Cultural Studies and Political Economy

Toward a New Integration

By (author) Robert E. Babe

Publication date:

16 December 2008

Length of book:

250 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

241x162mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739123669

This book addresses the notorious split between the two fields of cultural studies and political economy. Drawing on the works of Harold Innis, Theodor Adorno, Raymond Williams, Richard Hoggart, E.P. Thompson, and other major theorists in the two fields, Robert E. Babe shows that political economy can be reconciled to certain aspects of cultural studies, particularly with regards to cultural materialism.

Uniting the two fields has proven to be a complex undertaking though it makes practical sense, given the close interaction between political economy and cultural studies. Babe examines the evolution of cultural studies over time and its changing relationship with political economy. The intersections between the two fields center around three subjects: the cultural biases of money, the time/space dialectic, and the dialectic of information.
Robert Babe has clearly established himself as the leading communications scholar in Canada, following in the venerated footsteps of Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, and Dallas Smythe. This book is an invaluable scholarly critique of American Cultural Studies/Poststructuralism.