Raoul Eshelman talks to Brendan about "performatism," the post-postmodern artistic epoch characterized by a return of transcendence. But what sort of "transcendence"? And how does it relate to history, religion, and metaphysics? Eshelman navigates these various lines of inquiry, while also pointing out some important distinctions between his work and other cultural theorists currently exploring these topics. Finally, what lies ahead for performatist theory, and for theories of the post-postmodern more generally? 

0:00 Introduction

1:29 The Return of Transcendence: Postmodernism, Post-Postmodernism, and Historical Dialectic

16:41 Performatist Art and Post-Metaphysics

21:26 A Second Naivete? When Beautiful Belief Overpowers Banal Skepticism

29:50 Performatist Spirituality?

31:49 Debates within Post-Postmodernist Theory

43:42 Performatist Transcendence: A Response to Postmodern Disenchantment

58:24 A Cultural Studies Emphasis

1:05:32 Horizons: An Emerging Post-Postmodern Discourse

Raoul Eshelman's website can be found here:

https://performatism.de/

www.BrendanGrahamDempsey.com