Table of Contents

Defining ‘Culture’?........................................................................................................................ 2

Presentation Handout .................................................................................................................. 3

1. Historical overview ............................................................................................................... 3

2. Judith Butler’s performativity theory ................................................................................. 5

A Historic comparision of the symbolic meanings associated to The ‘Lute’ in European and Middle-

Eastern Cultures ........................................................................................................................... 7

Origins ..................................................................................................................................... 7

The Lute in Europe .................................................................................................................... 8

The Lute in the Middle East ....................................................................................................... 9

What I learned ............................................................................................................................12

A summary of Adorno’s “How to look at Television” ....................................................................15

Refrences ....................................................................................................................................19
Defining ‘Culture’?

Culture, has the ability to variate its meanings depending on who you ask. Therefore, the

meaning of culture could differ if you ask an anthropologist or a consumer behavior analyst. I

will attempt to present the meaning I give to culture as, an undergraduate Culture and History

major and an independent thinking being. Culture seems to be a phenomenon constantly in

change over the period of time. In terms of space it includes its inhabitants and the habitat. It is

defined or shaped by its inhabitants and it shapes them. Culture’s interaction with its inhabitants

is not limited to humans, as it has included many other forms of life such as animals, plants or

other (even supernatural) entities which may not be a part of present existence or culture.

However, as humans, our interpretations of cultures is mostly limited to the meaning we give to

our surroundings. It could be said culture is the two way interaction between us (inhabitants)

and our surroundings and how they shape each other. As a topic of academic inquiry, culture

requires a holistic exploration of ones surroundings and its impact upon us, selected aspects of

it to have a detailed insight into a subject but the interconnectivity between the numerous

aspects of culture cannot be denied.

Presentation Handout

1. Historical overview

1869: German legislators considered a new penal code (paragraph 175):

criminalization of same-sex sex acts amongst men

Karoly Maria Benert wrote an open letter to the Minister of Justice in opposition.

Homophile movement

Liberal approach to social/legislative change of homosexual acts.

Favored improvement in Public Relations and presented a socially acceptable image of

homosexuality.

Advocated assimilation.

Gay Liberation

– Challenged the status quo:

– Instead of making claims of normality, they refused to pander to heterosexual anxieties →

scandalized society with their open diference.

Lesbian Feminism

– Up to 1970s: lesbians’ issues deemed marginal or actively excluded both from the women’s

equality movement and the gay liberation movement; often explicit and institutionalised

homophobia within feminist organisations.

– 1980: Adrienne Rich: Compulsory Heterosexuality and the Lesbian Experience

- for lesbians, as opposed to gay men, their gender is their primary axis of identity, and

not sexuality

- gay men, because they are men, beneft from women’s oppression,

- therefore, lesbians should ally with women, not with gay men
– 1992: Monique Wittig: The Straight Mind and Other Essays

- Critique of heterosexual hegemony – but also challenge to previous commitment to

gender.

- male & female homosexuality are both categories of behaviour deemed

“Inauthentic,” and are only possible in an oppressive patriarchal society → without

oppression, people would just “follow feelings,” and we would not have these

categories

Queer

– “homosexual,” “gay,” “lesbian,” and “queer” are not only synonyms to the same thing, but

they are examples of a power struggle of meanings;

Marking a delegitimisation of previous conceptualisations of sexuality and gender →

1990s: beginning of popularity of “queer”

- in “queer” movements, more emphasis on diference & diversity

- gay & lesbian movements: more focus on identity politics, on identity as the

foundation of political action

- “queer:” shift in conceptualising identity

– Conceptual shift both within & outside of academia:

a) In academ– identity understood as a myth, a cultural construct

– More emphasis on the role of ideology and language in the formation of the subject

– Foucault’s infuence on the conception of power and sexuality:

- sexuality is not only an object of power – but an efect of it; not

just a personal trait, but an “available cultural category”

- even marginalised sexualities are produced by the same power mechanisms as the

dominant sexualities
– Butler’s infuence: homosexuality became understood as a homophobic construction, a

signifer like “woman:” already hierarchised

b) Outside of academia: activism and theorising around the HIV/AIDS epidemic

– Aspects of the epidemic, which produced new forms of activism, education theorising,

political organisation within queer, such as: emphasis on sexual practices instead of sexual

identities; presentation of AIDS as a “gay disease;” rethinking of traditional connections

between research, public health, immigration policy, and education; etc

– a “queer” identity?

