The purpose of this course is to articulate what is meant by the postmodern and postmodernism, to read a number of contemporary theorists, and to explore how these terms are appropriate for the reading of literary, art, architectural, and theoretical texts. But, what does it mean to be postmodern? What are the differences between the modern and the postmodern? What is the relation between postmodernism and post modernity? How have those differences been articulated by various contemporary philosophical, and art theorists? In what sense are there different postmodernism? In the post-Sept 11 world, how does postmodern thinking help to understand these significant events in contemporary cultures and societies? Initial focus will be on specific philosophers such as Foucault and Derrida, following the exploration of how aims, characteristics, and kinds of philosophic inquiry are linked to political and social considerations. Attention will turn toward the status of several prominent kinds of philosophical analysis within phenomenology and existentialism, among others, within each of these kinds, (1) conceptions of self, subjectivity, or (self)-consciousness, and intersubjectivity, (2) the analysis and role of language and art in philosophical inquiry, and (3) critiques of metaphysics.