Cultural Studies

What is culture?



A system of symbolic transactions
rooted in a given ideology and bas
ed on the exchange (M. P. Markow
ski)

Max Weber (1864 - 1920)

pioneering sociology of culture

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Max Weber “Objectivity in So
cial Studies”



There is no absolutely objective sci
entific analysis of […] “social phen
omena” independent of special an
d “one-sided” viewpoints accordin
g to which expressly or tacitly, con
sciously or unconsciously they are
selected, analyzed and organized f
or expository purposes.

Max Weber “Objectivity in So
cial Studies”



All knowledge of cultural reality, a
s may be seen, is always knowledg
e from particular points of view.



“Prostitution is a cultural phenome
non just as much as religion or mo
ney”

Clifford Geertz (1926 - 2006)

...meaning, in the form of interpreta
ble signs -sounds, images, feelings,
artifacts, gestures - comes to exist o
nly within language games, commun
ities of discourse, intersubjective sy
stems of reference, ways of worldm
aking; that it arises within the frame
of concrete social interaction in whi
ch something is a something for a yo
u and a me, and not in some secret
grotto in the head; and that it is thro
ugh and through historical...

Pierre Bourdieu (1930 - 2002)

the deeply ingrained habits, skills, and dispositions

that we possess due to our life experiences.

Habitus

Cultural Capital



the collection of symbolic element
s such as skills, tastes, posture, clo
thing, mannerisms, material belon
gings, credentials, etc. that one ac
quires through being part of a part
icular social class. Sharing similar
forms of cultural capital with other
s creates a sense of collective iden
tity and group position (“people lik
e us”)

Cultural Capital



embodied (e.g. accent)



objectified (possessions)



institutionalized (e.g. diplomas, cr
edentials)

Symbolic violence



the imposition on subordinated gr
oups by the dominant class of an i
deology which legitimates and nat
uralizes the status quo

Antonio Gramsci (1891 - 193
7)



Cultural hegemony - the ruling-cla
ss worldview becomes the “natura
l” norm, something which is obvio
us

Raymond Williams (1921 - 19
88)



Culture and Society 1780 - 1950

Richard Hoggart (1918 - 201
4)



The Uses of Literacy



both Williams and Hoggart were in
terested in researching the neglec
ted areas of culture (e.g. working-
class culture) and erasing the diffe
rene between “high” and “popula
r” culture



in 1964 Hoggart and Stuart Hall fo
unded the Centre for Contemporar
y Cultural Studies in Birmingham