Provides an historical overview of the field and its developments from 19th century thinkers such as Karl Marx and Matthew Arnold to contemporary theorists such as Raymond Williams and Antonio Gramsci. It focuses on the central issues of cultural criticism in the US and Britain, Europe, Asia and Africa, bringing the reader up-to-date with current debates such as post-colonialism and identity politics.

This book contains four essays by and about Frederick Jackson Turner (1861-1932), the Wisconsin-born historian whose ideas and writings have had such a profound impact upon the way Americans view their past, and their place in the world. It is a book not only for the scholar and teacher (who will find it both useful and incisive), but also for the mythic "general reader" who wants to broaden and enrich his aquaintanceship with Turner and the celebrated Frontier Thesis. In addition to essays by Turner and by Martin Ridge of The Huntington Library and the late Ray Allen Billington, the book is illustrated with photos from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.