Cultural Turns - (De Gruyter Textbook) by Doris Bachmann-Medick (Paperback)

About the Book

This book provides a comprehensive overview of cultural turns - groundbreaking theoretical reorientations in the study of culture, the humanities and the social sciences. It features chapters on the interpretive, performative, reflexive, postcolonia

Book Synopsis

The contemporary fields of the study of culture, the humanities and the social sciences are unfolding in a dynamic constellation of cultural turns. This book provides a comprehensive overview of these theoretically and methodologically groundbreaking reorientations. It discusses the value of the new focuses and their analytical categories for the work of a wide range of disciplines. In addition to chapters on the interpretive, performative, reflexive, postcolonial, translational, spatial and iconic turns, it discusses emerging directions of research.
Drawing on a wealth of international research, this book maps central topics and approaches in the study of culture and thus provides systematic impetus for changed disciplinary and transdisciplinary research in the humanities and beyond - e.g., in the fields of sociology, economics and the study of religion.
This work is the English translation by Adam Blauhut of an influential German book that has now been completely revised. It is a stimulating example of a cross-cultural translation between different theoretical cultures and also the first critical synthesis of cultural turns in the English-speaking world.

From the Back Cover

This book provides a comprehensive overview of cultural turns - groundbreaking theoretical reorientations in the study of culture, the humanities and the social sciences. It features chapters on the interpretive, performative, reflexive, postcolonial, translational, spatial and iconic turns while introducing emerging developments. This translation of an influential German classic - completely revised - is the first synthesis of cultural turns in the English-speaking world.

Review Quotes

"This is a landmark book offering the most lucid and comprehensive study of the different kinds of 'turns' that have influenced cultural analyses over the last three decades. Furthermore, it inaugurates a deep conversation between Anglophone and continental scholarly traditions. A must-read book for anyone interested in the intellectual history of 'cultural studies, ' broadly conceived."
Dipesh Chakrabarty, Lawrence A. Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor of History, South Asian Languages & Civilizations and the College, University of Chicago

"This impressive critical synthesis engages a broad range of perspectives in the field of cultural theory. Comprehensive and judicious, it links the interventions and debates of recent decades with important contemporary discussions. Cultural Turns will be an indispensible resource for crossdisciplinary thinking in the humanities and social sciences."
James Clifford, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the History of Consciousness Department, University of California, Santa Cruz

"This is essential reading for anyone interested in the state of the humanities in the world today. Bachmann-Medick has synthesized an incredible variety of perspectives into one very readable and stimulating book."
Lynn Hunt, Distinguished Research Professor and Eugen Weber Endowed Chair in Modern European History at UCLA, Los Angeles

About the Author

Doris Bachmann-Medick, International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture (GCSC) / University of Giessen, Germany.