Cultural Studies - Lectures II
Lecture 7 (chapter 7) 31-10-2022 Key Concepts
Identity and subjectivity Identity, Subjectivity,
History Essentialism, Anti-Essentialism,
Identity and subjectivity are central themes in cultural Enlightenment Subject,
studies (since 1990s), mainly in feminist, queer or post- Sociological Subject, Postmodern
colonial studies. Subject
‘self-awareness’ is a universal phenomenon among
primates, ‘subjectivity’ and ‘identity’ are shaped by culture.
Differences and commonalities
Subjectivity Identity: self-identity & social identity
- A political/societal matter - A social/individual matter
- The condition of being a person, the - Self-identity: the conceptions we hold
process by which we become a about ourselves.
person, how we are constructed as - Social identity: the way others see us
subject. and form expectations and opinions
about us.
- Key question: Who counts as a subject - Key question: How do we see
(who’s part of society) and why? ourselves and how do others see us?
Identity as something political can be controversial > on social media, everyone is able to
develop their own identity, but this doesn’t mean that their identity is politically supported
Essentialism v. anti-essentialism
Essentialism: a particular entity (e.g., a person, object, concept, word etc.) has a fixed underlying
identity which is always present and defines this entity.
Example: an apple is an apple and will never not be an apple.
Anti-essentialism: a particular entity is constructed; there is no universal, fixed identity, but the
entity only becomes fixed temporarily within the context.
Example: an apple is an apple because we attached the word ‘apple’ to it.
Cultural studies and identity and subjectivity
Identity and subjectivity are built on a social and cultural structure: subjectivity and identity are
accidental, culturally specific productions: identities are a wholly social construction and cannot exist
outside cultural representations.
Identity as a social construction
- Identity is formed within a society and language (or indeed, discourse) that predates us,
through social relationships with others.
Example: the difference in identity between skin tones is not based on pigmentation, it is
based on the meaning that has been attached (by language and society) to different skin
tones.
- Characteristic markers of identity only obtain meaning through contrast.
Example: racial identity is only meaningful in contrast to other races.
Western conceptions of identity
, We have a true self;
We possess an inalienable identity that can become known to us;
Identity is expressed through forms of representation (e.g., subcultures);
Identity is recognisable by ourselves and by others.
- Recognition by others: political/legal/social aspect.
The ‘self’ is a sign, otherness and sameness are essential.
The sense of ‘self’ is thought to be developed in the Age of Reason/Enlightenment (Eurocentric
view); individualism is a specific market of modern (Western) societies.
Stuart Hall
Meaning is not always there, but can be created through history.
Three concepts of identity:
1. Enlightenment subject
Reason/rationality: we are fully in control of our own identity.
- Descartes’ radical scepticism: doubting everything > Cogito, ergo sum (criticised by Hall).
2. Sociological subject
We are socially constructed: our identity is shaped by interaction with family members, then
with peers, then with colleagues, etc. so we are less in control of our own identity.
3. Postmodern subject
We don’t have a central identity (decentralising). We are fragmented and shifting > have
multiple identities. Different contexts highlight different identities.
- Five major shifts in decentralising the subject:
1. Marxism
Marx focused on the exterior > the concept of class (social factors) influences how
we act.
2. Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalytic view of personhood fractures the cartesian subject by splitting it
into three levels: ego, superego and unconscious;
Psychoanalysis explains how the interior identity links with exterior discourse of
power;
Psychoanalysis rejects the fixed nature of the subject and sexuality;
Psychoanalysis points to the psychic and emotional identity of subjectivity
through identification.
3. Feminism
Challenges the distinction between the interior and the exterior through the idea
that the personal is political; so, interiority of the subject’s identity (e.g., gender) are
therefore influenced by exterior interactions.
4. Language
5. Foucault and the docile body
The subject is entirely the product of history/power;
Subjectivity is a discursive production: You do not actively and autonomously
form your own identity (‘the great myth of the interior’), you can only
discursively produce it from existing subject positions;
Disciplinary technologies produce ‘docile bodies’ which can be subjected,
transformed and improved.
