The Structure of Modern Cultural Theory - Brossura

Osborne, Thomas

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0719086469 ISBN 13: 9780719086465

Casa editrice: Manchester Univ Pr, 2008

Riassunto

What is the point of cultural theory? Do we even know what it is? This book is at once an introduction to, and, broadly, a defence of modern cultural theory understood as a particular constellation of inquiry, one that may be all the more important in our postmodern times the more seemingly irrelevant it is to current fashions.

Focusing on the work of Theodor Adorno, Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault the book argues that in spite of their differences these authors shared particularly 'modern' understandings of culture, creativity and human agency; understandings centred on the ideas of critical autonomy and creativity of thought. Even though all three were committed to scholarly empirical research, for them the function of cultural theory was not just to describe the world positivistically 'as it is' (or was) but to cultivate the conditions for ethical autonomy in their readerships by opening up ways for thinking differently and exposing the fetishisms and blockages that hinder that task.

Su questo libro

Informazioni sugli autori

Thomas Osborne is Professor of Sociology at the University of Bristol


Thomas Osborne is Professor of Sociology at the University of Bristol

Dalla quarta di copertina

What is the point of cultural theory? Do we even know what it is? This book is at once an introduction to, and, broadly, a defence of modern cultural theory understood as a particular constellation of inquiry, one that may be all the more important in our postmodern times the more seemingly irrelevant it is to current fashions.

Focusing on the work of Theodor Adorno, Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault the book argues that in spite of their differences these authors shared particularly 'modern' understandings of culture, creativity and human agency; understandings centred on the ideas of critical autonomy and creativity of thought. Even though all three were committed to scholarly empirical research, for them the function of cultural theory was not just to describe the world positivistically 'as it is' (or was) but to cultivate the conditions for ethical autonomy in their readerships by opening up ways for thinking differently and exposing the fetishisms and blockages that hinder that task.

This book is intended to be both accessible for students and challenging for specialists, making a plea for a renewal of the modern in postmodern times

Dal risvolto di copertina interno

What is the point of cultural theory? Do we even know what it is? This book is at once an introduction to, and, broadly, a defence of modern cultural theory understood as a particular constellation of inquiry, one that may be all the more important in our postmodern times the more seemingly irrelevant it is to current fashions.Focusing on the work of Theodor Adorno, Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault the book argues that in spite of their differences these authors shared particularly 'modern' understandings of culture, creativity and human agency; understandings centred on the ideas of critical autonomy and creativity of thought. Even though all three were committed to scholarly empirical research, for them the function of cultural theory was not just to describe the world positivistically 'as it is' (or was) but to cultivate the conditions for ethical autonomy in their readerships by opening up ways for thinking differently and exposing the fetishisms and blockages that hinder that task.This book is intended to be both accessible for students and challenging for specialists, making a plea for a renewal of the modern in postmodern times

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: Manchester Univ Pr
• Data di pubblicazione: 2008
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0719086469
• ISBN 13: 9780719086465
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 168
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: non disponibile