Media and the Restyling of Politics

Dick Pels is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Human Sciences at Brunel University, West London, and a Senior Research Affiliate of the Amsterdam School of Social Science Research. He is the author of Property and Power in Social Theory. A Study in Intellectual Rivalry(Routledge, 1998), The Intellectual as Stranger. Studies in Spokespersonship (Routledge, 2000) and Unhastening Science. Autonomy and Reflexivity in the Social Theory of Knowledge (forthcoming Liverpool University Press, 2002). He has edited books on Bourdieu, basic income, and political style, and has widely published in international journals on social and political theory, the sociology of knowledge and intellectuals, and intellectual history. His current research interests are in theories of performativity and performance, the social status of ′things′, intellectuals and media, and the role of celebrity culture.

"The authors deal with a number of important concepts- e.g., aesthetic politics, celebrity politician, cool politics, the president as ′entertainer-in-chief,′ ′the supermarket state,′ permanent campaigns, and political brands- and discuss their implementation and far-reaching sociocultural implications... this work deserves to be widely read, especially during election seasons. Highly recommend."

• Introduction - John Corner and Dick PelsThe Re-Styling of PoliticsDemocracy′s Inner Voice - Frank AnkersmitPolitical Style as Unintended Consequence of Political ActionAesthetic Representation and Political Style - Dick PelsRe-Balancing Identity and Difference in Media DemocracyMediated Persona and Political Culture - John CornerThe Celebrity Politician - John StreetPolitical Style and Popular Culture`After Dallas and Dynasty We Have… Democracy′ - Liesbet van ZoonenArticulating Soap, Politics and GenderCitizen Consumers - Margaret ScammellTowards a New Marketing of Politics?Lifestyle Politics and Citizen-Consumers - W Lance BennettIdentity, Communication and Political Action in Late Modern SocietyReconfiguring Civic Culture in the New Media Milieu - Peter DahlgrenPopular Culture and Mediated Politics - Jon SimonsIntellectuals, Elites and DemocracyMarked Bodies - Bronislaw SzerszynskiEnvironmental Activism and Political Semiotics