The A to Z of Postmodernism

This comprehensive handbook offers a systematic overview of postmodernism as an intellectual and cultural movement, mapping its key concepts, figures, and debates across multiple disciplines. Sim structures the work alphabetically, providing accessible yet substantive entries that trace postmodernism's development from its philosophical origins through its contemporary manifestations. The volume examines how postmodernist thought challenges foundational assumptions about knowledge, truth, and meaning that underpin traditional metaphysical and theological frameworks.

The handbook demonstrates how postmodernism's critique of grand narratives extends directly to religious and theological discourse. Through entries on major theorists like Lyotard, Derrida, and Foucault, Sim illustrates how postmodernist philosophy systematically deconstructs the epistemological certainties upon which classical theistic arguments depend. The work explores how concepts such as différance, simulation, and the death of the author problematize traditional notions of divine revelation, scriptural authority, and theological truth claims. Sim particularly emphasizes how postmodernism's linguistic turn undermines correspondence theories of truth that have historically supported religious apologetics.

The volume addresses the complex relationship between postmodernism and religious belief, documenting both the movement's secular trajectory and its unexpected theological appropriations. Sim examines how postmodern theology attempts to reconstruct faith after the critique of ontotheology, exploring figures who embrace apophatic approaches and weak theology. The handbook traces debates about whether postmodernism necessarily leads to nihilism or opens new possibilities for religious expression freed from metaphysical constraints. Through entries on postcolonialism and feminism, the work demonstrates how postmodernist perspectives expose the power dynamics embedded in traditional theological discourse.

Sim's approach maintains scholarly neutrality while comprehensively documenting postmodernism's challenge to theistic certainty. The handbook serves as an essential reference for understanding how postmodernist thought has transformed contemporary discussions about God, moving beyond simple belief-unbelief binaries to examine the linguistic and cultural construction of religious concepts. By mapping postmodernism's influence across philosophy, theology, literature, and cultural studies, the volume provides crucial context for understanding why traditional arguments about God's existence have lost purchase in contemporary intellectual discourse. The work ultimately presents postmodernism as fundamentally altering the terms on which any meaningful discussion of divinity must now proceed.