Cultural studies

Abstract: Feminist Review. www.jstor.org ® the critical point in Biehl's analysis and hope for more exploration of the cultural role of myth. They will be disappointed. Biehl is clearly not interested in taking the poststructuralist route via Barthes, preferring instead to organize her criticism of ecofeminist theory from the lane marked 'social ecology'. Biehl uses Murray Bookchin's 'dialectical naturalism' as an alternative model for defining nature and argues that this theoretical concept allows for the possibility of what all eco-theorists appear to wanta different and less damaging relationship between humanity and the natural world. Unfortunately, from the moment at which she names her preferred way of theorizing the world Biehl's work loses its critical edge. In reproducing Bookchin's arguments explanation comes perilously close to exultation. Dialectical naturalism, she explains, is an holistic approach which looks at the world as a whole from a developmental perspective. It is a theory of progress which posits a necessary passage from a state of 'potentiality' to that of full development which, in the case of individuals allows for the ultimate destination of self-actualization. One example given is the development of the individual from a state of childhood to a 'fuller more differentiated being'. What this example does not

Abstract: Series Editor's Introduction Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: COMMUNICATION AS CULTURE A cultural approach to communication Mass communication and cultural studies Reconceiving 'mass' and 'media' Overcoming resistance to cultural studies PART II: TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE The mythos of the electronic revolution with John J Quirk Space, time and communications: a tribute to Harold Innis The history of the future with John J Quirk Technology and Ideology: the case of the telegraph Works cited Index About the author

Abstract: Gilroy demonstrates the enormous complexity of racial politics in England today. Exploring the relationships among race, class, and nation as they have evolved over the past twenty years, he highlights racist attitudes that transcend the left-right political divide. He challenges current sociological approaches to racism as well as the ethnocentric bias of British cultural studies. "Gilroy demonstrates effectively that cultural traditions are not static, but develop, grow and indeed mutate, as they influence and are influenced by the other changing traditions around them."--David Edgar, "Listener Review of Books." "A fascinating analysis of the discourses that have accompanied black settlement in Britain. . . . An important addition to the stock of critical works on race and culture."--David Okuefuna, "Chicago Tribune"

Abstract: In this trenchant inquiry into the state of feminism, Angela McRobbie breaks open the politics of sexual equality and 'affirmative feminism' and sets down a new theory of gender power. Challenging the most basic assumptions of the 'end' of feminism, this book argues that invidious forms of gender re-stabilisation are being re-established. Consumer and popular culture encroach on the terrain of so-called female freedom, appearing supportive of female success, yet tying women into new post-feminist neurotic dependencies. With a scathing critique of 'women's empowerment', McRobbie has developed a distinctive feminist analysis that she uses to examine socio-cultural phenomena embedded in contemporary women's lives: from fashion photography and the television 'make-over' genre to eating disorders, body anxiety and 'illegible rage'. A turning point in feminist theory, The Aftermath of Feminism will set a new agenda for gender studies and cultural studies.