THE POLITICS OF JEAN-FRANçOIS LYOTARD.

The article focuses on Jean-François Lyotard, father of postmodernism. This edited collection of essays is the first sociological assessment of his work. It brings together leading sociologists representing a wide range of interdisciplinary interests to tackle many of the questions currently being asked about this controversial figure. Lyotard's ideas about culture and ethics raise important questions but it is less clear whether he provides tenable solutions. Contributors include Barry Smart, John O'Neill and Victor J. Seidler, with subjects ranging from Lyotard's writings on justice and politics of difference, to those on feminism, youth and Judaism, with one chapter devoted to his early writings.