Russian Postmodernism

Mikhail N. Epstein was one of the main proponents of postmodernism in Russia and the founder of the Laboratory of Modern Culture, Experimental Center of Creativity, Moscow. He is S. C. Dobbs Professor of Cultural Theory and Russian Literature at Emory University (USA) and Professor of Russian and Cultural Theory, Director of Centre for Humanities Innovation, at Durham University (UK).

• Preface to the 1st editionThomas EpsteinPreface to the 2nd edition: Postmodernism and the Explosive Style of the Twenty-First CenturyMikhail EpsteinIntroduction: “New Sectarianism” and the Pleasure Principle in Postmodern Russian CultureSlobodanka Vladiv-GloverPART I: THE MAKING OF RUSSIAN POSTMODERNISMChapter 1. The Dialectics of Hyper: From Modernism to PostmodernismMikhail EpsteinChapter 2. Postmodernism, Communism, and Sots‑ArtMikhail EpsteinChapter 3. Representation of the Other in the Literature of the 1960sSlobodanka Vladiv-GloverChapter 4. Perestroika as a Literary Paradigm ShiftAlexander GenisPART II: MANIFESTOS OF RUSSIAN POSTMODERNISMLiterary ManifestosMikhail EpsteinChapter 5. Theses on Metarealism and Conceptualism (1983)Chapter 6. On Olga Sedakova and Lev Rubinshtein (1984)Chapter 7. What is Metarealism? Facts and Hypotheses (1986)Chapter 8. What is Metabole? On the Third Trope (1986)Chapter 9. Like a Corpse in the Desert: On the New Moscow Poetry (1987)Chapter 10. A Catalogue of New Poetries (1987)Cultural ManifestosMikhail EpsteinChapter 11. Essayism: An Essay on the Essay (1982)Chapter 12. The Ecology of Thinking (1982)Chapter 13. Minimal Religion (1982)Chapter 14. The Age of Universalism (1983)Chapter 15. The Paradox of Acceleration (1985)PART III: SOCIALIST REALISM AND POSTMODERNISMChapter 16. Archaic Postmodernism: The Aesthetics of Andrei SinyavskyAlexander GenisChapter 17. Postmodernism and Socialist Realism: From Sinyavsky to SorokinAlexander GenisChapter 18. Borders and Metamorphoses: Victor Pelevin in the Context of Post-Soviet LiteratureAlexander GenisPART IV: CONCEPTUALISMChapter 19. The New Model of Discourse in Post–Soviet Fiction: Liudmila Petrushevskaia and Tatiana TolstaiaSlobodanka Vladiv-GloverChapter 20. Heterogeneity and the Post-Avant-Garde: The Excremental Poetics of Vladimir SorokinSlobodanka Vladiv-GloverChapter 21. Emptiness as Technique: Word and Image in Ilya KabakovMikhail EpsteinChapter 22. The Philosophical Implications of Russian ConceptualismMikhail EpsteinPART V: POSTMODERNISM AND SPIRITUALITYChapter 23. Post-Atheism:  From Apophatic Theology to “Minimal Religion”Mikhail EpsteinChapter 24. Onions and Cabbages: Paradigms of Contemporary CultureAlexander GenisChapter 25. The Charms of Entropy and New SentimentalityMikhail EpsteinConclusion: On the Place of Postmodernism in PostmodernityMikhail EpsteinSelect BibliographyIndex of NamesIndex of Subjects

“Authors of this volume are well-known specialists in Russian literature and culture… This collection of essays has considerable cultural and documentary value (a second edition proves this) and may inspire everyone with interesting cultural paradigms and thoughtful observations… [It] raises many crucial issues and opens up new perspectives on research in the mentioned fields.” · Slavic and East European Journal"Subtle readings and carefully argued interpretations. The articles and manifestoes, supplemented by a valuable 'Who's Who,' answer a great many of the questions associated with postmodernism in general, and the Russian variety in particular." · Slavic Review"The most up-to-date reference book on Russian postmodernist culture. An important contribution to the growing area of Russian cultural studies." · New Zealand Slavonic Journal-Russian Section"The most comprehensive examination of Russian postmodern thought available in English." · World Literature Today