Introducing Cultural Studies

Introducing Cultural Studies provides students with an up-to-date introduction to the expanding and controversial field of cultural studies. The book offers an overview and exploration of some of the most important avenues of research in the field, and is divided into two parts. The first on cultural theory introduces the core themes and concerns of the book and examines the multiple meanings of culture, communication, representation, power and inequality. The argument is that cultural studies as an activity produces knowledge that separate disciplines cannot. The second part of the book examines different dimensions of culture. Reflecting contemporary developments in the humanities and social sciences more widely, as well as in cultural studies, the book considers space, time, politics, the body, subculture and visual culture. Through its representation of past and contemporary research in cultural studies and its use of easily understood summaries, Introducing Cultural Studies offers students a complete overview of the present state of the field.