Cultural Studies - Published by Routledge

The second image is titled “Abstract,” and it includes the abstract for the article: “Cultures of Water provide a particularly useful lens through which to perceive environment, heritage and society in conjunction within the scope of cultural studies, with special consideration for an essential and powerful actor: water. This special issue provides examples of a myriad of perspectives, manifestations and consequences of what Cultures and Water have been, are, and can be. This introduction delivers an overview of the special issue, while also proposing ways that Cultures of Water can more broadly be seen as a connector and a useful concept for further studies.” At the bottom of the graphic, it reads: “Continue Reading at the Link in Our Description.”

Read “Interweaving Environment, Heritage, and Society Through Cultures of Water. An Introduction” here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “Interweaving Environment, Heritage, and Society Through Cultures of Water. An Introduction” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Kim Carlotta von Schönfeld, Ana Clara Roberti, Bruno Lopes, and Gisele C. Conceição • Volume 39, Issue 5 (2025).”

The first article in Volume 39, Issue 5 of Cultural Studies—a special issue on “Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society”—was provided by the guest editors of this issue: Kim Carlotta von Schönfeld, Ana Clara Roberti, Bruno Lopes, and Gisele C. Conceição.

We would also like to thank those who contributed book reviews: Mattie Hamilton, Vivien J. Bediako, Skyler Meeks, Haniyeh Pasandi, Raphaela Pavlakos, and Rosie Nguyen.
 
Lastly, we would like to thank Job Olego Anomet (@jobray_arts & @sitoole_ki_murals on Instagram) for contributing the cover art.

We would like to thank all the contributing authors for Issue 5: Kim Carlotta von Schönfeld, Ana Clara Roberti, Bruno Lopes, Gisele C. Conceição, André Tavares, Alice Nouvet, António Ferreira, Johanna Markkula, Michal Vokurka, Ana Gago, Diogo Marques, and Amélia Polónia...

This graphic primarily features both text and artwork. The text begins with “Cultural Studies” and shares the issue information: Volume 39, Number 5” and “September 2025.” The artwork features a spiral design that entwines iconography of water—an ocean with fish, river within an ocean, a water faucet—with symbols of the land, including a farm, vegetables in the dirt, and trees growing from the soil.

Volume 39, Issue 5 of Cultural Studies is a special issue guest edited by Kim Carlotta von Schönfeld, Ana Clara Roberti, Bruno Lopes, and Gisele C. Conceição on the theme of “Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society”: www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcus20/3...

Titled "Cultural Studies: Where Else to Find Us," this graphic includes artwork from the most recent issue’s cover and written information about where to find Cultural Studies on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Bluesky. All written information is also included in the caption of the post.

Before we post about Issue 5, we would like to invite you to follow along on whichever social media platform(s) you prefer:
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/culturalstudiesjournal
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/cultural-studies

Thank you for following us here and sharing this space with us.

Cultural Studies Volume 39, Issue 4 of Cultural Studies

Thank you for allowing us to share Volume 39, Issue 4 of Cultural Studies with you, and you can find more information about the other contributions featured in this issue here: www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcus20/3...
 
Follow along to learn more about the contributions featured in Volume 39, Issue 5.

The third and final image is a full-size version of the artwork. As described in the first image, the artwork, from bottom to top, includes wildflowers at the bottom border, a dove flying upwards, and then a row of doves that becomes an interlocking pattern.

We would like to thank Rosy Cortez for being a part of our cover art series on the theme “Against Extraction: Desires for Life-Sustaining Futures.”
 
To see more, you can find her on Instagram at @PaintedRosy or through her website: www.paintedrosy.com

The second image is titled “About the Artist: Rosy Cortez,” and it features a biography for the artist: “Rosy Cortez (she/her) is a Chicana oil painter and muralist based in Riverside, CA. She is an active community artist and arts advocate throughout the Inland Empire, creating art for and with community. Her work often explores themes from culture, femininity, and nature. She sees the act of creating as a catalyst for healing and empowering her community.” It also shares Rosy’s Instagram, website, and email, which are all included in the post caption.

Continued artist bio: "She is an active community artist and arts advocate throughout the Inland Empire, creating art for and with community. Her work often explores themes from culture, femininity, and nature. She sees the act of creating as a catalyst for healing and empowering her community.”

