Culture War

Why has identity become so central to judging art today? Why are some groups reluctant to defend free speech within culture? Has state support made artists poorer not richer? How does the movement for social justice influence cultural production? Why is Post-Modernism dominant in the art world? Why are consumers of comic books so bitterly divided?
In Culture War: Art, Identity Politics and Cultural Entryism Alexander Adams examines a series of pressing issues in today’s culture: censorship, Islamism, Feminism, identity politics, historical reparations and public arts policy. Through a series of linked essays, Culture War exposes connections between seemingly unrelated events and trends in high and popular cultures. From fine art to superhero comics, from political cartoons to museum policy, certain persistent ideas underpin the most contentious issues today. Adams draws on history, philosophy, politics and cultural criticism to explain the reasoning of creators, consumers and critics and to expose some uncomfortable truths.

Keywords: Identity, art, criticism, culture, free speech, the state, artists, social justice, cultural production, postmodernism, post-modernism, censorship, Islamism, feminism, public policy, popular culture, high culture, fine art, comic books, philosophy, history of art, cultural criticism, state subsidies, quota programming, reparations, identity politics, social justice activism, arts programming