This graphic primarily features text. The first text reads, “New Article • Current Issue,” and then it shares the title of the article: “Seven Theses About the So-Called Culture War(s) (Or Some Fragmentary Notes on ‘Cancel Culture’).” The bottom of the graphic then specifies the author and issue information: “Sean Phelan • Volume 39, Issue 1 (2025)” and “Open Access Article.”
The second image is titled “Abstract,” and it features the first part of the abstract for the article: “How might we understand the forms of mediatized politics that are signified under the dreary heading of the ‘culture war(s)’? This article addresses this question in the form of seven theses. Informed by a distinct theoretical reading of Laclau and Mouffe’s concept of antagonism, I highlight the anti-political character of culture war discourses, particularly as amplified in a public culture dominated by the social media industry. The seven theses are prefaced by an overview of the category of ‘cancel culture’, in light of its recent prominence as an object of culture war discourse.” The abstract is continued on the next image.
The third and final image is titled “Abstract (Continued),” and it includes the rest of the abstract: “The theses stress the repressive effects of culture war discourses on our collective political imagination. They redescribe some of the fault lines of a familiar terrain by thematizing the differences between a moralized and radical democratic understanding of political antagonism. I highlight the primary role of far-right actors in the normalization of culture-war conflicts that persecute different identities, but also critique the online left’s entanglement in sedimented antagonisms that primarily benefit reactionary actors.” At the bottom of the graphic, it reads: “Continue Reading at the Link in Our Description.”
The next article from Volume 39, Issue 1 is titled "Seven Theses About the So-Called Culture War(s) (Or Some Fragmentary Notes on ‘Cancel Culture’)," written by Sean Phelan. It is an open access article, and we invite you to read it here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
