After the Future: The Paradoxes of Postmodernism and Contemporary Russian Culture (Critical Perspectives on Modern Culture)

This book brings together for the first time in English the major writings of Mikhail Epstein, one of post-Soviet Russia's most prominent theoreticians of cultural studies and postmodernism. Written from a non-Western point of view yet informed by a familiarity with Western literary theory, it offers a fresh, lucid perspective on the post-communist literary scene as well as a practical and theoretical introduction to the new discipline of Russian "culturology." Introduction: Mikhail Epstein's Transcultural Visions / Anesa Miller-pogacar -- 1. New Currents In Russian Poetry: Conceptualism, Metarealism, And Presentism -- 2. Avant-garde Art And Religion -- 3. After The Future: On The New Consciousness In Literature -- 4. Relativistic Patterns In Totalitarian Thinking: The Linguistic Games Of Soviet Ideology -- 5. Labor Of Lust: Erotic Metaphors Of Soviet Civilization -- 6. The Origins And Meaning Of Russian Postmodernism -- 7. At The Crossroads Of Image And Concept: Essayism In The Culture Of The Modern Age -- 8. Thing And Word: On The Lyrical Museum -- 9. Culture -- Culturology -- Transculture -- 10. Theory And Fantasy -- Conclusion: A Future After The Future. Mikhail N. Epstein ; Translated With An Introduction By Anesa Miller-pogacar. Translated From The Russian. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [341]-372) And Indexes. Written from a non-Western point of view, this work offers a fresh perspective on the postcommunist literary scene. The four sections of the book - literature, ideology, culture and methodology - reflect the range of postmodernism in contemporary Russia.