Class, culture and the politics of inequality

This introduction to the second issue situates the journal within a diverse and multidisciplinary environment insisting on the necessity of returning to the concept and application of ‘grand narratives’. It argues for research strategies that are politically engaged and committed to collaboration with other disciplines both within and outside of academia. Referring to the eclectic nature of the articles, this editorial insists on the crucial importance of theoretical knowledge in developing the possibility of building counter hegemonic modes of enquiry and knowledge. Within this frame it considers how through the exchange of intellectual ideas it becomes possible to develop the skills and competencies that make possible both the interpretation and comprehension of the complexities and contradictions of working-class life within a globalized neo-liberal labour market. Utilizing Gramsci’s conception of hegemony it anchors the articles in this issue within a framework that challenges hegemonic ways of thinking and uncritical modes of thought.