We focus on the construction and representation of political ideas within institutions and throughout popular culture in various formats (the media, film, visual symbolism).
We also explore the impact of those ideas on the lived experience of individuals and social groups in different communities and states. We research citizenship as a historically contingent concept which defines the relationships that exist between individuals and states, and look at how ideas about citizenship can change over time and be used by states as tools of political exclusion or appropriated by citizens to justify political resistance. We are also interested in class formation, class conflict, and the ways in which class intersects with other key aspects of identity formation. Researchers in this cluster pay particular attention not just to the material circumstances and institutional frameworks that shape political experience and opportunity, but also to the languages and ideologies of politics and class.