This graphic is titled “Featured Cover Art.” It then specifies the title of the artistic piece, “Imagine”; the author’s name, “by Rosy Cortez”; and the issue information, “For Volume 39, Issue 4 (2025)”. The featured piece of artwork, from bottom to top, includes wildflowers at the bottom border, a dove flying upwards, and then a row of doves that becomes an interlocking pattern.

In our concluding post for Volume 39, Issue 4 of Cultural Studies, we would like to share with you once more the cover artwork for this issue: “Imagine” by Rosy Cortez.
 
Her artist bio begins: “Rosy Cortez (she/her) is a Chicana oil painter and muralist based in Riverside, CA."

This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “NFTs and the Financialization of Art.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Barbara Jenkins • Volume 39, Issue 4 (2025).”

“NFTs and the Financialization of Art” by Barbara Jenkins is the seventh and final article included in Volume 39, Issue 4 of Cultural Studies: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “‘Starved for Pleasure’: The Fashion Magazine as a Desirous Queer Archive.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Roberto Filippello • Volume 39, Issue 4 (2025)” and “Open Access Article.”

Roberto Filippello’s article “‘Starved for Pleasure’: The Fashion Magazine as a Desirous Queer Archive” is the fourth open access article and sixth article overall featured in Volume 39, Issue 4 of Cultural Studies: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “Reading Patterns: Dressmaking Sections in Women’s Magazines in the 1960s and 1970s.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Gunilla Törnvall • Volume 39, Issue 4 (2025)” and “Open Access Article.”

“Reading Patterns: Dressmaking Sections in Women’s Magazines in the 1960s and 1970s” by Gunilla Törnvall is the fifth article overall and third open access article in Volume 39, Issue 4. Read the full text here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “Uncovering the Uncoverers: Identity, Performativity and Representation in Counter-Disinformation Discourse.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Stephen C. Hutchings • Volume 39, Issue 4 (2025)” and “Open Access Article.”

The next article we would like to feature is “Uncovering the Uncoverers: Identity, Performativity and Representation in Counter-Disinformation Discourse" by Stephen C. Hutchings. This article is the second open access article and fourth overall in Issue 39.4: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

New pub: @culturalstudies.bsky.social has just posted the interview that @imreszeman.bsky.social and I did with Andreas Malm re: Fossil Capital, the development of his thought, and plenty more. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.....

This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “Repressive Suspicion, or: The Problem with Conspiracy Theories.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Philip R. Conway • Volume 39, Issue 4 (2025)” and “Open Access Article.”

"Repressive Suspicion, or: The Problem with Conspiracy Theories”—the third article featured in Volume 39, Issue 4 by Philip R. Conway—is an open access contribution, so we invite all interested to read Conway’s work: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “The Weather Proxy: The Racial Technics of Algorithmic Surveillance.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Gary Kafer • Volume 39, Issue 4 (2025)”

"The Weather Proxy: The Racial Technics of Algorithmic Surveillance” by Gary Kafer is the second article featured in Volume 39, Issue 4. Cultural Studies subscribers can read the full article here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “Militarized Granularity: Sand’s Making of Men and Masculinity in Singapore.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “John Lowe • Volume 39, Issue 4 (2025).”

The first article in Volume 39, Issue 4 is John Lowe’s contribution, “Militarized Granularity: Sand’s Making of Men and Masculinity in Singapore," which subscribers to Cultural Studies can read here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

We would like to thank the contributing authors for Issue 4: John Lowe, Gary Kafe, Philip R. Conway, Stephen C. Hutchings, Gunilla Törnvall, Roberto Filippello, and Barbara Jenkins. We would also like to thank Rosy Cortez (@PaintedRosy on Instagram) for providing the cover artwork.

This graphic primarily features both text and artwork. The text begins with “Cultural Studies” and shares the issue information: Volume 39, Number 4” and “July 2025.” The artwork, from bottom to top, includes wildflowers at the bottom border, a dove flying upwards, and then a row of doves that becomes an interlocking pattern.

Over the next few weeks as many universities enter the new semester, we will be sharing information about Volume 39, Issue 4 (July/August) of Cultural Studies with you: www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcus20/3... . There are seven articles in this issue, four of which are open access and available to all.

Black Mediterranean hauntings: border violence, burial, and anti-racist care work in Strange Fish This article explores forms of haunting that shape lives and livelihoods in the Mediterranean, recognising the sea as a site of movement, labour, and death. The Mediterranean is now widely understo...

