Farrace, Lisa (2008) Birmingham's ghostly presence. Cultural Studies Review, 14 (2). pp. 215-219. ISSN 1837-8692

Abstract

Power, as a concept, is both pervasive and elusive. It has troubled philosophers and social scientists for decades, even centuries. It has particularly troubled cultural theorists for around fifty years. Mark Gibson bravely tackles this subject. Even more bravely, he tackles a history of the concept within a field that is itself controversial. For Mark Gibson, there has been an endless oscillation in cultural studies between resisting and asserting generalised conceptions of power. This is not a new idea. What Gibson adds to this history, however, is a focus on power as a concept—a questioning of its role in cultural studies and an investigation into its multiple uses. The book presents the beginnings of a cultural history of the concept of power, a cultural history that focuses, with reference to Foucault, on the ‘thematics’ of power itself. Gibson admits to this being a limited history, quite openly focusing on the British tradition within cultural studies, namely the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS). This focus, Gibson argues, is justified by the need to challenge the idea that power is a foundational concept for cultural studies and that Marxism is similarly foundational. That is, he rejects the idea that culture must be understood in relation to structures of domination.

Search Google Scholar

Repository staff login