This Companion addresses the contemporary transformation of critical and cultural theory, with special emphasis on the way debates in the field have changed in recent decades.-Features original essays from an international team of cultural theorists which offer fresh and compelling perspectives and sketch out exciting new areas of theoretical inquiry Thoughtfully organized into two sections - lineages and problematics - that facilitate its use both by students new to the field andadvanced scholars and researchers -Explains key schools and movements clearly and succinctly, situating them in relation to broader developments in culture, society, and politics -Tackles issues that have shaped and energized the field since the Second World War, with discussion of familiar and under-theorized topics related to living and laboring, being and knowing, and agency and belonging.