Unruly traditions of critical/cultural studies

Much of critical/cultural studies in communication has fallen into a comfortable disciplinarity. This is due in part to its reliance on media studies and the "encoding/decoding" model. This essay renews calls for a more expansive, transgressive, and unruly critical/cultural studies that tackles the complexities of culture, contexts, effects, and power. It focuses on three key points. The first is expanding critical/cultural studies beyond Euroamerican traditions. The next turns to modes of being and consciousness beyond Western history and culture. The final point emphasizes exercising our political imaginations in service of radical world-building.