Culture is certainly the most central concept in the field of Cultural Studies.

Though culture is a very commonly used term, Mathew Arnold

considers it as ―one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language. Chris Barker also notes that ―culture is a
complicated and contested word because the concept does not represent an entity in an independent object world. Rather it is best thought of
as a mobile signifier that enables distinct and divergent ways of talking about human activity for a variety of purposes.Culture is a
comprehensive concept, in the sense that it includes nearly all aspects of human life, all things that are made or acquired by humans. culture is
often contrasted with nature. (What is human made as opposed to what exists naturally, what is created by God). Culture thus includes such
things as language, ideas, ethics, beliefs, values, religion, education, customs, conventions, practices, clothes, food, law, arts (like music and
literature), artefacts, architecture, social organization/institutions of a given community, country or nation. The UNESCO defines culture as:
―the set of dis nc ve spiritual, material, intellectual and emo onal features of society or a social group that encompasses not only art and
literature, but lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs. Culture has to do with peoples‘ shared meanings and
lived experiences. Michael Ryan notes, in this connec on, that ―Culture as a way of life tends to produce a commonalty of thought and
behavior, as well as conformity with reigning standards, norms and rules. It is what allows us to live together in communities by giving us shared
signs and signals whose meaning we know and recognize. This can be seen as one of the best and most inclusive definitions of the term. This
definition is deemed to be democratic and progressive as it rejects the distinction in terms of high versus low cultures. It rather considers
culture as embracing the full range of human activity (wherein the participation and contribution of the masses are as worthy and as important
as those of people from the higher classes).

What is the Subject of Cultural Studies? Not surprisingly, cultural studies does not have a clearly defined subject area. Its starting point is a very
broad and all-inclusive notion of culture that is used to describe and study a whole range of practices. Cultural Studies constituted by a
regulated way of speaking about objects…and coheres around key concepts, ideas, and concerns that include articulation, culture, discourse,
ideology, identity, popular culture, power, representation and text. Cultural studies aims to examine its subject matter in terms of cultural
practices and their relation to power. Its constant goal is to expose power relationships and examine how these relationships influence and
shape cultural practices. Cultural studies is not simply the study of culture as though it was a discrete entity divorced from its social or political
context. Its objective is to understand culture in all its complex forms and to analyse the social and political context within which it manifests
itself. Culture in cultural studies always performs two functions: it is both the object of study and the location of political criticism and action.

On Cultural Representation: In the domain of humanities generally, and in that of cultural studies in particular, Representation has to do with
the use of signs, like words and images, to represent things or people and depict reality in general. Representation, according to Stuart Hall,
means ―the produc on of meaning through language. This implies that representa on is the use of ―signs, organized into languages of
different kinds, to communicate meaningfully with others. Representation can be seen as re-presentation which means presenting again– by
using those signs. This is often associated with the process of ‗construction‘ of cultural and ideological meanings. Reality itself is a discursive
construct; which means that when someone assumes to represent reality through his stories, films or any kind of ‗text‘ or ‗narrative‘, what he
actually produces is a linguistic construct which can never be immune from the impact of ideology and power. As mentioned earlier,
representation depends for its existence and operation on language; but as language itself cannot be neutral or free from ideological
implications, media and cultural representations are inherently biased and ideological. All representations are ultimately no more than
linguistic and ideological constructs. In this connection, Stewart Hall explains that: There is no simple relationship of reflection, imitation or one-
to-one correspondence between language and the world. The world is not accurately or otherwise reflected in the mirror of language.
Language does not work like a mirror. Meaning is produced within language, in and through various representational systems which, for
convenience, we call ‗languages‘. Meaning is produced by the practice, the work of ‗representation. It is constructed through signifying —i.e.
meaning-producing—practices.

