Assignment: Paper no. 205

Cultural Studies 

Name:- Payal Bambhaniya

Batch:- M.A. Sem. 3 (2022-2024)

Roll no. :- 14

Enrollment no.:- 4069206420220002

Paper no.:- 205

Paper Name:- Culture Studies 

Topic:- Four Goals of Cultural Studies 

Email ID:- payalbambhaniya92@gmail.com

Submitted to:- SMT S. B. Gardi Department of English, MKBU.

Introduction:-

“A cultural study is the analysis of cultures' systems of meaning – production and consumption.”

Cultural studies is the science of understanding modern society, with an emphasis on politics and power. Cultural studies is an umbrella term used to look at a number of different subjects. Categories studied include media studies including film and Journalism, sociology, industrial culture, globalisation and social theory.

Rather than concentrating exclusively on the group of elite texts that make up so-called "high culture," Cultural Studies takes as its focus the whole complex of changing beliefs, ideas, feelings, values, and symbols that define a community’s organisation and sense of itself. Culture in this sense is often understood to be a primary vehicle of globalisation in the contemporary world and deeply enmeshed in particular social, economical and political environments

Cultural studies is a relatively new interdisciplinary field of study, which came into being in the UK in the post-war years. It emerged out of a perceived necessity on the part of two of its founding figures, Raymond Williams and Richard Hoggart. It came to fruition, however, in circumstances that, as its third founding figure Stuart Hall often acknowledged, contested its legitimacy.

What is Cultural Studies:-

“Cultural studies is composed of elements of Marxism, new historicism, feminism, gender studies, anthropology, studies of race and ethnicity, film theory, sociology, urban studies, public policy studies, popular culture, and postcolonial studies.” -Wilfred L. Guerin

Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines how cultural practices and meaning are produced in a society over a period of time. They also look at how these meanings keep changing over time and how these practices and meanings are circulated and exchanged.

According to cultural studies, culture is not understood just as a text or an artistic product like a movie, music, play or book, but it is a dynamic and complexly patterned way of life. Cultural studies will explore a wide variety of cultural forms and practices; this includes our race, nation, class, gender, what we consume, popular media, popular culture, the world we live in, and the ideologies that govern us. Cultural studies will also give you the tool to analyse cultural practices, representations, different identities, and also different rituals and beliefs.

Cultural studies is essentially interdisciplinary, as culture itself incorporates many aspects of society. Cultural studies takes the combination of elements that create a sense of culture and applies them to the everyday life of social relations and power structures, drawing connections between society, politics and identity. By studying the expression of these issues in society and in writing, conclusions can be drawn about how cultural forces shape the narrative of a piece of literature.

 Marxism has been an important influence upon cultural studies. Those associated with CCCS initially engaged deeply with the structuralism of Louis Althusser, and later in the 1970s turned decisively toward Antonio Gramsci. Cultural studies has also embraced the examination of race, gender, and other aspects of identity, as is illustrated, for example, by a number of key books published collectively under the name of CCCS in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including Women Take Issue: Aspects of Women's Subordination (1978), and The Empire Strikes Back: Race and Racism in 70s Britain (1982).

         Critics must not only consider the outputs of a culture but also how they came to be. For example, not only what the book is about, but "Who buys [those] books and how are they marketed?" (Guerin) In this case, both the intended and actual audience of a work must be considered in the analysis.

Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines how cultural practices and meaning are produced in a society over a period of time. They also look at how these meanings keep changing over time and how these practices and meanings are circulated and exchanged.

Four Goals of Cultural Studies:-

(1) Cultural Studies transcends the confines of a particular discipline such as literary criticism or history.

(2) Cultural studies are politically engaged.

(3) Cultural studies deny the separation of ‘high’ and ‘low’ from elite and popular culture.

(4) Cultural studies analyse not only the cultural work, but also the means of production.

• Cultural Studies transcends the confiner of a particular discipline such as literary criticism or history.

Cultural studies, as explored in journals like Critical Inquiry, Representation, and Boundary, encompasses a wide range of topics. It delves into diverse subjects such as Italian opera, Latino telenovelas, architectural styles of prisons, and body piercing. The focus is on drawing conclusions about the evolution of textual phenomena over time. Importantly, cultural studies go beyond traditional notions of literature or art, exploring the broader cultural landscape and its various manifestations.

Trencher emphasises that the intellectual potential of cultural studies lies in its endeavour to transcend various social and political interests, engaging with the ongoing struggles in contemporary society. Intellectual works within cultural studies are not confined by traditional boundaries, whether they be single texts, historical issues, or disciplinary limits. In the "Dalhousie Revise" manifesto, Henry Giroux and others describe cultural studies practitioners as 'resisting intellectuals' who view their work as "an emancipatory project" because it challenges traditional disciplinary divisions in higher education institutions.For students, this occasionally involves professors integrating their own political views into the instruction, which, of course, can pose challenges. However, this type of criticism, similar to feminism, is an involved rather than a detached activity.