- Many contradictory conceptualisations of queer

- in common: commitment to the resistance to the normal/normative/normalising →

enables “analytical pressure” towards monolithical conceptualisations of any identity

- eforts to go beyond the binary, opening to include identities beyond sexuality and

gender, such as race, class, post-coloniality, ethnicity, etc

2. Judith Butler’s performativity theory

Butler’s critique of feminist movements

– Lives are more complicated than conventional theories of identity – even in terms of sex,

gender, sexuality

– “woman” is not a pre-given entity or identity → if “women” at the centre of the movement,

it will reproduce the normative relations between sex, gender, and desire

What is gender?

– Foucault’s notion of disciplinary power: a productive power = it produces the subject

– We live in compulsory heterosexuality:

- a regulating matrix: the disciplinary power arranges diverse identities along

idealised lines; punishment for not conforming

→ “a alse stabilisation of gender,” a fake coherence

– Gender is a strategy for survival: we continuously do certain acts → a performance →

 gender as performative

Why and how is gender performative?

– There is no core identity which is expressed in how we show our gender – but the acts we

perform when we ‘do’ gender make up our identity as their consequence:

“…acts, gestures, and desire produce the efect of an internal core or substance, but

produce this on the surface of the body (…). Such acts, gestures, enactments,

generally construed, are performative in the sense that

The essence or identity that they otherwise purport to express are fabrications

Manufactured and sustained through [these acts]. (…) [They] create the illusion of an

interior and organizing gender core, an illusion discursively maintained for the

purposes of the regulation of sexuality within the obligatory frame of reproductive

heterosexuality.” (441)

→ the performance of gender creates gender identity

– Example: drag

Highlights dissonance between sex, gender, and gender performance → reveals that gender

itself is an imitation without an original

– The “sedimentation of gender norms:” although gender acts are individual, their

Performance is a public act → over time, they become conventional, and their “credibility”

conceals that, in fact, their origin is based on a “tacit collective agreement”

– These acts are repeated to become a performance → it becomes a “ritualized form of

legitimation” of already established cultural meanings (of compulsory heterosexuality, of

gender norms, etc)

– But: performativity is not voluntary or free:

It is not an act done by a subject, but a repeated ritual which makes the subject.
A Historic comparision of the symbolic meanings associated
to The ‘Lute’ in European and Middle-Eastern Cultures

The European Lute and the Oud are very important contributors to the Musical cultures of the

Middle-East and Europe. Although similar (not the same) in their physical being, as an object

they have help significant yet distinct symbolic meaning in both the cultures. This Essay aims

to explore the different meaning or metaphors attached to a similar object (in the case the

Lute) in two separate cultures. With this aim in mind, I will first look into historical sources to

track and discover the symbols both these cultures had attached to the Lute. I will track the

evolutionary paths of the two instruments searching for similarities and differences and also to

track where they split paths and explored themselves as distinct from one another. For the

most part I will keep a chronological progression in term of their timeline. For the inquiry into

the origins of two classical instruments, one must look way back into history, a history that is

written and re written constantly, in hopes to find credible sources. In this search, from a

world view concern, many questions may arise, those that are referred to as primary questions

by Alan Merriam’s The Anthropology of Music (1964) i.e. the relationships of music to other

domains of culture and its role in the maintenance or chance of social systems. I will

maximize my resistance to the urge to dwell upon this question and retain focus on our

original question. I will begin first with an over History, then lutes history and symbolic

meaning in Europe, next in the Middle- East and finally a conclusion

Origins

Research and limited evidence shows that Lute and Oud have a common ancestor, called the

Barbat. Although the name ‘Barbat’ has disappeared, its use can be tracked in the present day

South Uzbekistan (Marcel-Dubois, p. 205) However, there is much debate about the exact

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dates of the ‘bas-relief’ it seemed to belong to the first strata. Another vague account is

mentioned in the book “Ūd” by H.G. Farmer who cites a Barbat in a North-West Indian

sculpture from the second century BC., but the dates for this are also debatable. Perhaps the

most agreeable evidence for the lineage of a Barbat, is present at the Musee Guimet, Paris

tracing its origins in the Gandhara region (Present day Afghanistan and West-Pakistan). There

are two types of lutes to be found in the Gandharic sculptures of 1st century AD (P. 14). One

has three strings, a lute style bridge and a plectrum. In the other, there is no plectrum, an

ovoid shape and a peg box bent slightly backwards. The record of the first type disappears

from the Indian history and returns after the Muslim invasion (The Origin of the Short Lute,

1955). Now I will move on to discuss some of the meanings and affiliations the instrument

has received in European and Middle-Eastern cultures.

