Cultural Theory and the Problem of Modernity

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

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2. Theorising Culture: Marxism

   • Alan Swingewood

   Pages 1-21

3. Theorising Culture: Weber, Simmel and Social Action

   • Alan Swingewood

   Pages 22-36

4. Problems of Culture Industry

   • Alan Swingewood

   Pages 37-52

5. Cultural Analysis and Systems Theory

   • Alan Swingewood

   Pages 53-69

6. Contextualising Culture

   • Alan Swingewood

   Pages 70-85

7. The Theory of Cultural Fields

   • Alan Swingewood

   Pages 86-107

8. Dialogism and Cultural Forms

   • Alan Swingewood

   Pages 108-135

9. Modernity and Culture

   • Alan Swingewood

   Pages 136-158

10. Postmodernity and Mass Culture

    • Alan Swingewood

    Pages 159-173

11. Conclusion

    • Alan Swingewood

    Pages 174-180

12. Back Matter

    Pages 181-188

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This book presents a critical analysis of the relation between sociological theory and recent debates in cultural studies. A distinctive sociological perspective is developed based on the work of Marx, Weber, Bourdieu and Bakhtin. The book examines the problems of theorising issues such as modernity, mass culture and postmodernity by advocating a historical and context-based approach.

• Cultural Studies
• Cultural Theory
• culture
• Marx
• Marxism
• Pierre Bourdieu
• Simmel
• sociological theory
• sociology
• systems theory
• Textwissenschaft

ALAN SWINGEWOOD is Lecturer in Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author of A Short History of Sociological Thought (second edition) and The Myth of Mass Culture.

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