Monthly Archives: May 2006

Pierre Bourdieu, The Field of Cultural Production

By Steen | May 5, 2006

In this book, Bourdieu focusses on how the field of cultural production has been established and how it connects to other fields, such as the fields of power and class. He shows how culture is a symbolic struggle for the primacy of specific works, as well as the naturalization of certain practices.

Posted in Theory | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Michael Hardt & Antonio Negri, Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire

By Steen |

A sequl to Empire, this book examines the “other side” of Empire; ie. the different groups and formations that resist Empire. Much of the book is a historical in addition to a philosophical investigation of these developments. The most useful aspect of their book, is the concept of the multitude, which allows for a broader [...]

Posted in Theory | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dick Hebdige, Subculture: The Meaning of Style

By Steen | May 3, 2006

Hebdige’s classic work on subculture shows us much about how those commonly referred to as the dominated, do in fact resist this domination in complex ways.

Posted in Theory | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jonathan Culler, Structuralist Poetics

By Steen |

An indispensible book on the poetics of fiction and lyrics, as well as a good overview of structuralism which points to its history and further development.

Posted in Theory | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Pierre Bourdieu, Distinction

By Steen | May 2, 2006

In this expansive work, Bourdieu investigates the implications of taste based on social class. It is a massive work, much of it established through questionnaires, which is always a method I feel uncomfortable about. Bourdieu, however, is very reflexive of the method and even critically investigates it. This certainly adds to the usefulness of the [...]

Posted in Theory | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment