Cultural Studies - Published by Routledge

Love story, ghost story: the Cambodian genocide, labour extraction, and Hout Bophana This essay considers the implications and excesses of the ghost as worker and object of extraction in global afterlives of 1970s mass violence in Cambodia. It traces the international mobilization ...

Subscribers with digital access to Cultural Studies can read Mitamura’s “Love Story, Ghost Story: The Cambodian Genocide, Labour Extraction, and Hout Bophana” 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: “Love Story, Ghost Story: The Cambodian Genocide, Labour Extraction, and Hout Bophana.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Emily Mitamura •  Volume 39, Issue 6 (2025).”

The second article from Issue 39.6—“Love Story, Ghost Story: The Cambodian Genocide, Labour Extraction, and Hout Bophana”—is written by Emily Mitamura, a guest editor of this special collection on “Bodies that Haunt: Rethinking the Political Economy of Racialised Death."

This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “Bodies That Haunt: Rethinking the Political Economy of Racialised Death.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Emily Mitamura and Rachmi Diyah Larasati” and “Volume 39, Issue 6 (2025).”

Our final issue of 2026 is a special issue on "Bodies that Haunt: Rethinking the Political Economy of Racialised Death.” The introduction was written by the guest editors of this issue, Emily Mitamura & Rachmi Diyah Larasati: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

We would also like to thank Sacha Bezrutchka (@sacha.arte on Instagram) for contributing the cover artwork, a piece titled “Gaza Freedom Flotilla." We are honored to feature this piece as the cover artwork for our final issue of the year.

We would like to thank all the contributing authors for Issue 6: Emily Mitamura, Rachmi Diyah Larasati, Sayan Bhattacharya, Colin Wingate, Eleanor Paynter, María José Méndez, José Manuel Santillana Blanco, and Naimah Petigny…

This graphic primarily features both text and artwork. The text begins with “Cultural Studies” and shares the issue information: “Volume 39, Number 6” and “November 2025.” The artwork includes a collage-style collection of elements, including a hand holding a cross-section of watermelon, a white rose, birds, an eye, and paper ripped to reveal the ocean.

Volume 39, Issue 6 of Cultural Studies—our final issue of 2025—is a special issue edited by Emily Mitamura and Rachmi Diyah Larasati on the theme of “Bodies that Haunt: Rethinking the Political Economy of Racialised Death": www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcus20/3...

Cultural Studies Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society. Volume 39, Issue 5 of Cultural Studies

Thank you for being a part of this space with us as we shared about the works that made this issue on “Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society” a reality. You can find the Issue 39.5 articles—including two open access works—and book reviews here: www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcus20/3...

If you would like to see more of Job’s art, you can find him:
- on Instagram at @sitoole_ki_murals (www.instagram.com/sitoole_ki_m...) and @jobray_arts (www.instagram.com/jobray_arts/)
- or by emailing him at: jobrayarts94@gmail.com

The third and final image is a full-size version of the artwork. As described in the first image, the art 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.

We thank Job Olego Anomet for sharing this artwork with us, for the ways that it resonates with this issue’s theme of “Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society,” and for being a part of our ongoing cover art series on “Against Extraction: Desires for Life-Sustaining Futures.”

Artist bio continued: “Jobray is dedicated to sharing his expertise, providing mentorship to emerging artists and fostering a community of creativity and learning, for example, through the Sitoole-Ki Murals project.”

Artist bio continued: “Working independently as a freelance artist and muralist, Jobray creates powerful visual stories that reflect his imagination and the vibrant, everyday experiences of life.”

The second image is titled “About the Artist: Job Olego Anomet,” and it features a biography for the artist: “Job Olego Anomet (he/him), also known as Jobray, is a graffiti artist, stained glass artist, painter, designer, and illustrator based in Kampala, Uganda. Working independently as a freelance artist and muralist, Jobray creates powerful visual stories that reflect his imagination and the vibrant, everyday experiences of life. Jobray is dedicated to sharing his expertise, providing mentorship to emerging artists and fostering a community of creativity and learning, for example, through the Sitoole-Ki Murals project.” The bottom of the graphic includes details about where else to find the artist: “Instagram: @jobray_arts & @sitoole_ki_murals” and “Email: jobrayarts94@gmail.com”

His artist biography that he shared with us reads: “Job Olego Anomet (he/him), also known as Jobray, is a graffiti artist, stained glass artist, painter, designer, and illustrator based in Kampala, Uganda.”

