Representation
Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices
- Stuart Hall
- Jessica Evans - The Open University
- Sean Nixon - University of Essex, UK
Communication and Media Studies (General) | Cultural Studies (General) | Media & Society
• updates and refreshes the approaches to representation, signalling key developments in the field
• addresses the emergence of new technologies, media formats, politics and theories
• includes an entirely new chapter on celebrity culture and reality TV
• offers new exercises, readings, images and examples for a new generation of students
This book once again provides an indispensible resource for students and teachers in cultural and media studies.
Excellent book, providing a very good overview of complex issues around identity, in a way that is easy for students to follow. This book would be a great resources for students across the board in Youth Studies.
Interesting but a little too specialist for all learners
It covers the most important topics in a very comprehensible way. Especially good are the readings for each chapter fo the original works.
This second edition contains some new elements (the chapter on documentary film is useful and interesting), but the key chapters on representation, such as both chapters by Stuart Hall, haven't been revised at all, apart from some updates in the lay-out. This means that these chapters do not address recent developments in representation theory and that the examples given are in some cases out of date. For example, the advertising and sports pictures serving to illustrate the process of Othering or Masculinity are over 15 years old. For a book primarily written for educational purposes, this simply looks careless to me. I would still recommend the book as supplemental reading though. Students who like to study some of the matters raised in greater depth are welcome to do so. The book's educational/didactic 'activities' stimulate an independent reading. For the same reasons though the book in general is not fit to be used in class, where a lecturer would want to develop her own 'activities'.
A brilliant and inspirational text.
Very useful for students looking to develop their critical thinking on cultural representations.
Other members did not approve.
Highly recommended to give students an understanding of the media in context.
Excellent for anybody teaching or studying cultural studies.
Very interesting and I will refer to this book in my practise. However not as relevant as I thought to anti-discriminatory practice, so not adopted at this stage.