Discourse/Ideology. Ideology is a set of ideas or beliefs that are shared by members of a group of people (e.g. a political party or religious
group). This concept often has negative connotations. It refers to the ideas or maneuvers which may be used to manipulate others so as to
attain some underhand purposes. John Thompson defines ideology as meaning in the service of power. This means that ideas or meanings are
often used to justify certain practices, attitudes and policies that serve the interests of those who use it. Most Marxists believe in karl Marx‘s
statement that the dominant ideas in society are the ideas of the ruling class. It is in this context that we can understand Louis Althusser‘s
consideration of ‗media family church and law the ‗Ideological State Apparatuses those institutions that is used by the state to (re)produce
ideology and transmit the values of the state, to interpellate those individuals affected by them, thus maintain its status. This theory allowed
too facile an equation of challenging authority within education with weakening the capitalist system as a whole. Discourse, The term discourse
refers generally to the use of language, in its diverse forms, to produce or express meaning. Also, according to Michel Foucault, refers to
regulated ways of speaking about asubject through which objects and practices acquire meaning. (eg. discourse of madness, discourse of
terrorism). Discourse does not reflect meanings objectively; it rather constructs (i.e. makes up, constitutes, or ‗fabricates‘) these meanings. It is
in this sense that media and cultural discourses are most often seen as ideological (and mere discursive constructs)
- Orientalism is a discourse produced by the West in the process of its continual attempt to exercise its cultural and political hegemony over
Oriental nations. It is, in other words, a colonial discourse that seeks to establish and consolidate Western dominance on Oriental nations. In
his famous book Orientalism, Edward Said has noted that this term refers to: a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological
distinction b/w ‗the Orient‘ and ‗the Occident‘. Thus a very large mass of writers, among whom are poets, novelists, philosophers… & imperial
administrators, have accepted the basic distinction b/w East and West, as the starting point for elaborate theories, epics, novels, social
descriptions, and political accounts concerning the Orient, its people, customs, minds, destiny, and so on. In Orientalism, the Westerner is the
producer of discourse (‗representer‘), whereas the Oriental (or Easterner) is the object of representation (represented). The former has a
positional superiority over the latter, his cultural Other. (Self versus Other). Orientalism can be thus understood as a discursive practice: The
Orient as the product of discourses that view it as the West‘s Other. It is a linguistic and cultural construct (that has almost nothing to do with
the real, geographical Orient). In other words, The Orient (of Orientalist texts) is constituted by an imagery and vocabulary that have given it a
specific kind of reality and presence within Western culture.

Cultural politics is about the power to name, and thus legitimate, objects and events, including both common sense and “official” versions of
the social and cultural world. Meaning and truth are constituted within patterns of power and subject to processes of contestation. Thus,
cultural politics can be understood in terms of the ability to represent the world and to make particular descriptions “stick”. Here social change
becomes possible through rethinking and re-describing the social order and possibilities for the future. All forms of cultural representations are
intrinsically “political” because they are bound up with the power that enables some kinds of knowledge and identities to exist while denying it
to others.

Marxism is a political theory that analysis how social classes’ money and most importantly the means of production or factories affect society.
Two men Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels were disappointed with how workers were treated in the great industrial factories of the 19th century.
They believed that the proletariats “the working class” were being exploited and oppressed by the bourgeoisie or “the ruling class” who
generally owned the factories, or as Marx likes to call it the means of production. Marxists advocate a proletariat class uprising against the
bourgeoisie to make the means of production work for society as a whole rather than for the ruling of wealthy minority.

Cultural hegemony: Refers to domination on rule maintained through ideological or cultural means. It is usually achieved through social
institutions, which allow those in power to strongly influence the values, norms, ideas, expectations, worldview, and behavior of the rest of
society. Cultural hegemony functions by framing the worldview of the ruling class, and the social and economic structures that embody it, as
just, legitimate, and designed for the benefit of all, even though these structures may only benefit the ruling class. This kind of power is distinct
from rule to force, as in a military dictatorship, because it allows the ruling to exercise authority using “peaceful” means of ideology and
culture.

What's relationship language/culture? Communication is a core component of any society, and language is an important aspect of that.
Language is one of the most important parts of any culture. It is the way by which people communicate with one another, build relationships,
and create a sense of community. As language began to develop, different cultural communities put together collective understandings
through sounds. Over time, these sounds and their implied meanings became commonplace and language was formed. Intercultural
communication is a symbolic process whereby social reality is constructed, maintained, repaired and transformed. As people with different
cultural backgrounds interact, one of the most difficult barriers they face is that of language.