ENEZETA
presents
Cultural Studies
Now and then
The study of culture
began with anxiety...
The new preoccupation
with the place and
function of culture
sprang from the
changing conditions in
society towards the end
of the 19th century.
Two processes in
particular were causing
major cultural changes...
Industrialization and
urbanization spawned a
new social class and
redrew the cultural map
The emergence of the
“working class” and its
ensuing concentration
in urban areas was
creating a new - and
independent - culture.
This culture of the
masses alarmed
thinkers of the time
because of its
remarkable power,
especially its political
power...
The Great Chartist Meeting on Kennington Common, London in 1848.
Working class consciousness was emerging
Among those who
reflected on the
meaning of this new
culture was Matthew
Arnold - one of the
seminal theoreticians of
culture.
Matthew arnold
1822-1888
Arnold defined culture as
“the best that has been
thought and said in the
world.”
He was particularly preoccupied by how a
culture of the masses could lead to
anarchy and thus upset the status quo.
The Culture and
Civilization Tradition
His views on culture dominated for almost 100 years (1860s-1950s)
He believed that culture was acquired
through “cultivation” (or education) of the
mind and the spirit.
He considered that culture
was an instrument of
control over the “raw and
uncultured” masses
The culture and civilization
tradition
IT IS THE CULTURE OF THE
MUSEUM
READING AND REFLECTING ON
THAT WAS MAINLY SUSTAINED BY
LITERARY CLASSICS AND PHILOSOPHY,
AS WELL AS BY A HIGH REGARD FOR THE
FINE ARTS.
BUT IN ITS APPRECIATION OF HIGH CULTURE, IT WAS
DISDAINFUL
SEEN AS
OF POPULAR CULTURE.
ELITIST.
ALSO, ITS
SNOBBISH
AND
SUCH DISMISSIVE ATTITUDE WAS
PESSIMISTIC
VIEW OF THE MASSES
AS IN NEED OF GUIDANCE FROM THOSE IN POWER WAS PERCEIVED AS
PATRONIZING.
In the late 1950s and
early 1960s, scholars like
Raymond Williams, Stuart
Hall, and E.P. Thompson
noted these contradictions
and sought to steer away
from them.
In so doing, not only did
they counter these
arguments with a more
optimistic view of mass
culture; but also moved
the study of culture in
new directions.
culturalism
Stuart Hall, E. P. Thompson and Raymond williams
These scholars analyzed
textual forms and documented practices
to reconstitute
the patterned behavior and
constellation of ideas
THE MEN AND WOMEN
shared by
WHO
PRODUCE AND CONSUME
THE CULTURAL TEXTS AND
PRACTICES
OF THAT SOCIETY
Also among the
radical notions
they advanced is
The active production of
culture rather than its
passive consumption.
In sum, Cultural Studies
viewed popular culture
as a valid cultural form
in its own right and as
worthy of being an
object of research.
It also viewed people as
having an active role in
the construction and
use of their culture.
Nowadays, Cultural Studies
takes a fresh look at popular
cultural texts such as
A revolutionary
movement took place
between both
approaches
From the king of england
Henry VIII
to the king of pop
Michael jackson
from the bard of avon
Romeo and Juliet
to the broadway musical
west side story
From the museum
Leonardo Da Vinci, the creation of Adam
To the urban landscape
Mural, Lower west Side, NY.
Art is never without
consequences
Bertolt Brecht
References/Credits
JOHN STOREY. AN INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL THEORY AND
POPULAR CULTURE. 2ND EDITION
MUSIC: LIGHTLESS DAWN. KEVIN MACLEOD.
http://incompetech.com
PICTURES: INDUSTRIALIZATION, cdaworldhistory.wikidot.com;
URBANIZATION, www.fordham.edu; CHARTIST MEETING,
WIKIPEDIA. ORG; E.P. THOMSON, HILOBROW.COM; HENRY VIII
AND STUART HALL, www.bbc.co.uk; RAYMOND WILLIAMS,
http://lunaagustin.wordpress.com, MICHAEL JACKSON,
www.michaeljacksononline.info; WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE AND
MATTHEW ARNOLD, www.poetryfoundation.org; WEST SIDE
STORY, www.filmreference.com
Presentation by Nahirana Zambrano
Cultura y Sociedad_Inglés
English Department
School of Modern Languages
University of Los Andes, Venezuela