Doing Cultural Theory

"Will be a very useful tool for any student trying to make sense of the vast expanses of contemporary cultural theory and criticism. Well-written and admirably self-reflective, it combines rigorous explications and applications of many of the most influential concepts and theorists." - Lawrence Grossberg, University of North Carolina "Accessible and insightful throughout; offering help to both experienced and inexperienced students of cultural theory. Highly recommended." - John Storey, University of Sunderland Doing Cultural Theory teaches more than just the basics of cultural theory. It unpacks its complexities with real-life examples, and shows readers how to link theory and practice. This book: Offers accessible introductions to how cultural studies has engaged with key theories in structuralism, poststructuralism and postmodernism Teaches straightforward ways of practising these theories so students learn to think for themselves Uses 'practice' boxes to show students how to apply cultural theory in the real world Guides students through the literature with carefully selected further reading recommendation. Other textbooks only show how others have analyzed and interpreted the world. Doing Cultural Theory takes it a step further and teaches students step-by-step how to do cultural theory for themselves.

Table of Contents:
Introducing Cultural Studies: A Brief Contextual History Structuralism and the Linguistic Turn: Ferdinand de Saussure Semiotics: Umberto Eco, Roland Barthes and Stuart Hall Ideology: Marxism and Louis Althusser Post-Structuralism: Roland Barthes and Jacques Derrida Doing Deconstruction: Techniques for Practice Psychoanalysis: Jacques Lacan Applying Lacan: Techniques for Feminist and other forms of Cultural Analysis Discourse and Power: Michel Foucault Gender and Sexuality: Judith Butler The Postmodern Condition: Daniel Bell, Jean-François Lyotard and J rgen Habermas Identity and Consumption: Jean Baudrillard Postmodernism Unplugged: Fredric Jameson Practising Cultural Studies: Hegemony and Cognitive Mapping Where to Go from Here: Cognitive Mapping and the Critical Project of Cultural Studies

About the Author :
David Walton has a degree in English Literature (University of Wales 1985) an M.Phil (University of Oxford 1987), a Certificate in Education (University of Greenwich, London 1988), and a TEFL qualification (University of Aston, Birmingham 1987). He was awarded his doctorate in 1992 by the University of Murcia. He began his teaching career in further education in Britain before being contracted as an associate lecturer in the English Department of the University of Murcia in 1989. He became Senior Lecturer in the area of Cultural Studies in 2001 and has promoted the area in Spain for more than ten years. He is one of the founder members of the Culture and Power group which has organized annual conferences in Spain and Portugal every year since 1995 and has contributed to most of the publications to come out of these conferences. He is a founder member and President of the Iberian Association of Cultural Studies (IBACS). He has co-organized conferences on English-speaking cultures and co-organized two International Conferences on cultural studies for IBACS, both held at the Universidad de Murcia. Apart from his undergraduate teaching, he has taught audiovisual translation at M.A. level and has given doctorate courses on the construction of national identity and given many conference papers. He currently teaches cultural studies at undergraduate level and postmodern theory and culture at M.A. level. He has published widely, his publications reflecting his research interests which include literary and cultural theory, cultural studies, popular culture, visual culture and postmodern theories of culture. His latest books are ′Introducing Cultural Studies: Learning Through Practice′ (SAGE, 2008) and ′Doing Cultural Theory′ (SAGE, 2012). He has a chapter on Chris Morris′ satire which will appear in ′No Known Cure: The Comedy of Chris Morris′ (edited by James Leggott & Jamie Sexton (Palgrave Macmilan, 2003), and has a number of other chapters which are in print on the interfaces between philosophy and cultural studies and graffiti and popular culture.

Review :
Doing Cultural Theory will be a very useful tool for any student trying to make sense of the vast expanses of contemporary cultural theory and criticism. Well-written and admirably self-reflective, it combines rigorous explications and applications of many of the most influential concepts and theorists Lawrence Grossberg The University of North Carolina Accessible and insightful throughout; offering help to both experienced and inexperienced students of cultural theory. Highly recommended John Storey The University of Sunderland The greatest strength of David Walton’s book is that it systematically engages with these difficult theories...it is a serious attempt to ‘translate’ the main concepts of French Cultural Theory for an Anglo-Saxon readership.