Now online @culturalstudies.bsky.social

"Black Mediterranean hauntings: border violence, burial & anti-racist care work in Strange Fish"

recognizing death at sea as not strictly a migration issue but quotidian reality entangled in Qs of labor & social justice
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YKUZU... 1/

Thank you for allowing us to share this special issue on “Rethinking the Commons in Hard Times” with you. We hope that you will continue to follow along as we begin to share information about the articles and contributions featured in Volume 39, Issue 4 in the upcoming weeks.

The third and final image is a full-size version of the artwork. As described in the first image, it shows a silhouette of an adult, masculine figure holding the hand of a young, feminine child; inside of the silhouetted shape, there is blue sky with white clouds and green leaves. Outside of the silhouetted figure of the adult and child holding hands, there is a desert landscape with cracked, uneven ground, barren trees with no leaves, and a sky that transitions from red to yellow.

We would like to thank Singleton for being a part of our cover art series on the theme “Against Extraction: Desires for Life-Sustaining Futures.”
 
If you would like to see more of her art, you can find her:
- on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stephaniesing/
- at her website: stephaniesingleton.com

The second image is titled “About the Artist: Stephanie Singleton” and it features a biography for the artist: “Stephanie Singleton (she/her) is a freelance illustrator with a love for all things decorative and surreal. Stephanie graduated from Ontario College of Art & Design University with a Bachelor of Design, specializing in illustration. She is currently based in Toronto, Canada.” The bottom of the graphic includes details about where else to find the artist: “Instagram: @stephaniesing” and “Website: www.stephaniesingleton.com.

Singleton’s bio reads: “Stephanie Singleton (she/her) is a freelance illustrator with a love for all things decorative and surreal. Stephanie graduated from Ontario College of Art & Design University with a Bachelor of Design, specializing in illustration. She is currently based in Toronto, Canada.”

This graphic is titled “Featured Cover Art.” It then specifies the title of the artistic piece, “Climate Anxiety”; the author’s name, “by Stephanie Singleton”; the issue information, “For Volume 39, Issue 3 (2025).” The featured piece of artwork prominently shows a silhouette of an adult, masculine figure holding the hand of a young, feminine child; inside of the silhouetted shape, there is blue sky with white clouds and green leaves. Outside of the silhouetted figure of the adult and child holding hands, there is a desert landscape with cracked, uneven ground, barren trees with no leaves, and a sky that transitions from red to yellow.

In our concluding post for Volume 39, Issue 3 of Cultural Studies—a special issue on “Rethinking the Commons in Hard Times”—we would like to share with you once more the cover artwork for this issue: “Climate Anxiety” by Stephanie Singleton (@stephaniesing on Instagram).

The fifth and final image is titled “A Peek Inside Roxana Mika Muenster’s Review of: “Capturing News, Capturing Democracy: Trump and the Voice of America” by Kate Wright, Martin Scott, and Mel Bunce.” Beneath the title, there is an excerpt from the book review: “Donald Trump had long been known for his verbal attacks on the press when, in 2020, he took the fight to the Voice of America (VOA), the United States’ international broadcaster which regularly reaches over 300 million people worldwide. Alleging reporting bias and mismanagement at the outlet, the president nominated Michael Pack to lead the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Tasked with eradicating what the president and his allies perceived as propaganda and insulting reporting on the administration, Pack's short seven-month tenure as CEO was marred by accusations of editorial interference and abuses of authority. Subsequent government investigations found numerous instances of misconduct and violations. In their book Capturing news, capturing democracy: Trump and the Voice of America, authors Kate Wright, Martin Scott, and Mel Bunce employ the framework of government capture, which describes the process of increased political influence on an agency by a government and its allies, to investigate this period of intense politicization.”

4) Roxana Mika Muenster‘s review of “Capturing News, Capturing Democracy: Trump and the Voice of America” by Kate Wright, Martin Scott, and Mel Bunce—found on pages 463-466 in printed editions of Issue 3 or available to subscribers online here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The fourth image is titled “A Peek Inside Tejas Harad’s Review of: “Children’s Digital Experiences in Indian Slums: Technologies, Identities and Jugaad” by Kiran Vinod Bhatia.” Beneath the title, there is an excerpt from the book review: “With her deep ethnographic work in the three slum localities in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, Kiran V. Bhatia challenges the developmental logic of introducing information and communication technologies (ICTs) in poor neighbourhoods with the sole mandate of uplifting the marginalized. Bhatia questions the popular narratives that demand that the only role digital technologies should play in poor children’s lives is for educational purposes. By offering a plethora of examples and rich empirical details, she shows that these children’s engagement with digital technologies is as varied, complex and contradictory as any adult’s use of the same technologies. Bhatia investigates the digital lives of the children in the slum localities of Azad Nagar in Mumbai, Munnekollal in Bengaluru and Seemapuri in Delhi using the analytical lens of class, gender, caste and religion.”

