Overview

Stevenson's exciting collection takes the issue of cultural citizenship far beyond the liberal concerns with tolerance, diversity, social rights and obligations. The attainment of such citizenship, the author's argue, is conditional on positive cultural democratization, that is, the availability of cultural resources (semiotic and material) essential for meaningful and critical life, as well as the public institutions protecting us "from the excesses of the free market". Both are considered within the context of the IT revolution ("electronic democracy"), new social movements (especially feminist), and identity formation. The volume, especially the contributions by Turner, Crossley, Elliott, Yeatman and Frosh, demonstrates the vitality of theoretical reflection linking citizenship, culture and democracy' - Jan Pakulski, University of Tasmania Culture' and citizenship' are two of the most hotly contested concepts in the social sciences.What do they really mean? What are the relationships between them? This lively and penetrating book outlines the new linkages between culture and citizenship. In particular, it sheds light on issues of inclusion and exclusion, market and policy, rights and responsibilities, and the definition of citizens and non-citizens. Substantive topics investigated include: cultural democracy; intersubjectivity and the unconscious; globalization and the nation state; European citizenship; and discourses on cultural policy. For anyone working or studying at the interface between citizenship and culture, this is an indispensable and timely volume.