Cultural Studies - The Basics / Edition 1

by Jeff Lewis

Overview

This is a book for anyone who wants an unfussy, authoritative critical introduction to Cultural Studies. It equips you with all that you need to know about theories of cultural studies: what they say, how they differ from one another and what are the strengths and weaknesses of each position. It provides biographical information on major theorists plus assessments of key texts.

Unlike other competing books in the field, Cultural Studies - The Basics demonstrates what a Cultural Studies approach can do to illuminate basic areas of contemporary culture.

The book is designed to be used and read by students who face the pressures of essay dead-lines, examinations and dissertations. Above all it approaches Cultural Studies as something that needs to be used as well as studied.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761963257
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	06/28/2002
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	492
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Jeff Lewis is Associate Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, and Senior Research Fellow at the Globalism Institute, both at RMIT University, Melbourne.

He is also the author of Language Wars (Pluto Books, 2005) and has had articles published in Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, European Journal of Cultural Studies, International Journal of the Humanities and International Journal of Cultural Studies.

Table of Contents

PART ONE: FORMING CULTURE/INFORMING CULTURAL THEORY
PART ONE: FORMING CULTURE/INFORMING CULTURAL THEORY
Defining Culture
Society and Culture
Marxism and the Formation of Cultural Ideology
British Cultural Studies
PART TWO: CULTURAL LOCATIONS
Language and Culture
From Structuralism to Poststructuralism
Feminism
From Femininity to Fragmentation
Postmodernism and Beyond
Popular Consumption and Media Audiences
The Body
Postmodern Spaces - Local and Global Identities
The Culture of New Communications Technology
Culture and Government
Constructing the Future

Editorial Reviews

Bringing together elements from sociology, anthropology, politics, and textual studies, the author puts forward a transdisciplinary approach that weaves together interests in ideology, power, the construction of meaning, cultural practices, and the media. The first half of the book looks at previous ways of examining and theorizing about culture and compares them to his transdisciplinary model. Later chapters pursue the same task in more specific areas, including language, feminism, popular consumption, the human body, communications technology, and culture and government. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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