Changing Cultures: Feminism, Youth and Consumerism (Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society) Book

Changing Cultures brings together a selection of challenging essays which have their roots in the fertile convergence of feminism, sociology and cultural studies. Central to Mica Nava's work is the assessment of feminist theory, its transformations and its ability to illuminate issues and practices. A recurring theme is her exploration of the complex relationship between objects of study, conceptual approaches, their political implications and their historical context.These general questions are raised in Changing Cultures in the course of these specific studies. The book includes analyses of the utopianism of feminist thought on te family; sexuality and sexual difference in youth service provision; and the symbolic resonance of the urban and the domestic in the education of girls. It goes on to investigate child sexual abuse in relation to problems of interpretation and the politics of media representation. The final section examines different theorizations of consumerism and advertising and their implications for our understanding of youth and identity. Throughout, Mica Nava draws attention to the ways in which intellectual writing is shaped - albeit in a contradictory fashion - by its context and the formation of its author, and in part of this stimulating book, she picks out relevant aspects of her own life and traces her critical engagement with the traditions of socialism and feminism.Often controversial and always accessible, Changing Cultres will be of interest to a wide range of readers.Read More