This work explores new theories and directions in cultural studies. What should or could cultural studies look like in the 21st Century? "New Cultural Studies" is both an introductory reference work and an original study which explores some of the most exciting new directions currently being opened up in cultural studies. A new generation has begun to emerge from the shadow of the Birmingham School: a generation who have turned to theory as a means to think through some of the crucial problems and issues in contemporary culture. "New Cultural Studies" collects for the first time the ideas of this generation and explains just why theory continues to be crucial for cultural studies.The book explores theory's past, present and future role in cultural studies, providing students and researchers alike with an authoritative and accessible guide to: some of the most interesting members of this 'post-Birmingham school' generation; the thinkers and theories currently influencing new work in cultural studies: Agamben, Badiou, Deleuze, Derrida, Kittler, Laclau, Levinas, and Zizek; and the new territories being mapped out across the intersections of cultural studies and cultural theory: anti-capitalism, ethics, the post-humanities, post-Marxism, new media technologies, the transnational.