Volume 9, No. 1, Art. 26 – January 2008

Turn, Turn, Turn Around—Till Categories Blur

Lars Allolio-Näcke (Germany)

Review Essay:

Doris Bachmann-Medick (2006). Cultural Turns. Neuorientierungen in den Kulturwissenschaften [Cultural Turns. New Orientations in Cultural Studies]

Abstract: I begin this review by introducing the book and discussing its manifest content chapter by chapter (see 2.1), focusing particularly on the author's argumentation concerning the development of new orientations in cultural studies and on how, in relation to the turns discussed, the names of the researchers and central categories involved are collected. In a second step, I give a close reading of the book's latent content, which I consider to be more important (see 2.2). In this context I discuss several questions of scientific politics—especially the issue of hegemonic claims. Thirdly, I read the book from the critical standpoint of a psychologist, a sociologist and a theologian and show the shortcomings of BACHMANN-MEDICK's outsider perspective on these disciplines. In this regard I read the book again and provide a critique of the quality of the author's scientific performance (see 3). Finally, I state the reasons I do not recommend reading this book (see 4).

Key words: cultural turn, postcolonial turn, cultural psychology, sociology, theology, cultural studies

This contribution is only available as a full text in the German language. German text

Volume 9, No. 1   Table of Contents

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