Cultural Studies Texts - The Uses of Cultural Studies by Angela McRobbie (2005)

McRobbie was one of the major feminist voices in the Birmingham school and produced a range of studies—such as on teen girls' magazines, which is a surprisingly fruitful spot for cultural analysis when you think about it.

This book picks up topics relating to gender, ethnicity, colonialism, and capitalism, plus theorists such as Stuart Hall, Judith Butler, Fredric Jameson, and Pierre Bourdieu.

One example: McRobbie discusses that chick-lit (or chick flick, if you didn't know it was a book first) classic Bridget Jones's Diary, and talks about Bridget being "post-feminist" because she daydreams about living the conventional fantasy (you know, that dreamy white-picket fence scenario) even though she knows it's a cliché. In Bridget's 1990s world, feminism of the 1970s variety is seen as so yesterday, not to mention being a bit of a buzzkill—now it's all about self-aware ladies and a good dose of humor. Try that bunny costume on for size, Mr. Jameson.

Let's consider this cultural shift: identity politics is a central topic in cultural studies, with some people seriously fed up with labels and others dying to define themselves as part of a group (for example, that feminist idea—how does it stack up with the white-picket fence thing?). Are there scenarios where being part of a category might be useful or necessary?