The Lute in Europe

In Christian Europe, the mythical aspect is as important as the physical history ( (Smith, 2002)

because the lute owes its high status significantly to the Roman and Greek mythology.

Lutenist of the Renaissance and even some of the Baroque were convinced that the lute

originated from the Greek lyre or the kithara. Ernst Gottlieb in his treatise of the Lute writes:

“The site of this invention [of the lute] is revealed to us in the following manner by the

famous writer Servius, who explains the poetic secrets of Virgil: Once the Nile River returned

to its banks, it had left different kinds of animals lying upon the land. Thus a tortoise

remained, its flesh decayed, with neres left stretched in the shel. When Mercury plucked it, it

produced a sound from whose imitation the lute, or incorrectly, the cithar, was born.”

Baron had printed several illustrations of lyres in his book, and probably was aware that the

lute and the lyre are quite different in their appearance actually. His similarity was more

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drawn on the assumption that the lute inherited some of lyre’s power symbolism which was

developed and transmitted in the literature of the Greek and the Romans in the antiquity

period. Lyres depicted on ancient Greek artifacts often have tortoiseshell soundbox, or a

wooden imitation of one. The Greek translation therefore of lyre was, chelys (tortoise), which

was later translated by Latin authors as testudo. Latin sources throughout the sixteenth centure

denote the lute as a testudo. The combining elements between magic of the Greek lyre and the

trend of lute playing in the European Renaissance is the Hellenic philosophy of moral

education. In Pre-Homer times, before the 6th Century B.C. Music’s meaning had a broader

implication, it depicted a unity between language, dance and rhythm. The Greek term mousike

combined the concepts of music, poetry, dance and even education. In Laws VI, Plate

recommends the teaching of mousike to both boys and girls who should begin to play the Lyre

at age thirteen. During the Renaissance, a period when European humanists seek to restore

their culture in accordance to the ancient models, the lute became a symbol for music, dance

and poetry. Ancient myths have in common the unique power of music and a close

association with the Godsi. Such concepts were what constructed the sixteenth century Book

of Courtier by Castiglione which was later translated into Spanish, French and English

Translation, this clearly shows the importance of music in Western thought. Much of this

music was composed on the lute, making it not just a significant musical instrument but also a

precious cultural artifact. So much attached to what are today considered as Western morals.

The Lute in the Middle East

Now I shall explore the symbolic meaning the Lute has had in the Middle Eastern cultures.

Referred to as the Oud, enjoys a similar level of high esteem in its surroundings. Growing to

prominence within a century after Mohammed’s death. By the fifteenth century it started

being known as the “Sultan of Instruments” in the Arab lands. The encyclopedia epistle of

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Pure Brethren says: “The most perfect instrument that the [ancient] scholars produced, and the

best they created is the instrument with the name ud”. We can find a similar sentiment

exploring the relationship of the Oud to the Middle Eastern region, its music and culture.

Later on the oud also represents the Arab arrival in Spain when Berber armies conquered vast

amounts of Al-Andalus (Iberian Peninsula). It was Abu-‘l-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Nafi’ or better

known as ‘Ziryab’ a black slave at the courts of Baghdad under Caliph Harun al Rashid

known for his phenominal talent of playing the oud started making modications to the lute

during hist time in Cordova. Usually the oud had four strings representing the four elements,

Ziryab added a fourth one making it unique to Moorish Spain. Ziryab was also the prime

representor of high culture n Andalus fro a long time and had prominent influence upon the

development of music and culture of the region. Music created in the elevent century Andalus

was later exported back to North African lands creating a cultural cross-road between the

traditionally European and Muslim lands. Even after the Moorish lands in Andalus fell to the

Christian King, the Moorish musicians and the legacy remained.

