Cultural studies has never been a stranger to controversy, disagreement, or drama. But these disputes emerge precisely because there are stakes to the minutiae, because something as seemingly trivial as whether a term is framed as a verb or a noun can make the most profound of differences in how we see and understand the world. Other times, analysis yields to sites where memory, justice, or even life itself may be on the line, and so our debates take on an even greater tenor of urgency. Yet, in the desire to publish and/or perish, or to introduce some grand intervention, rarely are there the opportunities to merely limn specific contradictions. What would happen if instead of meditating on a potential fix, we stayed with the trouble just a bit longer?
In Aporias we embrace the debate. Here, emerging scholars tarry with contemporary or historic controversies or lacunae within cultural studies or related fields that have yet to be properly synthesized. Rather than settle these conceptual dilemmas, these scholars each explore a disagreement or distinction without any intention of resolution. Wading through these divisions, these articles provoke future thought by investigating the lapses, overlaps, and contentions between and within competing theories and texts.
In particular, this special section of Lateral was constructed as a vehicle for the research of junior scholars, valuing the unique insight of these writers. Due to their deep immersion in texts—whether it be from their comprehensive examinations, writing their dissertation, the terror of the academic job market, or their sheer love of scholarship—these early career researchers bring fresh perspectives that disrupt canonical thought and nuance earlier conversations.
So, enter Aporias, a section devoted to mining cultural studies, to embracing the mess, and to reorienting us toward what may be next.
For details on submissions, see the Aporias CFP.
