Cultural Theory and Late Modernity

This text offers an overview of contemporary cultural theory. Drawing together different approaches and traditions, the author demonstrates the breadth of the field of cultural theory and proposes a multidimensional model for understanding culture in late modernity. The four main issues of contemporary thought that the author discusses are: the analysis of modernity and modernization, including the concepts of late moderntiy and postmodernity; the critique of contemporary societies including the public and private spheres, power and resistance, institutions and social movements, taste hierarchies and subcultures; the interpretation of cultural symbols such as how texts, styles, genres and media work to produce meaning; and the formation of sleves and subjects including socialization, identity, authenticity and reflexivity. The author also discusses the work of among others, Jurgen Habermas, THomas Ziehe, Paul Ricoeur, Pierre Bourdieu, Jean Laplanche and Julia Kristeva.