Past, present—and future?

Abstract

A Short History of Cultural StudiesJohn HartleyLondon: Sage, 2003, 189 pp. (pbk), ISBN 0-7619-5028-1 Having worked as a researcher and teacher of cultural studies across several continents, John Hartley is well placed to attempt a history of the field—but he begins with an apology: ‘I've tried to be a reliable witness as a historian’, writes Hartley, but given the many and often competing approaches to and concepts of what it means to ‘do’ cultural studies ‘it would be unwise to impose upon it the false unity of a linear history’. Rather, this Short History of Cultural Studies picks up on specific themes, specific schools of thought which have contributed to the overall cultural studies project, and follows their struggles with contemporary views and, frequently, one another.