Culture and Citizenship

`Stevenson's exciting collection takes the issue of cultural citizenship far beyond the liberal concerns with tolerance, diversity, social rights and obligations. The attainment of such citizenship, the author's argue, is conditional on positive cultural democratization, that is, the availability of cultural resources (semiotic and material) essential for meaningful and critical life, as well as the public institutions protecting us "from the excesses of the free market". Both are considered within the context of the IT revolution ("electronic democracy"), new social movements (especially feminist), and identity formation. The volume, especially the contributions by Turner, Crossley, Elliott, Yeatman and Frosh, demonstrates the vitality of theoretical reflection linking citizenship, culture and democracy' - Jan Pakulski, University of Tasmania