Autorentext

Professor Rina Arya is Head of the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Hull. Her interdisciplinary research spans visual culture, cultural theory, critical theory, religion and material culture, with wider interests in identity, migration, representation and cultural politics. She has published extensively across these fields. Her books include Francis Bacon: Painting in a Godless World (2012), Abjection and Representation: An Exploration of Abjection in the Visual Arts, Film and Literature (2014), and, with Dinesh Bhugra, Journey to the Centre of the Self: Exploring the Lived Experiences of South Asian Psychiatrists in the UK (2024). Her more recent research focuses on cultural appropriation, intercultural communication, migration and belonging, Alongside her academic work, Arya contributes to wider public debates about culture, representation and identity through journalism, broadcasting, public lectures and collaborative projects.

Klappentext

Cultural appropriation is one of the most contested issues of our time - but what does it actually feel like to have your culture taken, repackaged, and sold back to you? In this book, Rina Arya moves beyond familiar debates to place the lived experiences of minoritised communities at the centre of the discussion. Drawing on postcolonial theory, lived religion, cultural studies, and her experiences as a British South Asian, she examines how cultural forms are commodified, transformed, and returned to their communities with renewed authority. Arya argues that the deepest harms of cultural appropriation are not only economic or representational but also psychological, reshaping how people understand their culture and identity. Combining rigorous scholarship with personal testimony, this book challenges readers to rethink who has the authority to define culture - and what is lost when that authority shifts away from the communities from which culture originates.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Cultural Appropriation: The Battle Over Culture
Chapter 2: Between Two Worlds: A Story of Identity
Chapter 3: Culture for Sale
Chapter 4: Sold Back to Us: From the Pizza Effect to Cultural Authority
Chapter 5: Cultural Gaslighting: 'Don't steal my culture!'
Conclusion