Capitalizing on Culture: Critical Theory for Cultural Studies

Susan McKnight is an administrator of the Courts Technology Integrated Justice Project at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.

In recent years, cultural studies theories have attempted to close the
gap between “culture” and “commodity,” as evidenced by the speed
with which new technologies are seized on and marketed to pre-designated
demographics. Using the critical theories of Theodor Adorno and Walter
Benjamin as a foundation, Shane Gunster, an assistant professor in the
communication department at Simon Fraser University, explores the
relationship between commodity, culture, and human experience.

Gunster begins his study by discussing the culture industry thesis that
emerged in the 1960s and the various theories that presented themselves
to scholars of cultural studies in subsequent years. He moves on to
examine the theories of Adorno and Benjamin and the Frankfurt school
critique of cultural theory. The fact that the mass production of
technology, entertainment, and other “artistic” cultural aspects of
our society

has become the norm, the author concludes, lends credibility to the
“capitalization of culture” thesis.

This meticulously researched, well-documented, and stimulating book
includes detailed endnotes, an exhaustive bibliography, and an
easy-to-use index.

Capitalizing on Culture is recommended for those in the field of
cultural studies as well as for students of marketing, political
science, and economics.