In Conclusion

After meetingt several visitors and immigrants from Lebenon and Syria living in Germany

made me realize that to most of them oud is not just an expression of themselves in fact an

expression of their culture, their homelands and a history that goes long back, somethings that

they considers ‘theirs’. I was first introduced to the music of the Lute from the Tunisian

composer Dhaffer Youssef, who inspired my personal musical listening and playing. His

music carries the wonderful melodies of the oud often when I shared this with my friends or

peers they commented calling it ‘very Middle Eastern’ suggesting how something that exists

in the physical realm only as vibrations carries a meaning filled with tradition, something you

can not put your fingers on but in popular terms you define it as the feel. Similarly listening to

Bach’s BMV 999, composition for the Lute, one can say it has a distinctly “European” feel,
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the glory of the European Borque carries through in these works, music and its instruments

carry with them a sense of time and emotion connected by society to different eras. An

example from modern music would be the connection of the synthesizer as a representative of

an whole era in the 80s, this could mean to some dancing, disco to other the flow of harder

drugs after the great LSD wave a transition into the so called ‘party’ drugs such as ecstasy or

cocaine to someone growing up in Post revolution Iran at that time, this would mean a symbol

of freedom or to other of evil. It is fascinating to observe how objects that on the surface

create vibration when touched can be subject to several meanings depends on who is listeing

to them. In case of the lute, although it is unfortunately not to possible to track its exact

ancestory, its symbolic interpretation carries differences but also many similarities, more

connections than distinctions, above all the want of attaching meaning to objects (living or

non living) remain common. One could detect a similarity between them, as if they are the

fruit of the same tree perhaps grown under different conditions.

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What I learned

Culture as a topic of Academic inquiry taught by Matthias Mueller was an intellectually

stimulating experience. I was able to grasp some important concepts from the course such as

the distinctions between the Frankfurt and the Birmingham school, or what distinctions mean

or how what are some different ways to look at culture. What really worked for me in the

seminars was that the openness to discussion, the lecturer and my colleagues were successful

in setting a tone or ‘vibe’ that enabled everyone to feel comfortable to contribute their

opinions, and the lecturer enabled these discussion, contributing facts and sharing his firm

grounding upon the subject. It felt like the class learned from conducting cumulative thought

experiments which were extremely beneficial to clear some existing ideas and the

development of the ideas learned from the readings assigned. However, I must add that, the

readings were extremely challenging and felt almost impossible at times, they were

compulsory to be read in order to proactively participate in class and to understand the new

ideas which we were learning in classes. Therefore, one critique, or rather just a suggestion, I

would offer would be to spread out the readings on a longer span of time, this could be done

by making it a semester long course instead of a block course. Also because, the other part of

our major (Culture and History) i.e. History as a topic of Academic inquire is taught as a

semester long course, it only seems fair to be able to grasps the concepts of Culture, more in

depth.

One of my favorite learning experience in class happened due to an unexpected connection

between the HATAI and the CATAI class. When we were assigned the same reading from

Karl Marx during the same week in both courses. Although this happened by chance it was

one of the best learning experience I had in Liberal Arts and Sciences so far. Also the fact that

it was true to the interdisciplinary nature of our program. It was very beneficial as a Culture

and History major student to approach the text first from a cultural approach and then a
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historic one. Often times in LAS we have attempted very complex readings and did not

comprehensively explore them class, (this of course does not imply that I cannot in my

personal time explore them further) but this time I felt that an important writing, in this case

Karl Marx’s The German Ideology was done justice to. Another aspect of the class that I

learned from was the presentations. The themes were chosen very thoughtfully and divided

efficiently providing enough time for presenting and discussing. I see sharing knowledge with

and from my colleagues as vital part of my learning experience at the UCF and in this spirit, it

was a pleasure to hear and discuss the insights my colleagues had on their assigned subjects,

however I felt like I could have contributed better to this part of the course. Surely, the course

made me learn another vital lesson about my weakness of public speaking, the importance of

team work and also time management and its crucial necessity in academic life, especially

when working in a team and when other people are depending on your knowledge on the

subject. But indeed the awareness of one’s weakness is in fact a valuable learning process and

is perhaps to me one of the hidden curriculums of University education.

