British Marxism and Cultural Studies Today
Call for Contributions
Journal for the Study of British Cultures 32.2 (2025)
edited by Sebastian Berg & Claus-Ulrich Viol
In our field of cultural studies there has been a long trend of foregrounding issues of fictional or media representation, of charting diverse discursive formations, of bringing into view and validating more and more plural and conflicting identities. Arguably, there is, as Graeme Turner puts it in his What’s Become of Cultural Studies? , a preponderance of “sophisticated textual analyses in the service of identity politics”. While producing important and valuable results, such a persistent focus may come at the expense of more material concerns of inquiry, analyses of the elements of ‘production’ and ‘regulation’ in what Paul du Gay et al . call the “circuit of culture”; investigations into the distribution of economic resources, of who owns and controls the institutions of economy, society, and culture; and of how such control might work in detail. This might be especially problematic given the ever-growing gap between the rich and the poor in British society, increasing social injustice and economic (self)exploitation, the exclusion of working-class perspectives and political alternatives to capitalism from mainstream politics and media. After Thatcher, New Labour, the ‘Financial Crisis’, Austerity – and looking at the current predilections within our field – we feel that it is high time to engage with material conditions, issues of class and social inequality again, and return to some of the Marx, Marxism, and political economy that informed cultural studies at its inception.
In a special issue of JSBC , we suggest doing so by turning to some prominent thoughts and thinkers of 20th-century British Marxism, like E.P. Thompson, Ralph Miliband and others, asking about their continuing relevance (or otherwise), in theoretical as well as practical terms, for 21st-century analyses of capitalist culture and anti-capitalist political protest and projects. Are Thompson’s aim of rescuing ordinary people’s political agency from middle-class bias and the ‘condescension of posterity’ and Miliband’s analysis of the limits of parliamentary socialism in the straitjacket of the (British) capitalist state still helpful for leftwing political-academic work today? Both thinkers emphasised the potential of people’s collective agency to disturb the business of politics understood and practised merely as the administration of what is.
While their considerations on political agency beyond institutional politics have been taken up by others and transferred and adapted to new areas such as feminism, anti-racism, environmentalism, (sub)cultural politics, in this issue of JSBC , we would like to keep a particular focus on class politics, identifying and discussing examples and models of collective agency that confront and have the potential to transform political processes, organisations, institutions, and power structures in the UK (and beyond).
This is a tentative (and far from exhaustive) list of possible topics for contributions:
• state theory, political economy, and political agency
• levers of change in (historical or contemporary) conjunctures of capitalist crises
• prefigurative politics and their transformative potential
• the relationship of social movements and political parties
• the relationship of social movements and the ‘broader public’/‘ordinary people’
• social movements and class (and gender, sexuality, ethnicity)
• the relevant ‘legacies’ of Marxist thinkers such as E.P. Thompson, Ralph Miliband, Mary McIntosh, A. Sivanandan, Ted Benton etc.
• the relationship of 20th-century British Marxism and current forms of black Marxism, Marxist environmentalism, Marxist feminism etc.
• the current place of Marxism in cultural studies
• reflections on ‘the state’ and/or on social history in cultural studies
• politics, social movements, and cultural studies
Please submit abstracts of 400-500 words to Sebastian Berg ( [email protected] ) and/or Claus-Ulrich Viol ( [email protected] ) by July 17, 2024. Finished articles (5,000 words) will be due by November 1, 2024.
The Journal for the Study of British Cultures ( JSBC ) is peer-reviewed and published twice a year online and open access. It was launched in Germany in 1994 to provide a platform for the study and discussion of any cultural forms relating to Britain via in-depth articles, case studies, and reviews.
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This essay delves into the reasons why I am proud of my culture in high regard, exploring aspects such as heritage preservation, cultural diversity, personal connections, and the role of culture in shaping my worldview. Preserving Heritage and Traditions. One reason why I am proud of my culture is the sense of continuity it provides.
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It should include your feelings and emotions as well. Your introduction should include your thesis statement. It should be personal and relate to some aspect of your cultural identity and how it has impacted you and your view of the world. Body paragraphs should provide detail that all relate to your thesis statement.
2. This essay sample was donated by a student to help the academic community. Papers provided by EduBirdie writers usually outdo students' samples. Cite this essay. Download. In my hometown life of more than ten years, Ju culture has permeated my life from all aspects. Ju culture, which has an awfully long history and has lasted for thousands ...
Culture Culture refers to any kind of morals, habits, norms, practices, beliefs, laws or customs acquired by man in a particular society. Culture is the set of knowledge, skills, traditions, customs, unique to a human group, to a civilization. It is transmitted socially from generation to generation and not by genetic inheritance, and largely ...
Culture is a complex and multifaceted concept that encompasses a wide range of beliefs, customs, traditions, and practices that are passed down from generation to generation. As a member of a diverse and multicultural society, I have been exposed to a variety of cultural influences that have shaped my identity and worldview.
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Culture plays a crucial role in shaping our identities, beliefs, values, and behaviors. It is a powerful force that influences how we perceive the world around us and interact with others. In today's globalized world, where cultures are increasingly intermingling, it is essential to recognize and celebrate the importance of one's own cultural ...
In order to establish equity, all travel and accommodation costs for inner-European travel will be covered. Proposals should include the paper's title (max 15 words), an abstract (max 500 words) and a short CV. Please send your material to: [email protected]. Proposal deadline: July 15th, 2024.
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The Journal for the Study of British Cultures ( JSBC) is peer-reviewed and published twice a year online and open access. It was launched in Germany in 1994 to provide a platform for the study and discussion of any cultural forms relating to Britain via in-depth articles, case studies, and reviews. This CFP has been viewed 1 times.