Cultural Resistance Reader

by Stephen Duncombe (Editor), Theodor W. Adorno (Contributor), Matthew Arnold (Contributor)

From the Diggers seizing St. George Hill in 1649 to Hacktivists staging virtual sit-ins in the 21st century, from the retributive fantasies of Robin Hoods to those of gangsta rappers, culture has long been used as a political weapon.

This expansive and carefully crafted reader brings together many of the classic texts that help to define culture as a tool of resistance. With illuminating introductions throughout, it presents a range of theoretical and historical writings that have influenced contemporary debate, providing tools for the reader's own interventions. In these pages can be found the work of Karl Marx, Matthew Arnold, Antonio Gramsci, C.L.R. James, Bertolt Brecht, Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, Virginia Woolf, Mikhail Bakhtin, Stuart Hall, Christopher Hill, Janice Radway, Eric Hobsbawm, Abbie Hoffman, Mahatma Gandhi, Dick Hebdige, Hakim Bey, Raymond Williams, Robin Kelley, Tom Frank and more than a dozen others, including a number of new activists/authors published here for the first time.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Cultural, Theory, Activism, Social Issues, Philosophy

462 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Keef · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times pedantic and at others willfully obscure, this is nonetheless a pretty good exploration of what it means to resist the mainstram culture. 90% good, 10% bullshit. A pretty good ratio, all told.

[Ornella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book during my teen years and it helped me to get an introduction and an overview to some great critical authors. As the years have passed I still think it's a great handy book for inspiration and for not forgetting to cultivate critical thinking.

[Gabrielle Obre · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don't resist the perpetual attempts by culture to mold you into commodified conformity you can't experience an authentic existence. Greatly enjoying this intro to resistance, to something more real.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice collection of classic, primarily academic writing.