Problems of Cultural Analysis and Policy in the Information Age

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Abstract
The term culture is now used in so many different ways that its analytical util ity is in doubt. For policy-oriented cultural studies, it is wisest to concentrate on practices that are first and foremost about signification, identity, and pleasure. Also, policy-oriented research should not be reduced to adminis trative usefulness. From a critical perspective, technological determinism in communications and culture must be treated with skepticism. In this connec tion, Manuel Castells's information age thesis is examined. The adequacy of his model of inclusion and exclusion is additionally called into question. Despite its many strengths, Castells's thesis distracts attention from pro cesses that are anterior to—albeit mediated by—the development of infor mation and communication technologies (ICTs), most notably exploitation on a global scale. In contrast, Naomi Klein's research focuses on the mate rial and ideological connections of branding culture—which is indeed "cul ture" because it foregrounds signification, identity, and pleasure—to the extreme exploitation of sweatshop labor.

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