Signs and Designs of the Virtual(izing) E@st

Viorella Manolache engages in a complex and fascinating discussion of the manifold ways in which postmodern discourse dissolves the distinctions between logos, ethos and pathos, replacing them with what we could call sociology of persuasion. But suffice it to say that she provides a map of this contested terrain, which offers a path through the shifting set of interests and boundaries in what is as much a therapeutic space as a conceptual space. The importance of Viorella Manolache's book is that it reminds us that the virtual has a key role to play in keeping the ship of state afloat, in navigating the liquefying spaces of culture, in reconstructing its parameters, as well as in determining its destination, and that unless the virtual fulfils a participatory function, we run the risk of allowing a debilitating cynicism to lead to an abdication of our role as participants in our own social and political future. IAN BROWNE