Synopses & Reviews
Social scientists have debated the dimensions of class. Humanists have elaborated on culture and its political implications. But, Stanley Aronowitz persuasively argues, the ways in which class, politics and culture are intertwined have rarely been examined.
In The Politics of Identity, Aronowitz begins from the premise that culture is constitutive of class identities. In these essays, some new and some widely cited, he demonstrates that economic identities are partially responsible for how, when, and where classes act in the social realm. While feminist perspectives of both race and gay and lesbian movements have drawn out the racial and gender components of cultural elements, Aronowitz argues, class mediations to cultural identity have not been fully explored.
As a former trade union activist, steelworker, and currently, a professor and academic administrator, Stanley Aronowitz provides unique insights into the connections between class and cultural identities. He has written extensively on class and working class and social movements. Here, he combines class and cultural analysis in a book that spans the issues of ethnicity, race and gender, portrayals of class and culture in the media, and a range of issues related to postmodernism.
The Politics of Identity will appeal to all those interested in the politics of culture, contemporary politics, and social movements.
Synopsis
In The Politics of Identity, Stanley Aronowitz offers provocative analysis of the complex interactions of class, politics, and culture. Beginning with the premise that culture is constitutive of class identities, he demonstrates that while feminist analyses of both racial and gay movements have discussed these components of culture, class contributions to cultural identity have yet to be fully examined. In these essays, he uses class as a category for cultural analysis, ranging over issues of ethnicity, race and gender, portrayals of class and culture in the media, as well as a range of other issues related to postmodernism.