{"product_id":"what-is-cultural-criticism-by-francis-mulhern-9781804293379","title":"What Is Cultural Criticism?","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eWhat Is Cultural Criticism?\u003c\/i\u003e, Francis Mulhern and Stefan Collini propose alternative understandings of what 'culture' means: is it a rear-guard projection of values excluded by capitalist modernity, or a useful shorthand for a set of collectively practised prompts to reflection?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe debate opens with Mulhern’s account in \u003ci\u003eCulture\/Metaculture\u003c\/i\u003e of what he terms metacultural discourse. This has embraced two opposing critical traditions, the elite pessimism of \u003ci\u003eKulturkritik\u003c\/i\u003e and the populist enthusiasms of Cultural Studies. Each in its own way dissolves politics into culture, Mulhern argues.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCollini, on the other hand, protests that cultural criticism provides resources for genuine critical engagement with contemporary society. While there may be tension between culture and politics, it works productively in both directions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis widely noticed encounter is that rare thing—a sustained debate in which, as Collini remarks, the protagonists not only exchange shots but also ideas. It concludes with Mulhern’s engagement with Collini’s writing on the subordination of universities to metrics and bureaucracy, and a companion rejoinder from Collini on Mulhern’s study of the 'condition of culture novel' and his essays on questions of nationality and the politics of intellectuals.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46855482573036,"sku":"9781804293379","price":54.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/c83d9e7b69e417e81aa73150d609ceb7.jpg?v=1759278138","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/what-is-cultural-criticism-by-francis-mulhern-9781804293379","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}