Cultural Studies (2)

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Cultural Studies (2)

1. Main issues
2. Major Theories and Methodologies
3. Key Concepts and Subject Positions

• Major Theories
• and Methodologies

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Starting Questions

• What is, or are, cultural studies?
• How possible conflicts it may have with literary
  studies?
• What are the controversies re. to popular
  culture, literary canon,
• How do we do close analysis, symptomatic reading
  and contextual reading?

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Outline

• History of Cultural Studies
• Culturalism vs. Structuralism
• Structuralism and Semiotics ? culture as
  languages
• Marxism ? power relations ? relative autonomy and
  ideology
• Subjectivity
• Text/Context, Discourse
• Examples Semiotics Marxism Foucault

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Cultural Studies History of Articulation (pp.
44-)

• 50's socialist humanism (or Marxism) W.
  Hoggart (), R. Williams, E. P. Thompson New
  Left, commitment to Working Class culture
• ? 60's -- Culturalist culture as a whole way of
  life, as a process of lived experience.
• 70s -- Structuralist marxism Semiotics
• -- e.g. Althusser Roland Barthes
• mid-70s Gramsci Foucault -- Derrida
  Discourse theories of Foucault   -- Althusser
  Lacan
• mid- 80's -- postmodern debate (postmodernism as
  US imperialism)
• 90s regional Cultural Studies and issues of
  Globalization (e.g. that in Taiwan, or inter-Asia
  Cultural Studies Empire and biopolitics)

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Structuralism vs. Culturalism

• Structuralism e.g. Althusser pays more
  attention to social structure and its control
  than individual resistance
• Culturalism e.g. Williams and E. P. Thompson --
  working class cultures (specific cultures)
• Gramsci (views on hegemony and organic
  intellectual) as a solution to this debate.

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Structuralism Major principles

• 0. Langue vs. Parole (p. 9)
• Language is an arbitrary system of relations (no
  natural connections between signs and meanings.)
  ????????? (p. 7)
• 2. Meaning is defined by differences between
  signs (or signifiers ??).
• 3. Language (Symbolic order for Lacan) does not
  reflect reality it structures or constructs
  reality. ? Different languages ? different
  realities (world view and ways of thinking). (pp.
  7-9)
• Do you have examples to prove these concepts?

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Language as System of Meaning e.g.

• Uncle and Aunt for Taiwanese and Americans
• Patriotism for Taiwanese, Americans and
  Palestinians
• Marriage for different generations
• Killing animals for some aborigines and
  environmentalists.

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Sexism in Chinese ?

• ?--???????????????????
• ???????(??????)
• ????????????????
• ??????? ?
• ??????????
• ????????????????????????????

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?in binaries

• Angel ?????????????????????????????
• Whore ???(????)??(??)??(??)????????(?)????(?)????
  ??
• ????????????
• ??????? (???????????????????????)

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Structuralism? Roland Barthes Semiotics Major
principles

1. All the cultural products and activities are
   different kinds of languages (read as process or
   results of signification.) No meaning is
   inherent or natural. (de Saussure p. 10)
2. Sign Form (???? p. 11) Concept Signifier
   Signified
3. There are more than one level of signification
   and thus meanings in any language. ? denotation
   and connotation. ? myth (distortion) (Barthes
   chap 10 45 chap 11 11-12)

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Sign System Selection and Combination

• All social practices as sign-systems and thus
  are open to cultural interpretation (or
  de-mystification).
• e.g. the langue of clothes (selection
  combination)

System a. blouse, shirt, T-shirt
b. skirt, trousers
sentence blouse skirt high heeled shoes X snickers 2. blouse jeans snickers ?X not for concert sentence blouse skirt high heeled shoes X snickers 2. blouse jeans snickers ?X not for concert
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Semiotic Interpretation example 1

• Ferdinand Marcos (pp. 14-15)
• Hand waving a sign of power
• Imadelworried and more submissive

