Stuart Cunningham, In the Vernacular: A Generation of Cultural Criticism and Controversy

In the Vernacular brings together important works, written over a twenty-year period, from one of Australia's leading scholars of media, culture and policy. Tracking across Australia's still-neglected film heritage, and reflecting on the achievements of Australian television in the 1980s and 1990s, the book exemplifies the strengths of close attention to both history and industry context and the attractions of popular aesthetics. It engages with the global debate on multi-ethnic societies by focusing on extraordinary, yet barely visible, creativity 'at the margins'. It argues that industrial and social trends in media, communications and culture are outstripping the academic frameworks that were erected to deal with them, and provides a way forward that connects the discipline to the career outlooks and prospects of students - the future of the field. Stuart Cunningham has been at the forefront of the development of cultural and media studies specifically inflected to Australian conditions, and has led often controversial developments in cultural policy studies and creative industries. In the Vernacular provides a compelling picture of the vitality and excitement in a popular and growing field of study.