Introduction: Paul Potter and the Cultural Turn

Sean McCann, Wesleyan University
Michael Szalay, University of California - Irvine

Abstract

In 1965, Paul Potter designated "the system" as the principle antagonist of the fledgling New Left. This term, and the assumptions behind it, capaciously synthesized the many ills that Potter and others hoped to redress; it also revealed, the authors suggest, a conception of power particularly congenial to the description and analysis of culture. The authors introduce each of the following essays with this in mind, detailing their shared interest in the articulation of a cultural politics specific to the 1960s.