This major voice in French philosophy presents a classic study of how particular political and cultural ideas come to dominate society. Spanning the years 1964 to 1973, On Ideology contains the seminal text, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatus” (1970), which revolutionized the concept of subject formation. In “Reply to John Lewis” (1972–73), Althusser addressed the criticisms of the English Marxist toward On Marx and Reading Capital. Also included are “Freud and Lacan” (1964) and “A Letter on Art in Reply to André Daspre” (1966).

"Witty, lucid, and powered by that stinging, militant, ironising intelligence which distinguishes Eagleton’s work." –Guardian A brilliant and lucid guide to this most elusive of concepts Ideology has never before been so much in evidence as a fact and so little understood as a concept as it is today. In this now classic work, originally written for both newcomers to the topic and for those already familiar with the debate, Terry Eagleton unravels the many different definitions of ideology, and explores the concept's torturous history from the Enlightenment to postmodernism. The book provides lucid accounts of the thought of key Marxist thinkers, as well as of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Freud and the various post-structuralists. Now updated in the light of current theoretical debates, this essential text by one of our most important contemporary critics clarifies a notoriously confused subject. Ideology is core reading for students and teachers of literature and politics.

First published in 2006 as WPCS 10, On Ideology is a product of discussions which were common to a number of working groups in the Centre. It confronts the recurring problem of the articulation of cultural studies with some Marxist theories of ideology. The first part is explicitly theoretical, comprising expositions and critical readings of important theorists of ideology – from Lukacs and Gramsci to Althusser and Poulantzas, and an overview of sociological approaches. Part II considers the theme in relation to two significant contributions to social-democratic theories and policies: education and ‘community studies’. Part III discusses the problems raised by the notions of ‘subjectivity’ and ‘individuality’. From a series of theoretical engagements, the book aims to provide perspectives from which to develop concrete and politically relevant studies of a key aspect of contemporary social formations. The Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) was a research centre at the University of Birmingham. It is notable for producing many key studies and researchers in the field of Cultural Studies. It was founded in 1964 by Richard Hoggart, who became the first centre director. The Cultural Studies department at the University of Birmingham was closed in 2002.

How to explain the hegemonic stability of neoliberal capitalism even in the midst of its crises? The emergence of ideology theories marked a re-foundation of Marxist research into the functioning of alienation and subjection. Going beyond traditional concepts of ‘manipulation’ and ‘false consciousness’, they turned to the material existence of hegemonic apparatuses and focused on the mostly unconscious effects of ideological practices, rituals and discourses. Jan Rehmann reconstructs the different strands of ideology theories ranging from Marx to Adorno/Horkheimer, from Lenin to Gramsci, from Althusser to Stuart Hall, from Bourdieu to W.F. Haug, from Foucault to Butler. He compares them in a way that a genuine dialogue becomes possible and applies the different methods to the ‘market totalitarianism’ of today’s high-tech-capitalism.

Widely praised as a seminal contribution to the study of the Old Testament when it first appeared, Michael V. Fox's Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther is now available in a second edition, complete with an up-to-date critical review of recent Esther scholarship. Fox's commentary, based on his own translation of the Hebrew text, captures the meaning and artistry of Esther's inspiring story. After laying out the background information essential for properly reading Esther, Fox offers commentary on the text that clearly unpacks its message and relevance. Fox also looks in depth at each character in the story of Esther, showing how they were carefully shaped by the book's author to teach readers a new view of how to live as Jews in foreign lands.

Louis Althusser’s renowned short text ‘Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses’ radically transformed the concept of the subject, the understanding of the state and even the very frameworks of cultural, political and literary theory. The text has influenced thinkers such as Judith Butler, Ernesto Laclau and Slavoj Žižek. The piece is, in fact, an extract from a much longer book, On the Reproduction of Capitalism, until now unavailable in English. Its publication makes possible a reappraisal of seminal Althusserian texts already available in English, their place in Althusser’s oeuvre and the relevance of his ideas for contemporary theory. On the Reproduction of Capitalism develops Althusser’s conception of historical materialism, outlining the conditions of reproduction in capitalist society and the revolutionary struggle for its overthrow. Written in the afterglow of May 1968, the text addresses a question that continues to haunt us today: in a society that proclaims its attachment to the ideals of liberty and equality, why do we witness the ever-renewed reproduction of relations of domination? Both a conceptually innovative text and a key theoretical tool for activists, On the Reproduction of Capitalism is an essential addition to the corpus of the twentieth-century Left.

Public opinion in the United States contains a paradox. The American public is symbolically conservative: it cherishes the symbols of conservatism and is more likely to identify as conservative than as liberal. Yet at the same time, it is operationally liberal, wanting government to do and spend more to solve a variety of social problems. This book focuses on understanding this contradiction. It argues that both facets of public opinion are real and lasting, not artifacts of the survey context or isolated to particular points in time. By exploring the ideological attitudes of the American public as a whole, and the seemingly conflicted choices of individual citizens, it explains the foundations of this paradox. The keys to understanding this large-scale contradiction, and to thinking about its consequences, are found in Americans' attitudes with respect to religion and culture and in the frames in which elite actors describe policy issues.