ABSTRACT
Cultural analysis gained its shape in the late 1990s. This introduction proposes to reassess its relevance to the immediate present as well as the near future. After a brief genealogical sketch, we address the current situation, alternating between successful institutionalization, slow scholarly attrition, and intensified threat, as well as reflect on a discussion in cultural studies at large on the field’s methodological standardization versus its improvisational openness. Finally, we address the present historicity of the main aspects of cultural analysis as suggested by Mieke Bal—including object analysis, a heuristic use of concepts, interdisciplinarity, and social relevance—and introduce the volume’s contributions under those headings.
