I don’t know whether you have noticed, but the word ‘urban’ seems to have changed, if not its meaning, then its connotation. Steve Latham I grew up in a small northern former industrial town, hollowed out by the decline of the cotton mills, and then reborn as a […]
EdgeNotes
Practical Lesson #1: How to be a cultural theorist
How can we do cultural analysis? How do we avoid the opposite perils of mere journalism or arid abstraction? Steve Latham Journalism is important in pointing out immediate developments, in new pop song genres for instance, but the danger is remaining enmeshed in surface phenomena. On the other […]
The man in the high castle
The third series of “The man in the high castle” has finally been released on Amazon Prime. And disappointing it is too. Steve Latham This treatment of Philip K. Dick’s seminal novel began well enough, with frequent recognisable connections to the book. But as it has progressed, and […]
Universal Credit, universal misery
The UK government policy of Universal Credit is unanimously criticised by food banks, and homeless charities, as a major contributor to the further immiseration of the poorest sectors of society Steve Latham The idea was initially presented as a solution to the complex system of multiple benefits, confusing […]
Regressive progressive
It’s strange how today’s progressive orthodoxy becomes tomorrow’s outdated fashion. We can see this easily when we look at the past. Steve Latham Yesterday’s beliefs appear to us as the products of their times and their ideologies. But we find it hard to apply this perspective to our […]