Endorsements

Postmodern, postcolonial, postfeminist, and now even post-truth - it seems as if 'post-concepts' are everywhere. This, however, has not always been the case. Some exceptions notwithstanding, the habit of interpreting the world in post-terms dates back no further than the 1950s, when a postwar generation tried to make sense of a world full of change. Post-everything examines why post-Christian, post-industrial, and post-bourgeois were terms that resonated, not only among academics, but also in the popular press. It traces the historical roots of postmodern and poststructuralist, while also subjecting more recent post-constructions (posthumanist, postfeminist) to critical scrutiny. This volume is unique in approaching these concepts from a historical point of view. Instead of engaging theoretically with post-ideology or post-capitalism, the volume offers historical explanations for their emergence and popularity. It paints vivid portraits of intellectuals (the 'post boys', as they were initially called) who brought these concepts into circulation - from German theologians fighting the Nazi regime to literary theorists inviting Jacques Derrida to a conference in the US. In tracing post-terms through a broad variety of genres and fields, Post-everything illustrates the potential of a broadly conceived history of knowledge, while also contributing, more specifically, to a rapprochement between the history of the humanities and the history of the social sciences.