seems to be of interest only to
> members of English Departments, and I have no interest whatsoever in what
> goes on in them, I'm washing my hands of the whole business. At least until
> someone can come up with an account of it in ordinary English which is
> guaranteed to be an authentic account of it. (If that's possible.)
>
As somebody on the list likes to point out (Justin?), 90% of everything in a field is dreck. This is definitely true of all the stuff that gets called "postmodernism". Jon, you already know the philosophical argument: it's more or less warmed over Nietzsche, without the overt misogyny.
Instead of wasting your time reading hack jobs or trying to "define" postmodernism, spend some time with the work. I suggest Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 1, if you've not read it.
Miles