Cultural Studies: An Introduction

Part-1

Course Teacher: Dr Rama Islam

18-07-2021
 What is Culture?
Culture is the patterns of human activities, symbol structures and signs which gives
significant importance to these human activities. The word derives from the Latin
word ‘cultura’ (traditions of values in human societies). Symbolic structure of giving
‘salam’ in Bangladesh

Culture is a ‘mode’ of generating ideas and meanings and this mode’ is the negotiation
over which meanings are valid. These ‘meanings’ are controlled and governed by
Power relation and these power relations are further accelerated by elite or upper
class. Elite culture controls the meaning because it controls the terms of debate.
Culture is a socially constructed concepts. Politics and power (politics and profit)
control culture.
Non-elite culture, non-elite view of life and art is referred to as tasteless, wasteful,
worthless or even stupid by the elite class of people.

It is all about power culture and power relations.

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 Main Ideas on ‘Culture’
1.A person shares a culture with others.
2.Culture evolves and adapts over time
3.The creation of culture is ongoing and cumulative
4.The transmission of culture separates human beings
from other animals.
Material objects passed on from one generation to next
in a society which provides guidelines for action and
interaction. It incorporates knowledge, beliefs, values,
rules and laws, language, customs, symbols and
material products.
 Two Parts of Culture
Material Culture Non-material Culture
All the objects what people Invisible or intangible aspects
can see or touch that is of a group’s culture
made by human beings including its values, beliefs,
(the artifacts of a group of norms or rules and
people) are called Material language etc are non-
Culture. material culture.
 Cultural Change
19th Century: There were some habits (food,
dress, custom, tastes) of upper / elite class

Power Culture
 What is Cultural Studies?
Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary, and sometimes anti-disciplinary, approach to the study of culture. It is a
field of theoretically, politically, and empirically engaged cultural analysis that concentrates upon the political
dynamics of contemporary culture, its historical foundations, defining characters, conflicts, and incidents.

The aim of cultural studies is to study cultural phenomenon in various societies. And researchers of cultural
studies often highlight on how a particular phenomenon relates to matters of ideology, nationality, ethnicity,
social class and gender.

Two phrases are important in cultural studies: a) popular culture (a culture of everyday, a culture of common
people, a culture of mass) for example: comic books, graffiti, popular music, (open spaces, amusement parks,
walking in cities streets instead of going to art gallery) common sports –kabbadi and golf and b) power
culture
 Popular Culture is treated as inferior, stupid, worthless, tasteless etc

English Language and local language (Colonialist and colonized). Culture us measured by money/capital Culture
is about the meaning what a community or society is generated. There is a conflict of different societies and
countries.
Culture is about Politics, power and profit and cultural studies find its subject matter to study and investigate
 Cultural studies
Cultural studies argues that art and artifacts, certain objects, practices,
and habits that popular mass that common masses use or make
must be taken seriously.
It is an academic discipline which combines a variety of politically
engaged critical approaches drawn including 
Semiotics, Marxism, Feminist Theory, Ethnography, Race
Theory, Anthropology, Post-structuralism, Postcolonialism, Sociology,
Women Studies, Political theory, History, Philosophy, Literary
theory, Media theory, Film/Video studies, Communication
studies, Political Economy, Translation studies, Museum
studies and art history/criticism to study cultural phenomena in
various societies and historical periods.
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 The Beginning of Cultural Studies
Cultural studies was initially developed by British Marxist
academics in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s as a reaction
against liberal humanism.
In Literary Studies Mathew Arnold discussed on culture and
civilization in Culture and Anarchy (1869). He emphasised
on high culture, elite culture
New Critics: F. R. Leavis and Q. D. Leavis (1930s-1950s)=
Great Tradition/culture/literary works or canon and Narrow
definition of value in culture. He rejected popular culture
which is contaminated by capitalism/colonialism.
 (Disciplines)
1. Nation Studies (Imagined Communities, Subaltern, Orientalism, Fanon
2. Posthumanism (Cyber
3. Popular Cultural Studies
4. Subaltern Studies
5. Food/Body/Fat/Disability Studies
6. Media and Visual Cultural Studies
7. Film Studies
8. Queer Studies
9. Transgender Studies
10.Men’s Studies
11.Animal Studies
12.Trauma Studies
13.Globalisation Studies
14.Mass Culture
15.Cyberfeminism, Cyborg Studies
16.Race Studies (Paul Gilroy)
 Reading Texts: Cultural Studies
1. George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’ (Power and
Powerlessness)
2. Edward Said Orientalism (Eurocentric representation)
3. Homi K. Bhabha’s “‘The Other Question: ‘The Other Question: The
Stereotype and Colonial Discourse’
4. ’” (Human psychology)- How the process of othering (violence of
identity in race, gender and class) is a political production as well
as a psychological fixation. It combines politics and psychology in a
complex combination that constitute culture and cultural studies.
5. Franz Fanon’s Black Skin White Masks (Race )
6. Simon De Beauvoir’s The Second Sex