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Different levels of signification primary
signification secondary signification
sign (full)--denotation
A. primary signification a (empty) signifier
(roz) signified (Flower)
B. Secondary signification Sign (
empty)/Form
content (Love) sign --connotation (distortion
or myth)
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Levels of Signification Denotation Connotation

• Denotation ads
• absolutely classified
• Connotationmost wanted
• -- absolutely superior
• -- Recognizable anywhere
• by one with a good taste.
• Myth taste for liquor recognition of the
  bottle

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e.g. Absolut Arriving From the North. There is
no purer vodka outlook. Chilled neat at 0. --
Denotation? The Vodka bottle travels like air
waves. -- Connotation? But it does not change
its temperature. -- Myth or Distortion? Its
effect on our bodies is absolutely guaranteed.
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e.g. Absolut There is no purer vodka than
absolut. Be logical. Drink it Neat at 0.
Denotation? Connotation? Vodka as pure logic
like that of computer. Myth or Distortion? Can
we be logical after drinking?

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Marxism

• ???? economism (reflectionism) vs. relative
  autonomy (pp. 19-)
• Ideology as false consciousness vs. I as systems
  of meanings (providing subject positions)
• ISA (e.g. school, media) and material practice

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Subjectivity

• Althusser Lacan
• We are interpellated as subjects
• Our unconscious is structured like language. We
  enter the symbolic as split speaking subject.
  
• Examples womens positions 25

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Contextualization and Discourse

• The distinctions between text and context,
  representation and history are blurredto be
  defined in different studies differently.
• e.g. discourse on movie stars p. 31

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Semiotics Marxism Foucault

• Q 1 How do we do a semiotic reading of fashion?

• Constructions of femininity softness
  delicacy
• Silk embroidery of flowers curving edges,
• the ? collar
• Chest and Waist lines loose pants

Source ???? ??????? 920602
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How do we do a semiotic reading?

1. Signs dragon
2. Differences between the Oriental (??) and the
   Western (Armani) use of signs.

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How do we do a semiotic reading?

• ???????????????Giorgio Armani,????Oriental???????,
  ?????,???????????,??????????
• Armani?????????
• Really? Yuppyish sexiness

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How do we do a semiotic reading?

• ??Cavalli. . .???????,?????????????,?????????,???
  ????,?????????????????????????,??????????????????,
  ??????????????

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Context

• ???????????,???????????????20????Christian Dior
  ??New Look??????????80????,???????Issey
  Miyake,Comme des Garcons?Yohji Yamamoto???????????
  ????,??????????????????????

http//lsm.crt.state.la.us/modern.htm
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Q 2 How do we do a Marxist reading of Fashion
trends?

• re-contextualization. Capitalist production is
  a process of abstraction and alienation. e.g.
  Who are making the clothes? Who are producing
  the ethnic colors? Do wearing the Chinese robe
  makes Chinese culture better understood?
• Paris, New York, Tokyo ? Taiwan
• super models and stars ? boutiques ? department
  stores ? street vendors

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Prescriptive language in fashion business on all
levels

• ?????,????????????????????????!???????????,???????
  ???,??????????,???????,????????,?????????,????????
  ???????
• ??????,?????????????????,????????????????????????
  ?,????,??????????,??????????????

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Prescriptive language in fashion business
????????????????? ???????????? ??????,?????? ????
???,????????! ????, ?????????
1. http//cityguide.pchome.com.tw/news_play/890922
play3.html
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Hierarchy in fashion business

• ?????,?????,????????,??????,???????

• http//www.cdnnews.com.tw/20030128/news/nxyzh/T900
  49002003012719505500.htm

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Questions 3, 4, 5 . . .

• How do we avoid being the reductionism of
  Marxism?
• What does it mean to study to discourse of the
  Chinese? (e.g. ????,???) How do we position
  ourselves in relation to all the dominant
  discourses?
• Why is the line between text and context,
  history and representation blurred?

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From Marxism to Cultural Studies

• Base and Superstructure
• Circuit of Culture
• All the five actions actually happen on each
  level
• Consumption is not a tap on the knee

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