Students of cultural studies frequently struggle with the subject's primary texts. For example, the work of Hall, Bhabha and Butler can be complex. Having grappled with these texts however, the student is then confronted with having to apply these insights to their own areas of study. The heart of this book comprises a series of extended critical chapters on six of the foundational theorists of cultural studies - Hall, Bhabha, Butler, Gilroy, Bourdieu and Jameson. By looking at the key themes and central dynamics of these writers work, Angela McRobbie introduces their work and their contribution. Alongside these chapters, McRobbie has added six shorter essays which demonstrate how one might actually do cultural studies using insights from these six key theorists. This book offers an introduction to both the theory and practice of cultural studies. It also provides readers with an opportunity to regard Angela McRobbie 'in dialogue' with six of today's leading cultural studies theorists.
'The cultural turn' has failed to produce an effective revision of the concept of subculture. This timely and illuminating book reverses this situation providing a much needed revision of this important concept. It traces subculture back to its foundations in the works of Tonnies and Durkheim and, to a lesser extent, Marx and Weber. The discussion ......
Written with the needs of the student in mind, Key Concepts in Leisure Studies provides accessible, authoritative and reliable coverage of the essential issues in the field. Cross-referenced throughout, the format encourages understanding without sacrificing the level of detail and critical evaluation essential to convey the complexity of the ......
'This is a smart and compelling book. Difficult ideas are presented in an accessible manner, with plenty of supporting illustrations...Students will enjoy the research material and other supporting material. A definite winner!'- Professor Jay Gubrium, University of Missouri This book gets to the heart of what the social sciences really know ......
'At last, a volume on civilization that truly reflects the complexity of multiple civilizations. The wealth of contributions Arjomand and Tiryakian have assembled demonstrates the value of an old concept for understanding the awful dilemmas confronting human kind in the global age. Its thoroughgoing renewal here establishes this book as the essential benchmark for future scholars of civilization' - Martin Albrow, Founding Editor of International Sociology and author of The Global Age - winner of the European Amalfi Prize, 1997 'In our tension filled world, many are heralding, and others fearing, a"clash of civilizations." The contributors to this volume provides a healthy and persuasive argument about why this clash need not, and certainly should not, take place. They do so, moreover, not by rejecting the concept of civilization, but by developing a less primordial, homogenous, and essentialist concept of it. An important collection that provides illumination in this sometimes frighteningly dark time' - Jeffrey Alexander, Professor and Chair of Sociology at Yale University 'The concept of civilization may well replace the notions of globalization and identity as the core component in the vocabulary of 21st century sociology. The authors contribute a great deal to the clarification of fashionable controversies around the "clash of civilizations" and "multiculturalism". They go a long way toward purging the concept of civilization of its ideological overtones, and they suceed admirably in turning it into powerful analytic tool of an emerging fleld of macrosociology, known already as civilizational analysis' - Piotr Sztompka, President, International Sociological Association Although the concept of 'civilization' has deep roots in the social sciences, there is an urgent need to re-think it for contemporary times. This book points to an exhaustion in using 'the nation state' and 'world system' as the basic macro-units of social analysis because they do not get to grips with the 'soft power' variable of cultural factors involved in global aspects of development. Also, globalization requires us to reconsider the link between civilization and a fixed or given territory. This book focuses upon the dynamic aspect of civilizations. Among the topics covered are: * Civilizational analysis and social theory * Global civilization and local cultures * Civilizational forms * Rationalization and Civilization * Civilizations as zones of prestige * Historical and comparative dimensions of civilization * The clash of civilizations.
"The subject matter is very timely for such a book. The field of culture and cognition is in a state of considerable flux, and it requires the kind of knowledge that Ross has not only of cognitive anthropology but of cognitive psychology to make a synthesis and to develop guideposts and steer the field towards viable future objectives. Ross ......
"The subject matter is very timely for such a book. The field of culture and cognition is in a state of considerable flux, and it requires the kind of knowledge that Ross has not only of cognitive anthropology but of cognitive psychology to make a synthesis and to develop guideposts and steer the field towards viable future objectives. Ross ......
This incisive and timely book provides a concise and reliable guide to the debate on modernity and postmodernity. In particular the work of Lyotard, Beck, Bauman, Baudrillard, Giddens, Jameson and Derrida is critically reviewed. Culture and Identity provides: - a thorough and accessible discussion of the main themes in the modernity-postmodernity ......
This incisive and timely book provides a concise and reliable guide to the debate on modernity and postmodernity. In particular the work of Lyotard, Beck, Bauman, Baudrillard, Giddens, Jameson and Derrida is critically reviewed. Culture and Identity provides: - a thorough and accessible discussion of the main themes in the modernity-postmodernity ......
