cultural studies defined

8/11/2019 Cultural Studies Defined

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PREFACE

At the time I wrote this (in 2011) I was teaching in one of the few undergraduate Cultural Studies programs in

the United States, at Columbia College Chicago, and I frequently fielded questions from students, colleagues,

and many others about what cultural studies actually is. The problem, of course, is that if you consult any of

the myriad cultural studies anthologies or ask those whose work falls under the umbrella of cultural studies,

you are likely to get wildly divergent answers and a fair amount of grumpiness from many scholars who, forbetter or worse, actively resist the attempt to label, codify and/or compartmentalize cultural studies. There are,

admittedly, valid reasons for staking out such a position, but as someone who taught introductory courses and

also spent years serving as the programs representative during Columbia Colleges Fall and Spring Open

Housetours (where my job was to greet prospective students, and their parents, and talk to them about our

program), I found the idea of resistinga label or definition rather obnoxious or, at the very least,

counterproductive. Consequently, I came up with several working definitions of cultural studies as a way to

effectively explain what I doto people of various educational backgrounds and interests.

This document is certainly not the schtick I would give to parents at an Open House or to students on the first

day of Introduction to Cultural Studies, but its probably my best stab at a definition of cultural studies that I d

feel comfortable explaining to advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and my colleagues in the

humanities and social sciences. Its certainly not perfect, but thats not really the point anyhow. Its merely

something that you might find useful to think with(as James Carey might have put it).

- Zack Furness, PhD (2014)


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1 . T H E T H E O R E T I CA L LY I N F O R M E D

S T U D Y O F C O N S T E L L A T I O N S O F

P O W E R .


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1. THE THEORETICALLY INFORMED STUDY OF

CONSTELLATIONS OF POWER.

2. A SET OF QUALITATIVE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUESAIMED AT COMPREHENDING AND CRITIQUING THE

WAYS IN WHICH CULTURAL NORMS, CUSTOMS,

HABITS AND COMMON SENSEARE PRODUCED BY

AND THROUGH THE INTERPLAY (AND

CONJUNCTURES) OF HISTORY, COMMUNICATION,

ARTISTIC PRACTICE, SOCIOECONOMIC FORCES,

AND THE MATERIAL CONDITIONS OF EVERYDAY

LIFE.


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1. THE THEORETICALLY INFORMED STUDY OF

CONSTELLATIONS OF POWER.

2. A SET OF QUALITATIVE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUESAIMED AT COMPREHENDING AND CRITIQUING THE

WAYS IN WHICH CULTURAL NORMS, CUSTOMS,

HABITS AND COMMON SENSEARE PRODUCED BY

AND THROUGH THE INTERPLAY (AND

CONJUNCTURES) OF HISTORY, COMMUNICATION,

ARTISTIC PRACTICE, SOCIOECONOMIC FORCES,

AND THE MATERIAL CONDITIONS OF EVERYDAY

LIFE.

3. AN INTERDISCIPLINARY, ANTI-DISCIPLINARY, AND

POLITICALLY COMMITTED MODE OF INQUIRY THAT

UNDERSTANDS CULTURECONTEXTUALLY, AND

AS A COMPLEX PHENOMENON.


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AS A COMPLEX PHENOMENON, CULTUREIS

THUS CONCEIVED AS A COMBINATION OF ANY

OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:


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A PROCESS(CULTURE IS DYNAMIC, AS OPPOSED TO STATIC)


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ASET OF PRACTICES (SUCH AS THE JOBS WE WORK, THE WAYS WE WEAR OUR

CLOTHES, OR THE TYPES OF MUSIC WE MAKE)


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ASET OF PRACTICES (SUCH AS THE JOBS WE WORK, THE WAYS WE WEAR OUR

CLOTHES, OR THE TYPES OF MUSIC WE MAKE)

A COLLECTION OF SPECIFICARTIFACTSANDTEXTS (THESE INCLUDE MATERIALOBJECTS, LIKE AUTOMOBILES OR CHEESEBURGERS, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS

FORMS OF REPRESENTATION, SUCH AS PRINT NEWSPAPERS, MAPS, TV SHOWS,

FILMS OR WEBSITES)


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A process(culture is dynamic, as opposed to static)

Aset of pract ices (such as the jobs we work, the ways we wear our clothes, or the types of

music we make)

A collection of specificart i factsandtexts (these include material objects, like automobiles orcheeseburgers, as well as numerous forms of representation, such as print newspapers,

maps, TV shows, films or websites)

A cluster of l ived so cial relat ions that are historically shaped and can be spatially andtemporally located (culture happensin specific places, at specific moments in time, and

amongst specific groups of people who are all products of their respective histories)


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music we make)





An objec t of s tudy (scholars, activists and artists are just a few groups who have produced

bodies of work about the concept or thing called culture)


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music we make)







A site of ideological struggle and poli t ical conf l ic t (culture is a metaphorical battlegroundwhere people convey ideas, debate issues, and make meaning in ways that have distinct

ramifications in the world)


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music we make)







A site of ideological struggle and poli t ical conf l ic t (culture is a metaphorical battlegroundwhere people convey ideas, debate issues, and make meaning in ways that have distinct

ramifications in the world)

A who le way of l i fe (the totality of the processes, practices, lived social relations, modes of

expression, and common senseof a group, or groups, of PEOPLE)

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