The affirmative character of cultural studies

Drawing on the four authors’ experiences as members of a collective made up of faculty and staff housed across several academic and non-academic educational institutions in the Seattle metropolitan region, the article argues that practitioners of cultural studies can best address questions of praxis by developing and institutionalizing more diverse sites for the critical and creative study of culture. A non-affirmative model of cultural studies needs to be grounded, both institutionally and theoretically, in collaborations that cut across, bridge, and reconfigure the relations among educational institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and community groups.