$29.99 (Paperback book / Melb Univ Press / ISBN:9780522855272)
Cultural Studies Review: Volume 14, Number 2
The October 2008 Cultural Studies Review is a special issue focusing on cultures of panic, particularly recent examples of moral panic arising from issues of race, gender and sexuality. The diverse essays deal with ‘men of Middle Eastern appearance’, the trial of Private Kovko, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the use of Ritalinâ, concerns around children and sexuality in Australia, and arts funding in the United States during the ‘culture wars’.
The moral panic has centrally to do with the behaviour of crowds, particularly the virtual crowds created by the mass media. It’s a mechanism of expulsion, and thus at the same time of group solidarity. It’s also a particularly powerful genre of the tabloid media: in its identification and shaming of deviant social groups it rigidly defines and reinforces moral norms, and is complicit with political strategies of consolidation and othering which create and depend on a sense of horror at refugees who wilfully throw their children overboard or push in to the front of the ‘queue’, at paedophiles grooming children over the internet, at drug-crazed criminals and bingeing teenagers…The challenge is to move beyond the realisation that moral panics are not rationally constructed to an analysis of the passional bases of the social order, and to an understanding of how our politics might deal with this without itself falling into the contagion of panic. The diverse collection of essays gathered together in this edition takes up that challenge.
John Frow is currently the Head of the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne.
Katrina Schlunke is a Senior Lecturer in the Writing and Cultural Studies Area at the University of Technology Sydney.
October Non-Fiction
The Many Lives Of Kenneth Myer
$59.99 (Hardcover book / Melb Univ Press )
When Kenneth Baillieu Myer’s father fell dead on the footpath in 1934, Ken's life changed in that instant. As the elder son of the Jewish immigrant retailing genius, Sidney Baevski Myer, who went from pedlar to philanthr... More »
Great Australian Sporting Moments
$49.95 (Hardcover book / Pan Macmillan )
When John Aloisi's penalty bulged the back of the net to defeat Uruguay and send the Socceroos to the 2006 World Cup, the story of Australian sport had another entry in its ever-growing list of unforgettable moments.
Gre... More »
Uncommissioned Art: An A–Z of Australian Graffiti
$34.99 (Paperback book / Pan Macmillan )
On the streets of Australian cities there are conversations occurring in paint in public space. Graffiti, stencil and street art are increasingly gaining currency as a potent artform worldwide. In addition to its artisti... More »
Botanical Riches: Stories Of Botanical Exploration
$49.99 (Paperback book / Pan Macmillan )
Century after century, intrepid plant hunters and botanists travelled to exotic climes, collecting seeds and specimens. Searching for plants with economic value, medicinal benefits, or purely for lavish display, these bo... More »
The Constant Gardener
$49.99 (Paperback book / Pan Macmillan )
The garden has been a constant companion in Holly Kerr Forsyth's life providing pleasure, a refuge and, occasionally, aching muscles. In this beautiful guide to creating, enjoying and maintaining the garden, Holly shares... More »
Cultural Studies Review: Volume 14, Number 2
$29.99 (Paperback book / Melb Univ Press )
The October 2008 Cultural Studies Review is a special issue focusing on cultures of panic, particularly recent examples of moral panic arising from issues of race, gender and sexuality. The diverse essays deal with ‘men ... More »