• Cultural Studies are Politically Engaged.

Cultural critics perceive themselves as "Oppositional" not only within their own discipline but also to many power structures in society at large. They scrutinise inequalities within power structures and seek models to restructure relationships between the dominant and "minority" or "Subaltern" discourses. Because meaning and individual subjectivity are culturally constructed, they can be reconstructed. This idea, taken to a philosophical extreme, challenges the autonomy of the individual—whether an actual person or a character in literature. It rejects the traditional humanistic "Great Man" or "Great Book" theory, relocating aesthetics and culture from the ideal realm of taste and sensibility to the arena of everyday life as constructed by an entire society.

• Cultural studies deny the separation of ‘high’ and ‘low’ are elite and popular culture.

Contemporary cultural critics aim to expand the concept of culture to encompass mass culture, whether it's popular, folk, or urban. The distinctions among high, low, and mass culture are seen by some theorists, such as Jean Baudrillard and Andreas Huyssen, to have collapsed after World War II. Other scholars, like Pierre Bourdieu and Dick Hebdige, have explored how notions of "good taste" often reflect prevailing social, economic, and political power bases. This shift challenges traditional hierarchies and broadens the scope of cultural analysis.

The Images of India circulated during British colonial rule, as depicted by writers like Rudyard Kipling, may seem innocent on the surface but actually reveal an entrenched imperialist argument for white superiority and global domination. This was a common theme wherever colonial powers, such as the British or the French, sought to portray their culture as superior. However, race was not the sole issue for the British Raj; economic considerations, represented by money, also played a significant role. Drawing on the ideas of French historian Michel de Certeau, cultural critics delve into these complex dynamics.

"The Practice of Everyday Life" involves studying literature from an anthropological perspective, treating it as a cultural phenomenon that includes an examination of the culture's economy. Cultural critics focus on describing 'what' is produced and how different cultural productions interrelate. Their goal is not necessarily to determine the best work but to uncover the political and economic reasons 'why' a particular cultural product is more valued at certain times than others.

The shifting of boundaries among disciplines, encompassing both high and low culture, can make cultural studies an engaging and enjoyable endeavour. Examples of this interdisciplinary approach are reflected in the given titles. The birth of captain Jack Sparrow :An Analysis

Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) R.L. Stevenson’s long John Silver in ‘Treasure Island’ (1881) Keith Richards eye makeup.

•  Cultural studies analyse not only the cultural work, but also the means of production.

Marxist critics emphasise the significance of peripheral literary questions such as:

- "Who supports a given artist?"

- "Who publishes his or her books, and how are these books distributed?"

- "Who buys books?"

- "For that matter, who is literate and who is not?"

A notable analysis of literary production is Janice Radway's study of the American romance novel and its readers, "Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy, and Popular Literature." This study demonstrates the textual effects of the publishing industry's decisions about books, aiming to reduce its financial risks.

Another significant contribution is the collection "Reading in America," edited by Cathy N. Davidson. This collection includes essays on literacy and gender in colonial New England, urban magazine audiences in eighteenth-century New York City, and the impact of technical innovations such as cheaper eyeglasses, electric lights, and trains on reading habits. The collection also explores the role of institutions like the Book-of-the-Month Club and how written texts go through fluctuations of popularity and canonicity. This perspective emphasises that literature is not separate from our past, present, and future.

In 2050, the United States is projected to undergo a demographic shift, becoming a "majority-minority" nation. This term indicates that the current numerical majority, consisting of "white," "Caucasian," and "Anglo"-Americans, will be outnumbered by the increasing population of Latina/o residents, primarily Mexican Americans. Scholars like Gerald Graff and James Phelan note that this transformation anticipates a cultural landscape where the ability to navigate conflict and cultural diversity will be highly valued. They argue that learning through controversy serves as effective preparation for future citizenship in a society characterised by such diversity and change.

Cultural studies connects subjectivity, meaning culture in relation to individual lives, with "engagement," a direct approach to addressing social malpractices. Practitioners of cultural studies reject "humanism" or "the humanities" as universal categories. Instead, they aim for what they might term "social reason," aligning with the goals and values of humanistic and democratic ideals.

Cultural studies brings together the subjective aspect of culture in relation to individual lives with a direct engagement approach aimed at addressing social issues. While practitioners reject "humanism" or "the humanities" as universal categories, they strive for a form of "social reason" that often aligns with the goals and values of humanistic and democratic ideals.

Conclusion:-

In conclusion, cultural studies is a multidisciplinary field that examines cultural phenomena within society, emphasising the importance of understanding culture in relation to power, identity, and social structures. The four goals of cultural studies—interdisciplinarity, engagement, subjectivity, and social reason—form a comprehensive framework for understanding and analysing cultural phenomena within the broader context of society. 

Word Count:- 1,860

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