This graphic is titled “Featured Cover Art.” It then specifies the title of the artistic piece, “Agriculture Is Fruitful”; the author’s name, “By Job Olego Anomet”; and the issue information, “For Volume 39, Issue 5 (2025).” The featured piece of artwork prominently shows 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.

In our concluding post for Volume 39, Issue 5 of Cultural Studies—a special issue on the topic of “Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society”—we would like to once more share with you the cover artwork of this issue: “Agriculture Is Fruitful” by Job Olego Anomet.

Cultural Studies Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society. Volume 39, Issue 5 of Cultural Studies

We would like to thank all of our book review writers who contributed to Issue 5: Mattie Hamilton, Vivien J. Bediako, Skyler Meeks, Haniyeh Pasandi, Raphaela Pavlakos, and Rosie Nguyen.
 
All six book reviews can be read in full here: www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcus20/3...

The fourth and final image is titled “A Peek Inside Rosie Nguyen’s Review of: Sex Work in Popular Culture by Lauren Kirshner” At the bottom is an excerpt from the book review: “Throughout history, sex work has remained a sensitive and controversial topic. However, in recent decades, there has been a significant shift in how lawmakers, the media, and the public perceive sex work. One of the most evident aspects reflecting this change is in the media portrayals of sex work over time. In her recent book, Sex Work in Popular Culture, Lauren Kirshner analyzes these shifts with rich evidence and engaging prose. Through meticulous analysis, Lauren Kirshner demonstrates her central argument: popular culture does not simply commodify sex work for entertainment but functions as a contested site of labor representation, exposing the hidden struggles of sex workers and reflecting emerging debates surrounding this work. The book is divided into seven chapters, with the first chapter providing a brief review of feminist theories of sex work and the methodologies of feminist media studies, laying the groundwork for the analyses that follow. [...]”

3) Rosie Nguyen’s review of “Sex Work in Popular Culture” by Lauren Kirshner: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The third image is titled “A Peek Inside Raphaela Pavlakos’ Review of: Settler Colonial Ways of Seeing: Documentation, Administration, and the Interventions of Indigenous Art by Danielle Taschereau Mamers.” At the bottom is an excerpt from the book review: “Media Studies scholar, Danielle Taschereau Mamers’ Settler Colonial Ways of Seeing: Documentation, Administration, and the Interventions of Indigenous Art is a book about documents, particularly how colonial states use documents to record and maintain identity, and how Indigenous folks in (what is colonially called) Canada are re-appropriating, re-writing, and rupturing these documents to Indigenize colonial institutions. This book is a critical intervention into political conversations surrounding the Indian Act, Canada’s tenuous relationship with Indigenous communities, and what it means to be an Indigenous person in contemporary Canada through the discussion and unpacking of art from Indigenous artists like Robert Houle (Kaa-wii-kwe-tawang-kak/Sandy Bay First Nation), Nadia Myre (Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg First Nation), Cheryl L’Hirondelle (amiskwaciy wâskahikan and Kikino Métis), and Rebecca Belmore (Obishikokaang/Lac Seul First Nation). Mamers argues that artistic production is a space where Indigenous sovereignty can be found and re-imagined [...]”

2) Raphaela Pavlakos’ review of “Settler Colonial Ways of Seeing: Documentation, Administration, and the Interventions of Indigenous Art” by Danielle Taschereau Mamers: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The second image is titled “A Peek Inside Haniyeh Pasandi’s Review of: Contemporary Feminist Art by Women in North Africa by Ramona Mielusel.” At the bottom is an excerpt from the book review: “In Contemporary Feminist Art by Women in North Africa, Ramona Mielusel provides a timely and significant contribution to the fields of Francophone North African studies, contemporary feminist theory, and visual culture. Through a nuanced analysis of six female artists working across a range of media, the monograph examines how gender, identity, and power intersect through visual representation. Mielusel's focus on Majida Khattari, Lalla Essaydi, Zoulikha Bouabdellah, Déborah Benzaquen, Fatima Mazmouz, and Zaïnab Fasiki is grounded in their shared connection to Morocco and the Maghreb more broadly, and in their engagement with transnational feminist discourse through a distinctly North African lens. Mielusel offers new insights into the complexity of Maghrebi women's artistic production in both local and diasporic contexts while focusing on the intersectionality aspect of each artwork. The artists are primarily of Moroccan origin, with Bouabdellah from Algeria. They work in both local and diasporic contexts, including France and the United States. [...]”