Lecture 7 (chapter 7) 31-10-2022 Key Concepts
Identity and subjectivity Identity, Subjectivity,
History Essentialism, Anti-Essentialism,
Identity and subjectivity are central themes in cultural Enlightenment Subject,
studies (since 1990s), mainly in feminist, queer or post- Sociological Subject, Postmodern
colonial studies. Subject
‘self-awareness’ is a universal phenomenon among
primates, ‘subjectivity’ and ‘identity’ are shaped by culture.
Differences and commonalities
Subjectivity Identity: self-identity & social identity
- A political/societal matter - A social/individual matter
- The condition of being a person, the - Self-identity: the conceptions we hold
process by which we become a about ourselves.
person, how we are constructed as - Social identity: the way others see us
subject. and form expectations and opinions
about us.
- Key question: Who counts as a subject - Key question: How do we see
(who’s part of society) and why? ourselves and how do others see us?
Identity as something political can be controversial > on social media, everyone is able to
develop their own identity, but this doesn’t mean that their identity is politically supported
Essentialism v. anti-essentialism
Essentialism: a particular entity (e.g., a person, object, concept, word etc.) has a fixed underlying
identity which is always present and defines this entity.
Example: an apple is an apple and will never not be an apple.
Anti-essentialism: a particular entity is constructed; there is no universal, fixed identity, but the
entity only becomes fixed temporarily within the context.
Example: an apple is an apple because we attached the word ‘apple’ to it.
Cultural studies and identity and subjectivity
Identity and subjectivity are built on a social and cultural structure: subjectivity and identity are
accidental, culturally specific productions: identities are a wholly social construction and cannot exist
outside cultural representations.
Identity as a social construction
- Identity is formed within a society and language (or indeed, discourse) that predates us,
through social relationships with others.
Example: the difference in identity between skin tones is not based on pigmentation, it is
based on the meaning that has been attached (by language and society) to different skin
tones.
- Characteristic markers of identity only obtain meaning through contrast.
Example: racial identity is only meaningful in contrast to other races.
Western conceptions of identity
, We have a true self;
We possess an inalienable identity that can become known to us;
Identity is expressed through forms of representation (e.g., subcultures);
Identity is recognisable by ourselves and by others.
- Recognition by others: political/legal/social aspect.
The ‘self’ is a sign, otherness and sameness are essential.
The sense of ‘self’ is thought to be developed in the Age of Reason/Enlightenment (Eurocentric
view); individualism is a specific market of modern (Western) societies.
Stuart Hall
Meaning is not always there, but can be created through history.
Three concepts of identity:
1. Enlightenment subject
Reason/rationality: we are fully in control of our own identity.
- Descartes’ radical scepticism: doubting everything > Cogito, ergo sum (criticised by Hall).
2. Sociological subject
We are socially constructed: our identity is shaped by interaction with family members, then
with peers, then with colleagues, etc. so we are less in control of our own identity.
3. Postmodern subject
We don’t have a central identity (decentralising). We are fragmented and shifting > have
multiple identities. Different contexts highlight different identities.
- Five major shifts in decentralising the subject:
1. Marxism
Marx focused on the exterior > the concept of class (social factors) influences how
we act.
2. Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalytic view of personhood fractures the cartesian subject by splitting it
into three levels: ego, superego and unconscious;
Psychoanalysis explains how the interior identity links with exterior discourse of
power;
Psychoanalysis rejects the fixed nature of the subject and sexuality;
Psychoanalysis points to the psychic and emotional identity of subjectivity
through identification.
3. Feminism
Challenges the distinction between the interior and the exterior through the idea
that the personal is political; so, interiority of the subject’s identity (e.g., gender) are
therefore influenced by exterior interactions.
4. Language
5. Foucault and the docile body
The subject is entirely the product of history/power;
Subjectivity is a discursive production: You do not actively and autonomously
form your own identity (‘the great myth of the interior’), you can only
discursively produce it from existing subject positions;
Disciplinary technologies produce ‘docile bodies’ which can be subjected,
transformed and improved.
