Though gender is a social – not biological – construct, the depictions in consumer culture serve the ideological function of naturalizing specific qualities of femininity and masculinity. Advertising employs highly selective representations of cultural groups that downplay similarities and highlight differences. In the case of gender, Goffman (1976) studies the gender displays in advertisements and … Continue reading
McCracken (1986) A Theoretical Account of…Cultural Meaning of Consumer Goods
Grant McCracken advances a model that encapsulates how meaning flows between culture, goods, and consumers. There are two steps to this process: first, the use of media to transfer meaning to goods, and second, the use of goods to transfer meaning to consumers. Meaning resides in culture, which categorizes and differentiates people as belonging to … Continue reading
Jenkins, Henry (2006) Convergence Culture
Argument – New media aren’t replacing old media. But they are enabling new forms of participation, collaboration and grassroots communication that are democratizing cultural production. People can use these tools to increase their power, democratize society, and increase diversity. However, Jenkins cautions that we must not jump to triumphant narratives of progress and technological inevitability … Continue reading
Williams, Raymond (1958) “Culture is Ordinary”
Link to summary | Legacy Main Idea – Answers the question “what is culture?” Culture is just ordinary things in society and way of life for a people. Culture is composed of two distinct parts: 1. the ingrained, known meanings, and 2. new observations that are tested. Summary – “High culture” is not really culture. … Continue reading
Stuart Hall (1980) “Cultural Studies: Two Paradigms”
Link to Summary | Another summary Main Argument: Since the 1950s, cultural studies has formed around two overlapping but distinct paradigms: culturalist and structuralist. Questions: Is this article dated? Have approaches emerged and shifted since Hall was writing in 1980? For example, where do feminist, queer, and postcolonial discourses fit in? Also, is structuralism much … Continue reading
Althusser, Louis. (1970) “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses”
Link to Summary | Main Idea – Ideology interpellates individuals as capitalist subjects. Capitalism relies on ISAs to reproduce subjects’ labour power and the relations of production so that it continues to regenerate itself into succeeding generations. Summary – Builds on Marx’s assumption that Capitalism only works if the conditions of production are reproduced. … Continue reading
Marx (1867) “On the Fetishism of the Commodity”
Link to Video | Summary | Karl Marx’s Fetishisms | On Cultural Marxism Marx proposes a theory of value – How do goods get their value/how do objects become commodities? It is NOT based on how useful they are (ex. A diamond has no real use, a pencil is very useful). Today, it is … Continue reading
Adorno and Horkheimer (1944) “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception”
Link to Text | Link to Summary | The Frankfurt School Main Idea – Capitalism relies on a “culture industry” to satiate the masses, train them to buy into capitalist ideology, suppress critical thinking, and thereby ensure that capitalism reproduces itself. In a capitalist society, the “culture industry” is strategically designed to provide fun and … Continue reading
Gramsci (1930) “History of the Subaltern Classes” “Ideology” “Ideological Material”
Link to Summary Former leader of the Communist Party in Italy, these papers were written while he was jailed for opposing Mussolini. He wondered why peasants and labourers would vote for a Fascist leader and introduced the concept of hegemony. Hegemony – Intellectual and moral leadership achieved by consent, not coercion. The institutions of civil … Continue reading
Marx and Engels (1845) “The Ruling Class and the Ruling Ideas”
Main Idea – The class that has the means of material production also controls the means of mental production. Dominant ideologies serve the interests of the ruling class by legitimating class domination. Historical Materialism – Class struggles and other material interests drive history – not thinkers/philosophers, ideas, or events. When we examine history from the … Continue reading
Prof. Cheryl Williams 