1) Haniyeh Pasandi’s review of “Contemporary Feminist Art by Women in North Africa” by Ramona Mielusel: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This graphic is titled “Book Reviews,” followed by the subtitle, “Part 2 • Volume 39, Issue 5 (2025).” There are three boxes with text beneath, each corresponding to one of the book reviews. The first box has the heading, “Contemporary Feminist Art by Women in North Africa by Ramona Mielusel”; beneath it in smaller text, reads: “Review by Haniyeh Pasandi.” The second box is titled, “Settler Colonial Ways of Seeing: Documentation, Administration, and the Interventions of Indigenous Art by Danielle Taschereau Mamers”; beneath it in smaller text, reads: “Review by Raphaela Pavlakos.” The third and final box has the heading, “Sex Work in Popular Culture by Lauren Kirshner”; beneath it in smaller text, reads: “Review by Rosie Nguyen.”

Volume 39, Issue 5 of Cultural Studies includes six book reviews. We would like to feature the concluding three today, written by Haniyeh Pasandi, Raphaela Pavlakos, and Rosie Nguyen. Learn more about each their book reviews below:

Cultural Studies Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society. Volume 39, Issue 5 of Cultural Studies

All six book reviews can be read in full here: www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcus20/3... … or found between pages 792-809 in the printed edition of Volume 39, Issue 5.

The fourth and final image is titled “A Peek Inside Skyler Meeks’ Review of: Black Iconoclasm: Public Symbols, Racial Progress, and Post/Ferguson America by Charles Athanasopoulos.” At the bottom is an excerpt from the book review: “From Confederate statues to corporate slogans, iconoclasm is often seen as the final act of resistance – a decisive blow against the icons of oppression. But what if toppling a statue or exposing ideologic failures marks only the beginning? In Black Iconoclasm: Public Symbols, Racial Progress, and Post/Ferguson America, Charles Athanasopoulos reframes iconoclasm not as an endpoint, but as a liminal practice of disruption. Moving beyond the destruction of symbols, which ‘are reduced to the search for an action, a thinker, a movement, or an object that signifies a pure symbol of resistance to power,’ Athanasopoulos’s concept of Black iconoclasm challenges Western notions of purity and progress (31). It, instead, embraces messy, unresolved tensions where radical possibilities coexist with residues of racial oppression. In doing so, Athanasopoulos positions Black iconoclasm as a critical, liminal orientation toward racial progress narratives [...]”

3) Skyler Meeks’ review of "Black Iconoclasm: Public Symbols, Racial Progress, and Post/Ferguson America” by Charles Athanasopoulos: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The third image is titled “A Peek Inside Vivien J. Bediako’s Review of: Migration, Crisis and Temporality at the Zimbabwe-South Africa Border: Governing Immobilities by Kudakwashe Vanyoro.” At the bottom is an excerpt from the book review: “In Migration, Crisis and Temporality at the Zimbabwe-South Africa Border: Governing Immobilities, Kudakwashe Vanyoro examines the (im)mobilities, disrupted journeys and survival migration experiences of black Zimbabwean men to post-apartheid South Africa in the wake of Zimbabwe’s political and economic crises. The book focuses on the men’s precarious living conditions in the border town of Musina, South Africa, which has become the geographic stronghold of the humanitarian enterprise. The roles of humanitarian organizations in managing these border migrants to assert agency in their everyday lives are also explored, reinforcing the power imbalances between government, humanitarian actors, and unauthorized migrants within the restrictive migration policies of the South African government. [...]”

2) Vivien J. Bediako’s review of "Migration, Crisis and Temporality at the Zimbabwe-South Africa Border: Governing Immobilities” by Kudakwashe Vanyoro: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The second image is titled “A Peek Inside Mattie Hamilton’s “Breaking Through the Silence of Structural Heteropatriarchy,” a review of Complaint! by Sara Ahmed.” At the bottom is an excerpt from the book review: ““Sara Ahmed’s Complaint! functions as a compelling testimony, delving into the intricate dynamics of how patriarchal abuses of power contribute to institutional change. Through meticulous scrutiny, Ahmed reveals the underlying realities of policies and protocols within academic settings, scrutinizes the treatments of complainants, and celebrates the arduous journey towards justice despite its anguishing ramifications. Exploring the way in which lending a feminist ear can be used as an institutional tactic to shatter structures of power, she states that: ‘“To hear complaints, you have to dismantle the barriers that stop us from hearing complaints, and by barriers, I am referring to institutional barriers, the walls, the doors that render so much of what is said, what is done, invisible and inaudible. If you have to dismantle barriers to hear complaints, hearing complaints can make you more aware of those barriers. In other words, hearing complaints can also be how you learn how complaints are not heard.” (p. 6)’.”

