Ideology: towards renewal of a critical concept

In this response to our critics and fellow-travellers we reaffirm our claim that contemporary media studies should reinvent a critical concept of ideology. We do this through addressing some of the problems with older critical conceptions of ideology and suggesting potentially fruitful ways forward through engaging with research traditions that have become neglected or are overlooked in the fie…

‘Political gladiators’ on Facebook in Zimbabwe: a discursive analysis of …

Social media have been hailed as liberative in contexts of political repression. In Zimbabwe, there are emergent debates on the possibilities of using Facebook to ‘democratise’ political space. But the use of Facebook to settle personal political scores or to relentlessly attack political opposition seemed to have escaped academic scrutiny. This study looks at the use of Facebook by opposing ca…

Live from the pastures: Maasai YouTube protest videos

While much attention has turned to new and social media as tools to facilitate democratic participation, little attention has been paid to the ways that these tools are used by rural and nomadic communities. In this article, I examine the ways that Maasai pastoral-nomads are utilizing YouTube to present evidence of eviction, hunger, and other threats to their communities. I explore how the Maas…

Post-feminism for children: feminism ‘repackaged’ in the Bratz films

After their release in 2001, Bratz dolls carved into Barbie’s previously monopolistic share of teen doll sales. Amidst their growing popularity, cultural critics expressed a host of concerns about Bratz dolls, especially over how they sexualize youth, but the line grew to include a host of products like costumes, makeup kits, games, books, clothing, and movies. It also inspired new, similar dol…

Inventing the ‘authentic’ self: American television and Chinese audiences…

This article examines the ways educated urban Chinese youths engage American television fiction as part of their identity work. Drawing on theories of modern reflexive identity and based on 29 interviews with US TV fans among university students in Beijing, I found these youths are drawn to this television primarily because they perceive the American way of life portrayed on it as more ‘authent…

Fit for prosumption: interactivity and the second fitness boom

This article advances the claim that a new ‘fitness boom’ has arrived, one marked by the proliferation of devices such as wearable fitness trackers. The first fitness boom of the 1970s/1980s was characterized by the heightened availability of fitness ‘tools’ and the supposition that pursuing a ‘fit’ lifestyle was tantamount to responsible living. The new era in fitness intensifies foregoing fit…

Celebrity capital in the political field: Russell Brand’s migration from st…

Our case study of charismatic celebrity comedian Russell Brand’s turn to political activism uses Bourdieu’s field theory to understand the process of celebrity migration across social fields. We investigate how Brand’s capital as a celebrity performer, storyteller and self-publicist translated from comedy to politics. To judge how this worked in practice, we analysed the comedic strategies used…

The digital mundane: social media and the military

This article draws on empirical data with British military personnel in order to investigate what we call the digital mundane in military life. We argue that social media and smartphone technologies within the military offer a unique environment in which to investigate the ways individuals position themselves within certain axes of institutional and cultural identities. At the same time, the co…

Everyday life and locative play: an exploration of Foursquare and playful eng…

Foursquare is a location-based social network (LBSN) that combines gaming elements with features conventionally associated with social networking sites (SNSs). Following two qualitative studies, this article sets out to explore what impact this overlaying of physical environments with play has on everyday life and experiences of space and place. Drawing on early understandings of play, alongsid…

We are one Kenya: representations of the nation, leadership, and de-ethnicize…

This research analyzes Uongozi, a massive multimodal civic education campaign that culminated in the Uongozi reality television show, situating the campaign within its socio-political context. Our analysis suggests that Uongozi framed and promoted a version of leadership that is tied to an idealized progressive, youth leader despite the lack of quality youth ‘candidates’ on the show. The campai…

Media Culture & Society, Volume 38, Number 8, November 2016

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0163-4437

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Media Culture & Society, Volume 38, Number 7, October 2016

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0163-4437

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Media Culture & Society, Volume 38, Number 6, September 2016

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0163-4437

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World Development, Volume 87, November 2016

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ISBN/ISSN

0305750X

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World Development, Volume 88, December 2016

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ISBN/ISSN

0305750X

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World Development, Volume 89, January 2017

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0305750X

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The Measure of woman: law and female identity in the crown of aragon

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ISBN/ISSN

9780812242560

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217p.; 24 cm

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305.4 KEL m

Bess Wallace Truman: Harry's White House "Boss"

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978-0-7006-1741-8

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xi, 166p.; 24 cm

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920 TRU b

A Country Is Not a Company

Nobel-Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman argues that business leaders need to understand the differences between economic policy on the national and international scale and business strategy on the organizational scale. Economists deal with the closed system of a national economy, whereas executives live in the open-system world of business. Moreover, economists know that an economy must be r…

They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing : with Readings

"The book that demystifies academic writing, teaching students to frame their arguments in the larger context of what else has been said about their topic--and providing templates to help them make the key rhetorical moves. The best-selling new composition book published in this century, in use at more than 1,000 schools, They Say / I Say has essentially defined academic writing, identifying it…