ABSTRACT
A recurrent theme in debates about the nature of contemporary culture is its ambivalent character. On the one hand, there are new possibilities for self-expression, and on the other, new risks to negotiate and a heightened potential for disappointment and confusion in all spheres of life (Bauman, 1990; Berman, 1983; Craib, 1994; Elliott, 1996; Frosh, 1991; Giddens, 1991; Nava and O’Shea, 1996). As cultural theorists have documented, today’s uncertainties are related to a broader set of technological, social and political transformations associated with global capitalism and consumer culture (Featherstone, 1991; Foster, 1987; Giddens, 1991) and also to the loss of faith in the traditional ‘grand narratives’ and values associated with the Enlightenment and the old western patriarchal moral order (Lyotard, 1984).