3) Tejas Harad’s review of “Children’s Digital Experiences in Indian Slums: Technologies, Identities and Jugaad” by Kiran Vinod Bhatia—found on pages 459-463 in printed editions of Issue 3 or available to subscribers online here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The third image is titled “A Peek Inside Saibu Mutaru’s Review of: “Witch Camps and Witchcraft Discourse in Africa: Critiquing Development Practices” by Matthew G. Mabefam.” Beneath the title, there is an excerpt from the book review: ““Since the turn of the nineteenth century, ‘witchcraft’ continues to be a staple topic in anthropology. In Witch Camps and Witchcraft Discourse in Africa, Matthew G. Mabefam demonstrates that witchcraft is a gendered phenomenon among the Bikpakpaam (Konkomba) and other neighbouring groups in the northern region of Ghana. In this patriarchal society like in many others elsewhere, women are generally considered to be inferior to their male counterparts in all aspects of social life, and beliefs about witchcraft are highly discriminatory, with women bearing the brunt of this discrimination, as they are disproportionately targeted with witchcraft accusations and the accompanying putative violence. Witchcraft is a slippery and controversial concept. However, despite the controversy around what constitutes ‘witchcraft’, the concept continues to attract much attention in Africa and beyond.”

2) Saibu Mutaru’s review of “Witch Camps and Witchcraft Discourse in Africa: Critiquing Development Practices” by Matthew G. Mabefam—found on pages 456-459 in printed editions of Issue 3 or available to subscribers online here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The second image is titled “A Peek Inside Husseina Ahmed’s Review of: “Protest Arts, Gender, and Social Change: Fiction, Popular Songs, and the Media in Hausa Society Across Borders” by Ousseina D. Alidou.” At the bottom is an excerpt from the book review: “In Protest Arts, Gender, and Social Change, Ousseina D. Alidou utilizes a combination of textual and critical discourse analysis to examine how creative artists, including novelists and popular musicians in contemporary Hausa society, leverage digital media platforms to creatively address social issues, provide critical (social and political) commentary, advocate for marginalized groups, and promote social change. Throughout the book, Alidou highlights – by analyzing different case studies in each chapter – the role that literature and popular songs play in the complex cultural politics of contemporary Hausa society specifically in northern Nigeria and Niger. The book focuses on resistance narratives in the work of one female novelist and six songwriters and performers [...]”

1) Husseina Ahmed’s review of “Protest Arts, Gender, and Social Change: Fiction, Popular Songs, and the Media in Hausa Society Across Borders” by Ousseina D. Alidou—found on pages 453-456 in printed editions of Issue 3 or available to subscribers online here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This graphic is titled “Book Reviews,” followed by the subtitle, “Volume 39, Issue 3 (2025).” There are four boxes with text beneath, each corresponding to one of the book reviews. The first box has the heading, “Protest Arts, Gender, and Social Change: Fiction, Popular Songs, and the Media in Hausa Society Across Borders by Ousseina D. Alidou”; beneath it in smaller text, reads: “Review by Husseina Ahmed.” The second box is titled, “Witch Camps and Witchcraft Discourse in Africa: Critiquing Development Practices by Matthew G. Mabefam”; beneath it in smaller text, reads: “Review by Saibu Mutaru.” The third box has the heading, “Children’s Digital Experiences in Indian Slums: Technologies, Identities and Jugaad by Kiran Vinod Bhatia”; beneath it in smaller text, reads: “Review by Tejas Harad.” The fourth and final box has the heading, “Capturing News, Capturing Democracy: Trump and the Voice of America by Kate Wright, Martin Scott, and Mel Bunce”; beneath it in smaller text, reads: “Review by Roxana Mika Muenster.”

We would like to thank Husseina Ahmed, Saibu Mutaru, Tejas Harad, and Roxana Mika Muenster for their book review contributions to Volume 39, Issue 3 of Cultural Studies. Learn more about each their book reviews below: