Lyotard? Dismissed in a single sentence and a bizarre one at that, to the effect that 'master-narratives are the hegemonic stories told by those in power' (p. In Defence of History steps aside from the risks entailed in any such critique, preferring a number of sniping remarks along the way. Certainly there should have been a chapter on Hayden White, the most significant historian who might qualify for the adjective 'postmodern'. Given the topic one might have expected a serious and sustained discussion of Foucault's account of history - we get a paragraph on pp. Evans may not know much about postmodernism but he knows what he doesn't like. 205) yet rides roughshod over all these differences in its lampoon. It admits that there is more than one kind of postmodernism ('there are many different varieties', p. That statement is pretty typical of the tone of the book, a robust, earthy common sense in which the word 'paranoia' would be less likely to appear than 'parakeet'. 8), namely 'the invading hordes of semioticians, post-structuralist, New Historicists, Foucauldians, Lacanians and the rest' (p. In Defence of History aims to defend a mainstream notion of history-writing against 'intellectual barbarians' (p. Note: This review first appeared in Textual Practice, vol.12, no.
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