On Cultural Studies in the Future Tense: Pedagogy and Political Work in Cultural Studies

Abstract

Addressing those of us who locate ourselves within the project of cultural studies, Lawrence Grossberg continues his ‘‘protective and critical relationship to cultural studies’’ borne of a simple but vital starting point, ‘‘that cultural studies matters.’’ 1 Offering not a defense of the field but rather an articulation of future formations of cultural studies, Grossberg attempts to ‘‘produce a cultural studies capable of responding to the contemporary worlds and the struggle constituting them,’’ setting up ‘‘an agenda for cultural studies work’’ and thinking about what it means to do cultural studies ‘‘in a context where modernity is the site and object of struggle.’’ 2 As such, Cultural Studies in the Future Tense is a passionate investigation into what it means ‘‘to combine academic rigor and competence with social passion and political commitment.’’ 3 A Conjunctural Story