Postmodern Spain examines the cultural transformation experienced by Spanish society during the
late 1980s and 1990s. By looking at specific aspects of culture the representation of the
human subject the past and the transformation of the city this book critically re-assesses
the validity of postmodernism in Spain. Focusing on the novels written by Juan Goytisolo during
this period this book examines the representation and development of the human subject and its
identification with the marginalized 'other(s)'. It further analyses various representations of
the Spanish Civil War challenging the prevalent view of post-Franco Spain as suffering from
amnesia and thereby vindicates postmodern historical representations as a valid dialogue with
the past. The third chapter examines Barcelona's urban redevelopment analysing the
transformation effected in some of its popular sites as a postmodern re-formulation of the city
as a fluid flexible public space. Finally it brings its previous findings to bear on an
analysis of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. It argues that these celebrations constituted a
performance of Spain's 'new' cultural identity designed for global national and local
consumption. Thus these cultural celebrations corroborated the emergence of postmodernism as a
cultural dominant which has exceeded modern and pre-modern cultural practices while
paradoxically containing and enhancing both.
