Fugitive Cultures: Race, Violence, and Youth

by Henry A. Giroux

Overview

Fugitive Cultures examines how youth are being increasingly subjected to racial stereotyping and violence in various realms of popular culture, especially children's culture. But rather than dismissing popular culture, Henry Giroux addresses its political and pedagogical value as a site of critique and learning and calls for a reinvigorated critical relationship between cultural studies and those diverse cultural workers committed to expanding the possibilities and practices of democratic public life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415915786
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/16/1996
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Henry A. Giroux is the Waterbury Chair Professor and Director of the Waterbury Forum for Education and Cultural Studies at Penn State University. He is the author of Border Crossings and Disturbing Pleasures, also published by Routledge.

Table of Contents

Introduction The Kids Aren't Alright; Part 1 Race, Violence, and Children's Culture; Chapter 1 White Panic and the Racial Coding of Violence; Chapter 2 Racism and the Aesthetic of Hyper-Real Violence; Chapter 3 Animating Youth; Part 2 Public Intellectuals and Populist Persuasions; Chapter 4 Public Intellectuals and Postmodern Youth; Chapter 5 Talking Heads and Radio Pedagogy; Part 3 The Way Things Ought not to be: Race and National Identity; Chapter 6 Licensing Bigotry Without Being Politically Correct; Chapter 7 The Milk Ain't Clean;

Editorial Reviews

"This may be the most daring and best book that Giroux has written in his attempts to link pedagogy with a variety of cultural spheres. With such a thoughtful and lucid analysis of the relationship among youth, violence and race, Fugitive Cultures is a book that every educator should read." — Harvard Educational Review
"By dissecting elements of popular culture, particularly films, Giroux...questions the imagery that adults fabricate about youth...the book shows how adults shed responsibility, assume a stance of righteous indignation and point fingers at a group busy trying to figure out who they are and where they fit in." — The Nation
"Henry Giroux's Fugitive Cultures is a brilliant and beautiful book. It maps the complicated intersections of race, culture and youth with bold imagination and critical sympathy. Of all Giroux's work—and his books and articles are national intellectual resources—this is his best, and most timely, effort. It reminds us again that Henry Giroux is a towering public intellectual motivated by deep moral passions and keen political insight." — Michael Eric Dyson
"[Giroux] is steadily harsh in his criticism of the [Disney] company, which he sees as an irresponsible "teaching machine" that imparts the wrong values." — Sacramento Bee ...its conclusions are valuable to parents concerned about the cultural sea in which their children swim.
"Its conclusions are valuable to parents concerned about the cultural sea in which their children swim." — Los Angeles Times
"Its conclusions are valuable to parents concerned about the cultural sea in which their children swim." — Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher

In recent years politicians have bemoaned the state of popular culture. Occasionally, they extend their critique of the entertainment industry to the new field of cultural studies, which typically celebrates pop culture's "subversive" qualities. But not everyone involved in the cultural studies movement favors today's popular culture. Distinguished author Giroux (education, Pennsylvania State Univ.) also finds much to criticize about contemporary culture. His focus here is on violence in the media. "Serious films have given way to the blockbuster," he complains, "and the tradeoff has been an increase in the number of violent films shown in movie theaters across the United States." In this context he looks at representations of blacks in the media, the growing power of talk radio, and the world view of the Disney Corporation. Giroux is particularly critical of Quentin Tarantino's films, asserting that the director "produces a racially coded, reactionary cultural politics and pedagogy that transforms neo-conservative callousness and contempt for the underclass into a hip representation of avant-garde high art." Giroux's thought-provoking approach is recommended for general and academic libraries.-Kent Worcester, Social Science Research Council, New York

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