Roll over Beethoven: The Return of Cultural Strife - Softcover

Aronowitz, Stanley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0819562629 ISBN 13: 9780819562623

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press, 1993

Synopsis

The question of culture has become central for a new generation of scholars raised in a world of television and mass production. At the same time debates about culture have become a point of reference for criticism of current trends in academia and society, variously defended or derided on the grounds of ""multiculturalism,"" ""canonicity,"" and political correctness."" In his re-examination off these debates, Stanley Aronowitz traces the history of the cultural issue - in both its British and American manifestations - and relates it to the contemporary rethinking of the nature of knowledge and culture. Roll Over Beethoven analyzes topics as diverse as the history of American radicalism, the sociology if science, the impact of the Library of Congress on the organization of knowledge, and the institutionalization of film studies. Aronowitz's account of recent controversies over ""political correctness"" reveals that the current culture wars reflect profound differences among scholars over the proper role of the university and the character of legitimate intellectual knowledge. Within this broad reappraisal of the cultural question, which is embedded in the intellectual history of the 20th century, Aronowitz offers an ""interpretive genealogy"" of cultural studies that describes both the evolution of the field and the political and social contexts in which it developed. He argues that cultural studies exhibit a tendency toward transgression that is rarely explicit but always present and, at its best, not merely interdisciplinary but anti-disciplinary.

About this title

Review:

"Aronowitz has become one of the most interesting intellectuals on the contemporary scene. His latest work traces the emergence of 'Cultural Studies' and emphasizes its invigorating impact on the humanities and social sciences. Written in an entertaining and informative style, it could become the book that helps introduce large numbers of readers to the exciting new field of cultural interpretation"--Library Journal

"Rich and exciting Aronowitz has in effect established the stakes and dimensions of the cultural studies movement today and its origins Beyond the sharp, specific things this book has to say about cultural studies as a particular endeavor, Aronowitz is also offering a virtual history of the 20th century intellectual."--Dana Polan

About the Author:

STANLEY ARONOWITZ is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Cultural Studies Program at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Among his books are The Politics of Identity (1992), Science as Power (1988), The Crisis in Historical Materialism (1981), and, with Henry Giroux, Postmodern Education (1991).

About this edition

• Publisher: Wesleyan University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0819562629
• ISBN 13: 9780819562623
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 291