ABSTRACT
Postmodernism has been much in evidence in a wide variety of academic and media realms since the early 1980s. The word crops up in just about every university discipline from art history to accountancy, while outside academe it is very commonly used to describe anything from architectural styles to rock music. Despite its widespread currency it is a difficult subject with which to come to grips. Its meanings are variable and, where they are not, are just as likely to be obscure.
