What Was Postmodern Literature?

How compatible is the idea of the postmodern with the idea of a historical period? This course looks at recent British and American literature through the optic of postmodern theory, discussing how the theoretical problematization of both history and politics has an impact upon the very possibility of fiction. Readings include Doctorow, Pynchon, Amis, Jameson, Lyotard, Baudrillard. Students may be assigned to conference sections by the instructor during the first week of class.