Cultural Studies Texts - Stuart Hall: Critical Dialogues in Cultural Studies by David Morley and Kuan-Hsing Chen (editors) (1996)

No cultural studies bibliography would be complete without Hall. In fact, there's a whole hall of texts that could be included here (well, a couple shelves, at least). This book is the prime go-to source for insight into Hall and his work, featuring essays by and interviews with the man himself, along with essays by other theorists inspired by him.

Plus, as you probably expect by now, it's all here: Marxism, postmodernism, ethnicity, postcolonialism, the media, and the whole multi-racial, post-gender kitchen sink. Suffice it to say, this book is key reading for anyone interested in Hall's thinking and in the politics of Western culture.

Hall—a Jamaica-born and Britain-dwelling feller—once remarked that he was "dumbfounded" by American cultural studies—partly because of the sorts of topics being studied (pop culture minus the politics), but also because of how fast the subject had made itself a comfy little home in academic institutes—you know, white-picket fence and all. So, what are the perils associated with "institutionalization"? And what are the consequences for an area of study that by definition resists definition?