ENEZETA

presents

What does cultural studies do?

Like many other disciplines, Cultural

Studies studies texts. However, its

approach to texts is different.

The cultural studies’ approach to

texts is not concerned with their

formal or aesthetic features, but

rather with

The cultural studies’ approach to culture is

not based on ‘textualism’‘contextualism

’”

“the way in which cultural texts

emerge from, and play a role in, the

changing historical, political and social

context.”

Saukko, p.99

but

What are texts?“...it is an axiom of cultural

studies that a text is anything that generates meaning

through signifying practices. Hence, dress, television

programmes, images, sporting events, pop stars, etc., can all

be read as texts.”Barker, p. 490

so, texts can be:

literature

music

video

film

advertising

images

fashion

sports

media

television

art

public spaces

context

But we must never forget their

context

either a political economic

social and/orcultural

lived experience is also important for cultural

studies

When people interact with texts, they create meaning, they make sense of the

world, they give shape to their experience and, thus, they anchor

themselves within a culture.

texts

context lived experience

culturalstudies

Cultural Studies takes these three elements:

..and uses them to explain...

How in the process meaning is constructed and passed around.

How culture is constantly worked and reworked on by its users.

How and why people use these texts in their everyday life.

consider the following cultural texts using a cultural studies approach

Hells AngelsPunk

Vegetarianism

Beatnik ManifestoIrish Gypsy Weddings

English ModsSkin Bleaching

Palestinian Female Rappers

Malls

References/credits• Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies. 3rd Edition.

• Sukko, Paula. Doing Research in Cultural Studies. An Introduction to Classical and New Methodological Approaches

• Images: Japanese Lolitas, Martha Moreno; Gypsy Bride, Victor de Jesus; 50s housewife, www.daretowearday.org; Rita Hayworth, Ned Scott (?)

• Music: Flutey Funk. Kevin McLeod. http://incompetech.com

Presentation by Nahirana ZambranoCultura y Sociedad_Inglés

English DepartmentSchool of Modern Languages

University of Los Andes, Venezuela