Cultural Studies - Lectures I
Core concepts (syllabus)
Define and explain for exams
Use them in an analysis for writing assignments and exams
a) Define it
b) Explain in own words
c) Find an example in everyday life
, Lecture 1 (chapter 2) 05-09-2022 Key Concepts
High culture Culture, Cultural Materialism,
High culture: ‘culture is the best of what a society produces.’ anthropological approach,
- Literature culturalism.
- Fine arts Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall
- Ballet, classical music, etc
History: (high) culture used to be used to determine one’s
worth. Humanities traditionally focussed on high culture only.
Raymond Williams: referred to ‘high culture’ with the concept of ‘growing crops’ > ‘cultivating
the mind’ to achieve culture.
Low/Ordinary culture
Ordinary culture: ‘culture is a society’s way of life.’
- Everyday lived experience of a group/community
- Traditions and habits of people
Cultural studies: against the definition of culture as “high” and something that is reserved for an
elite, emphasizing time and the importance/impact of ordinary culture.
- Culturalism / anthropological approach to culture, focusses on the ordinariness of culture
and the everyday character of culture.
Raymond Williams: see below
Raymond Williams
Cultural materialism: studies why and how materialistic objects reflect society, and its economic,
social, and cultural governance from the moment of their production.
- Displays the connection between creativity (something made) > culture, and tradition (a
given) > political economy.
Three levels of culture:
- The lived culture of a particular time and place - only accessible to those who were there.
- The recorded culture - from art and newspapers to the most everyday facts a.k.a. the culture of the period.
- The culture of selective tradition - the factor connecting lived culture and recorded culture.
Six components of culture:
- Institutions that are involved in creating the three levels of culture
Example: museums, archives.
- Formations, schools, movements and factions that produce culture
Example: how, where and why people study together.
- Modes of production - the materials involved in creating cultural forms
- Identifications and forms of culture - how people identify with a cultural practise
Example: drinking tea together.
- Reproduction - why and how (certain) culture is re-produced, remembered and archived
- Organization - how culture is archived and how the selection of this archiving is organised
Lecture 2 (chapter 2, 5) 12-09-2022 Key Concepts
Karl Marx: Marxism Class, Marxism, Base-
Historical materialism: the main idea of Marxism. This Superstructure, Ideology, Social
shows how culture is the result of the conditions of life. Formation, Hegemony,
Globalization
Karl Marx, Stuart Hall, Antonio
Gramsci
Core concepts (syllabus)
Define and explain for exams
Use them in an analysis for writing assignments and exams
a) Define it
b) Explain in own words
c) Find an example in everyday life
, Lecture 1 (chapter 2) 05-09-2022 Key Concepts
High culture Culture, Cultural Materialism,
High culture: ‘culture is the best of what a society produces.’ anthropological approach,
- Literature culturalism.
- Fine arts Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall
- Ballet, classical music, etc
History: (high) culture used to be used to determine one’s
worth. Humanities traditionally focussed on high culture only.
Raymond Williams: referred to ‘high culture’ with the concept of ‘growing crops’ > ‘cultivating
the mind’ to achieve culture.
Low/Ordinary culture
Ordinary culture: ‘culture is a society’s way of life.’
- Everyday lived experience of a group/community
- Traditions and habits of people
Cultural studies: against the definition of culture as “high” and something that is reserved for an
elite, emphasizing time and the importance/impact of ordinary culture.
- Culturalism / anthropological approach to culture, focusses on the ordinariness of culture
and the everyday character of culture.
Raymond Williams: see below
Raymond Williams
Cultural materialism: studies why and how materialistic objects reflect society, and its economic,
social, and cultural governance from the moment of their production.
- Displays the connection between creativity (something made) > culture, and tradition (a
given) > political economy.
Three levels of culture:
- The lived culture of a particular time and place - only accessible to those who were there.
- The recorded culture - from art and newspapers to the most everyday facts a.k.a. the culture of the period.
- The culture of selective tradition - the factor connecting lived culture and recorded culture.
Six components of culture:
- Institutions that are involved in creating the three levels of culture
Example: museums, archives.
- Formations, schools, movements and factions that produce culture
Example: how, where and why people study together.
- Modes of production - the materials involved in creating cultural forms
- Identifications and forms of culture - how people identify with a cultural practise
Example: drinking tea together.
- Reproduction - why and how (certain) culture is re-produced, remembered and archived
- Organization - how culture is archived and how the selection of this archiving is organised
Lecture 2 (chapter 2, 5) 12-09-2022 Key Concepts
Karl Marx: Marxism Class, Marxism, Base-
Historical materialism: the main idea of Marxism. This Superstructure, Ideology, Social
shows how culture is the result of the conditions of life. Formation, Hegemony,
Globalization
Karl Marx, Stuart Hall, Antonio
Gramsci
