This article examines the political project of Cultural Studies by calling for a re-examination of the cultural studies research practices. The metaphors used by cultural studies researchers are explored, as these demonstrate the ways in which researchers have sought to emphasize openness and fluidity. However, it is argued that the desire for openness is not enough; that without rigorous consideration of methodology Cultural Studies lays itself open to many of the academic research problems it seeks to challenge. The article therefore offers a rethinking of the metaphors of cultural studies research.
The question is, what alternative metaphors do we have for imagining a cultural politics? (Hall, 1996, p. 288)
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