1) “Breaking Through the Silence of Structural Heteropatriarchy,” the title of Mattie Hamilton’s review of “Complaint!” by Sara Ahmed: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This graphic is titled “Book Reviews,” followed by the subtitle, “Part 1 • Volume 39, Issue 5 (2025).” There are three boxes with text beneath, each corresponding to one of the book reviews. The first box has the heading, “Breaking Through the Silence of Structural Heteropatriarchy - Reviewing Complaint! by Sara Ahmed”; beneath it in smaller text, reads: “Review by Mattie Hamilton.” The second box is titled, “Migration, Crisis and Temporality at the Zimbabwe-South Africa Border: Governing Immobilities by Kudakwashe Vanyoro”; beneath it in smaller text, reads: “Review by Vivien J. Bediako.” The third and final box has the heading, “Black Iconoclasm: Public Symbols, Racial Progress, and Post/Ferguson America by Charles Athanasopoulos”; beneath it in smaller text, reads: “Review by Skyler Meeks.”

Volume 39, Issue 5 of Cultural Studies includes six book reviews, and we would like to feature the first three today, written by Mattie Hamilton, Vivien J. Bediako, and Skyler Meeks. Learn more about each their book reviews below:

This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “The Historical Uses of the Oceans: The Anthropocene in the First Global Age (1500–1800)?” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Amélia Polónia” and “Volume 39, Issue 5 (2025).”

“The Historical Uses of the Oceans: The Anthropocene in the First Global Age (1500–1800)?” by Amélia Polónia is the seventh and final article in Volume 39, Issue 5, a special issue on the theme of “Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society": 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: “MOIRA: (Re)Making Algarve’s Culture(s) of Water Through Mixed Media Arts.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Ana Gago and Diogo Marques” and “Volume 39, Issue 5 (2025).”

Ana Gago and Diogo Marques’ article “‘MOIRA: (Re)Making Algarve’s Culture(s) of Water Through Mixed Media Arts” is the sixth article featured in Volume 39, Issue 5, a special issue on the topic of “Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society": 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 Use of Historical Ponds in Political Campaigns in the Czech Republic.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Michal Vokurka” and “Volume 39, Issue 5 (2025)”

“The Use of Historical Ponds in Political Campaigns in the Czech Republic” by Michal Vokurka is the fifth article in Volume 39, Issue 5, a special issue on the theme of Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society.  Subscribers can read the 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: “Siren Call of the Sea: Disenchantment and Estrangement of Seafarers.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author, issue, and access information: “Johanna Markkula,” ”Volume 39, Issue 5 (2025),” and “Open Access Article.”

The second open access article featured from Volume 39, Issue 5 of Cultural Studies—a special issue on “Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society”—is “Siren Call of the Sea: Disenchantment and Estrangement of Seafarers” by Johanna Markkula: 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 Predicaments of Craftsmanship in the Knowledge Economy: The Rise and Fall of Caminha’s Boatyards in Caminha, Portugal.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “António Ferreira” and “Volume 39, Issue 5 (2025).”

The third article in Issue 39.5— a special issue on “Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society”—is António Ferreira’s “The Predicaments of Craftsmanship in the Knowledge Economy: The Rise and Fall of Caminha’s Boatyards in Caminha, Portugal": www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Matching and mismatching times in the fisheries of South Brittany. Crises in marine ecosystems as seen through the lens of architecture, 1887–1927 In this paper, we set out to trace a socioecological history of South Brittany sardines in relation to architecture, elucidating the inherited relationships that exist between marine environments a...

Because of the open access status of Tavares and Nouvet’s article, it can be read by all regardless of current Cultural Studies subscription status 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: “Matching and Mismatching Times in the Fisheries of South Brittany. Crises in Marine Ecosystems as Seen Through the Lens of Architecture, 1887–1927.” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author, issue, and access information: “André Tavares and Alice Nouvet,” “Volume 39, Issue 5 (2025),” and “Open Access Article.”

“Matching and Mismatching Times in the Fisheries of South Brittany. Crises in Marine Ecosystems as Seen Through the Lens of Architecture, 1887–1927” by André Tavares & Alice Nouvet is the second article featured in Issue 39.5, a special issue on “Cultures of Water: Heritage, Environment and Society”