Culture and Power: A History of Cultural Studies - Softcover

'[The book] is the most significant and original contribution on a topic - power - that is both central to Cultural Studies yet is not discussed in depth in that field.' Terry Flew, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane'An excellent critique of cultural studies' moralism and its frequently dogmatic relationship to power and oppression, the book is also an important intervention into the ongoing debate about cultural studies' responsibilities and its future direction.'Joanna Zylinska, Goldsmiths College, University of London

Power has long been a central preoccupation of social and cultural analysis. Culture and Power focuses on power to shape a history of Cultural Studies. A critical analysis of the nature and purpose of Cultural Studies, the book assesses the development of the discipline from the work of Michel Foucault in post-war France and the Birmingham Centre for Cultural Studies in the 1970s to the expansion of the field in the United States and present-day concerns with culture, politics and ethics.As Cultural Studies has shifted, the concept of power has changed and become more problematic. Moving on from the celebrated 'culture wars' - and battles over language, objective knowledge and disciplinary values and meanings - Culture and Power unravels the social, ideological and political knots bound up in the concept of power. In doing so, the book charts not only the history but also the possible future of Cultural Studies.