Introduction to Cultural Analysis 900164HUM

ASSIGNMENT GUIDE:
OBJECT / CULTURE ANALYSIS

Due Dates: See course manual and Canvas

NB: the preparatory description deadline is before class, please bring to class for review
Assignment Weight:
Preparatory Description – formative assessment, contributes to participation
Written Assignment – 25%

Description:
In this assignment you will provide an analysis of a cultural artifact – in this case, an
item selected during a visit to Hema. The analysis of the object in relation to the
readings from the first component of the course which discuss ‘culture’ provides the
opportunity to compare, contrast, and evaluate various conceptions of ‘culture’. The
Object/Culture Assignment has three components:

Artifact Selection

During your visit to Hema, look carefully at the store and the items in it – this can
include the merchandise, the promotional material, the physical infrastructure of the
store, what you hear/see/smell, etc. Your task is to select one artifact that you feel may
be a fruitful site for analyses – perhaps you find it remarkable or unusual in some way,
or perhaps it prompts you to think about some of the concepts discussed in class so far,
or perhaps it is simply something you would like to spend more time thinking about.
Note that the object is selected before engaging with the class material which will be
included in your final analysis – you do not need to ‘match’ an object to a concept or
reading, just to select something that is of interest to you.

Preparatory Object Description

200-300 words

Once you have selected your item, you will write an initial description and preliminary
exploration of the item selected. The purpose of this brief description is to ‘look closely’
at the object, including a description of key features and pertinent details, and to situate
the item in a broader context, for example the store or a cultural practice to which it
relates. You may hypothesize briefly about any potential ideas or concepts towards which
the object seems to point and which bear further exploration, but the primary aim of the
paper is to direct your attention to the object, not yet to theorize it.

This preparatory description is to be submitted via Canvas before class on the due date.
Please also bring the description to our next class for the peer review exercise.

Written Assignment
1000 words

The major component of the Object/Culture Assignment is a discussion and evaluation of

varying conceptions of ‘culture’, as applied to your chosen item. You will relate your
object to the different conceptions of culture discussed in class, and reflect on the results
of this comparison. In other words, there are two important, and interrelated, objectives
that your paper is tasked with fulfilling:
1) Providing an analysis of your selected item by placing it ‘in conversation’ with
theories from class, and
2) Comparing / contrasting at least TWO of the theories of culture we have
discussed in class, on the basis of the insights yielded from the close reading of
the Hema artifact.
Introduction to Cultural Analysis 900164HUM

Note that the final product should have a clear thesis (statement) and make an
argument which provides some analytical insight into these approaches to culture and
the object of your analysis.

Practical Considerations for the Written Assignment

• Proper paper with thesis statement, introduction, conclusion

• Be sure to define your terms with clear references to the primary texts
• Support your claims! For the theoretical texts this means with references (cited
paraphrase or direct quotation), and for the artifact with concrete and detailed
observations to support the close reading
• Adhere to MLA or APA citation styles, including page numbers and bibliography
• Regular margins, 12pt font, double spaced

Questions for Brainstorming:

Ultimately, your analysis – and any exercise in cultural analysis – starts with asking:
• which elements that comprise the (Hema) artifact would be relevant to the
respective theoretical perspectives (on culture) that you are investigating?

By exploring that question, you can then ask:

• how does attending to different aspects of the artifact yields different insights on
what constitutes ‘culture’?
• And, how do different understandings of what ‘culture’ is yields different insights
into what the artifact is or does?

The following sub-questions break this main avenue of inquiry down, and may be helpful
tips to start brainstorming for your analysis. You are not required to answer all of these
questions in your analysis, they are simply tips to get you thinking about the relation
between the artifact and theories.

• According to their theoretical positions, what might the approaches represented

by Williams, Gramsci, or Bhabha say is the ‘function’ of the object? Would they
see it as having a purpose beyond its immediate use?
• What kind of questions could you imagine that each theoretical positioning might
raise about the object? (i.e. ‘who made it’? ‘how much did it cost’? ‘who can
afford to buy it’? ‘does everybody use it’?) Would each ask different questions?
How would that determine their understanding of the item?
• Would the respective approaches attend to the meaning of the object? Or in the
power dynamics it represents?
• Would each perspective even consider the artifact to be an example, or a part, of
culture? What does this in/exclusion reveal about this definition of ‘culture’?

Evaluation:

The analysis will be evaluated based on:

• Demonstrated understanding of class material
o Discussing at least two theories of culture
o Drawing directly from text to define terms, support argument
o Demonstrating comprehensive understanding of the theory and effectively
comparing and contrasting with others
• Analytical skill in close reading the artifact in discussion with relevant texts
o Careful and insightful consideration of the artifact
o Creative application of theory with justification from text
o Object is considered from (at least) two different theoretical perspectives
Introduction to Cultural Analysis 900164HUM

• Quality of synthesis in discussion

o Robust discussion of similarities and differences between theories
o Analysis of object indicates and supports the compare/contrast
o Analysis of object contributes insight in some way into the different
theories (indicating potential strengths and weaknesses of particular
theories, highlighting differences, showing points of continuity, etc)
• Effectiveness of written communication
o Clear thesis statement, well-structured argument
o Concise and fluid writing style
o Appropriate citations