t extensions/critiques of Marxs ideas. But even in Baudrillards later works, the specter of Marx lingers. In Fatal Strategies Baudrillard talks about a revolution. This revolution, while distinct from Marx, still relies heavily on Marxian ideas. What is loosely referred to as "postmodern theory" has been around, in various forms for a while. There are theorists whose body of work would largely be classified as modernists, who actually have a postmodern bent to some of their ideas. People like Talcott Parsons, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, and Nietzsche. All have traces of postmodern ideas in their work. In fact many would consider people like Nietzsche, and Ludwig Wittgenstein, precursors to postmodern theory. So, we get to the big question, what makes a theory postmodern? This is a tough question and one that really shouldnt be answered in the limited space available in this paper.. But, I am going to attempt to do it anyway. The quickest answer is that postmodern theories/theorists are those that are labeled by modernists. Most of the people that we associate closely with postmodern theory, in Sociology, would reject the label for themselves, including Michel Foucault, Jean-Francois Lyotard, and Baudrillard. Modernists are the ones who assign the labels. However, there must be a reason for the assignation. What do these theorists have in common that makes them susceptible to the label of postmodernist? Well, there seem to be some common themes that run through postmodern literature (aside from often thinly veiled ties to modern theory). These are very generic, but it should give you an idea of what to expect. Rejection of the Grand Narrative, an idea which runs through most modern literature. Critique of Modernity. While there is interest in critiquing modernity, seldom is an alternative offered. Interest in "low-culture" (television, movies, sex). Obsession with text (Lyotards term, Foucault uses the term gaze). There are...