I would also add a few broader benefits I had from the course, my curiosity about cultural

studies specifically anthropology was significantly raised because of this course. I feel more

confident and interested in topics of culture as an interest of inquiry, I am much more positive

about my choice of major as it made me clear about what it means to study culture and how to

approach it, also about what sorts of readings it will consist of if I choose it as a line of

professional inquiry. It was interesting to observe how people have different approaches and

interests when looking at culture, however they can be of very holistic nature.

Overall, because of the reasons listed above, the course accomplished its title goal, about

informing me about culture as topic of academic inquiry, the readings opened me up to the

meaning of studying culture, the different approaches it may have, how to read them and

critically analyze them. I feel like I am better equipped after this course to progress with my

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major. Moreover, I see myself actually applying the knowledge of the course, outside the

classroom (most definitely in viewing popular culture or television shows such as Germany’s

next top model). In other courses such as ‘Living Knowledge’ we are expected to conduct

ethnographic studies, I feel an advantage approaching this field work as I could read and view

culture from a more critical eye. The course also made me confident to discuss subjects of

culture although they might not have an absolute solution. I feel much more interested and

invested now in the spirit of cultural studies even though they can be unsatisfying when it

comes to finding absolute answers, something I used to envy my colleagues who interest

themselves in the study of harder sciences. I have lost this envy and have been filled with the

excitement it brings to look at what is around us and be able to find patterns and to analyze its

interaction around the world, to which it is extremely beneficial to know how exactly to do

this, what are the different approaches for this to be done and what happens after one has

observed these patterns, I would not say all these questions were answered during my time in

the course instead, more importantly these questions were actually raised which was the

biggest lesson for me that I learned in this course.

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A summary of Adorno’s “How to look at Television”

Adorno asserts that the effects of Television and pop culture can be understood by a

knowledge of mass media and the tool of depth psychology. Televisions effects, according to

Adorno impact on multiple levels of psychological stimuli. His inquiry is not limited to a

particular program rather he presents an analysis of the television culture as a whole, its

imagery and its presence upon a particular time line grid. He makes clear that the lines of

difference between mass culture and “autonomous” art is much complex and not so separated.

Thinking of art from the previous times as true or pure is “romanticizing”. Art forms such as

theater for example are always written, constructed and performed keeping the audience in

mind. Furthermore, he calls the division of “pure art” and “mass culture” as a product of

commercialization on itself drawing the connection to the commercialization of the French

movement l’art pour l’art.

In Adorno’s tone one can sense a subtle disapproval of mass culture, although he

successfully detaches himself from the subject. He explain the widespread connectivity

amongst popular media, and its growth over the last century, for example jazz and detective

novels. The process of commercialization has a way to understand the needs of the audience

and how to create culture. Also he highlights the diminishing cultural elites and the arousal of

cultural consumers, thence culture becoming a commodity. Along with that the audience has

become deluded by a sense of control over the producers of “art”. And the mass culture itself

also keeps presenting a version of present reality, and it aim to convince the audience that the

image that popular media has depicted in their programs is the present day reality. Adorno

later comes back to his point of mass media having multiple layers of meaning and he insists

upon the impact of the hidden meaning in media, this is not so evidently perceived but not the

15
less stored in the audience’s mind and the effects created by the hidden meanings in media

have to be studies to understand the impact it has on the users mind. Adorno shares his beliefs

with sever social scientist, suggesting that many elements of the mass media and aimed to

feed or satisfy the irrationality of our subconscious mind, to provoke what is not under the

conscious control. Especially of media which is totalitarian in nature. Mass culture uses the

multilayered nature of the mind to ‘handle’ its audience. These hidden meanings are not

directly fed to the audience instead are carried in the style of the work, this meanings is rather

in the tone of the piece. Here Adorno poses a simple but gripping question, whether those

who write and produce the shows are actually in control? Are they aware of the hidden

meanings in what they produce or does it come out of their un aware sub consciousness as

well. To enter their work into mass media the artist, creator or the produces must follow

preexisting rule of thumbs, procedures and guidance as a matter of fact mass media work is

produced not just by an individual instead by a working unit, it is a ‘collective collaboration’.

