B audrillard, J ean

Abstract

Despite his numerous attempts to dismiss and distance himself from postmodernism, Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) is repeatedly hailed, often pejoratively, as its “high priest.” Described as a nihilistic “philosopher of ends” and a “theorist of eschatologies,” there is much about Baudrillard's work that aligns it with postmodernism and its rejection of truth, reality, and metanarratives. However, this characterization glosses over his significant contributions to social and cultural theory and his intellectual standing as a theorist of consumer culture, media and communication, techno‐culture, and everyday life. Baudrillard's work resonates across the arts, humanities, and social sciences, and his original and provocative analyses are a point of reference for disciplines as diverse as photography, design studies, human geography, fine and digital arts, media studies, international relations, cultural studies, and sociology.