Preexisting labels such as action, comedy, romance already have an expectation from its

audience. The association culture consumer has with Tchaikovsky being ‘serious’ music or an

organ connected to ‘religious’ music is already been created through formulas. The audience

expects at predefined moments certain hideous crimes to occur in a Crime-thriller televisions

show, its intrusion into our ‘real life’ sphere is therefore suggested, that it could be used as a

process of normalizing crime, or building expectation about where certain kinds of crime may

occur. The need to fit in the complex dynamics of ‘real life’ world into a limited time frame

rises the need of stereotyping in television, theater or other forms of mass media. This

stereotyping might not just effect how people perceive real life connections in fact but infact

help in guiding or predetermining their expectations or reactions to these stereo types. This

could be understandably of particular danger when used by totalitarian regimes or by other

motives. Stereotyping is used to create or evoke harmful ideas, such as, the distinction

between us and them. Presenting a polar view of society, one of them being right and the
16
other wrong and the need to over throw ‘them’ or take action against them, these messages are

of course not conveyed directly instead it is hidden under a layer of meanings. Ideas of

beauty, sex, criminal and others are constructed in this manner.

Through deep analysis of the televisions Adorno’s school of thought simply speaks to

its reader that the lack of a critical eye towards mass media and its acceptance as it is take us

further from enjoying the ‘simple pleasures of life’. His use of psycho analytical methods and

reliance upon scientific data makes these arguments very valid, and are aimed to create a level

of awareness in the everyday cultural ‘consumer’ for whom he had written this for, therefore

he has tried to keep this text and language within it as accessible as possible. He urges the

importance of this critical eye through the depiction of examples and its awareness event

though it might be discomforting at many times. He poses this as a moral duty of the reader to

not become a passive audience of mass culture and to fall victim to its multi layered impacts,

in fact he points out the ability to shape this medium into a cleaner more powerful one.

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Additional Material and Definations

Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid

The book is a good example of drinking culture in Pakistan. The ban on alcohol makes it a

tricky affair for the locals who are alcohol consumers. The book is also a great example how

fiction novels can present an insight into deep rooted societal problems. It revolves around an

alcoholic living in Lahore who struggles with his addiction, the love of his friend’s wife. His

trouble with the police because of the ban on alcohol.

Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motercycle gangs
by Hunter S Thompson

The book is an upclose unapologetic work of detailed ethnographic work about the Hells Angel’s, the

infamously mischevious motorcycle gang that was extremely feared in the United States at a point and

linked to many outlaw activities. The book is written in the tone of a novel but is non fiction,

presenting previously unknown and unapproachable subjects. It is a great example of the researcher

submersion into a subculture and methods of studying it.

Germany’s Next Top Model

Germany’s Next Top Model is the perfect depiction of modern day popular mass media. This is a

drama packed show filled with expected twists and turns, feeding on the interest of its audience. The

show confines to Adorno’s writing. On the surface the show is a game about the lives of women

looking for love. But reading deeper into the show one realizes the constructs that it tries to create.

Firstly, the meaning of beauty, it attempts to define how beautiful women should look and act like, it

creates an expectation of how men should act with women, how a date is supposed to be like, therefore
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creating stereotypes. Furthermore, the advertising spots are designed to a certain audience, selling

dating apps and lingerie for example. The TV show creates sadistic addiction upon its viewers, making

insensitivity common, making viewers addicted to the emotional breakdown of people they do not

know. After reading about the course, I was able to approach the show with a more critical eye and

cuould put into words what I could not say before.

Refrences

Adorno, T. (1991). The culture industry selected essays on mass culture. London: Routledge.

Butler, J. (2015). Gender Trouble: feminism and subversion of identity. New York: Routledge.

Germany's Next Top Model. (2017). Cologne, Germany: Pro 7.

Hamid, M. (2012). Moth Smoke. New York: Riverhead books.

Jagose, A. M. (2010). Queer Theory: An introduction. New York: New York Univ: Press.

Kirby, V. (2007). Judith Butler . London: Continuum.

Marcel-Dubois, C. (n.d.). Les instruments de musique de l’Inde ancienne. In C. Marcel-Dubois. Paris.

Smith, D. A. (2002). A History of the Lute from Antiquity to the Renaissance. The Lute Society of
America, Inc. .

The Origin of the Short Lute. (1955). In L. Picken. The Galpin Society Journal.

Thompson, H. (2014). Hells Angels. New york: Random House.

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