Welcome to Subject to Culture
 Specification: Advanced, double, honours (Level 6)
 Pre-requisites:
U75128 Critical Media Literacies
U75144 Digital Media and Youth Identities
Welcome to Subject to Culture
 Consolidation: builds on:
U75108
U75141
U65032
U74124
Understanding Culture
Writing Technologies
Cultures of Publishing
Culture, Gender and Sexuality
U75183
U37782
U65028
U70070
Branded Communication
Cities and Society
Print and Society
Subject to Discourse: Language and Literacies
Objectives and Content
 Objective: to think critically about our own use of
contemporary culture
 Specifically: we will be looking at different theories
concerning how culture contributes to our
values, identities, and sense of self
 Content: mind-viruses, religion, gender, subversive
sexualities, technology, narcissism, aardvarks, apes, plague,
prisons, cyborgs, Frankenstein, castrati, writers, race,
1980s New York clubbing, ancient Greek practices of
self-mastery, et al.
Format
 Duration: 2 semesters (whole year) – Handbook, back page
 Tutors: Semester 1: Tom
Semester 2: Federica
 Format: text-based (Module Readings) – 15 readings
 Key Concern: how do the text’s ideas and concepts apply to
culture and to ourselves?
Any Questions?
Be Yourself
 “Be Yourself”: a sentiment commonly encountered today:
conversation, television, magazines, song lyrics, etc.
 Two Examples…
Enrique Iglesias
 ‘Be Yourself’: Seven (2003)
Well, I am what I am
what I am could be who you are
Is your pain when you smile
because you built a wall around your heart
Do the thoughts in your head keep you up
cause you feel alone
And are you strong enough to be yourself
Papa used to say you’re just a loser
and you’re never gonna have what it takes
Mama used to say all that loud music you play
ain’t gonna get you nowhere
You gotta be yourself
You gotta be yourself
If you can’t, can’t be yourself
what are you living for
If you can’t, can’t be yourself
you’re gonna lose it all
If you can’t, can't be yourself
what are you living for
You’re gonna find someday
you’re gotta run away
you gotta run, run, run away
Fugees
Can you tell me how to get...
…how to get to Sesame Street?
 ‘Just Happy To Be Me’
Elmopalooza! (1998)
Be yourself (Just be yourself)
Easy as A-B-C (A-B-C)
Can’t be no one else (No one else!)
Just happy to be me! (Yeah! Yeah!)
Hey yo, the A is for achievement
Hey yo, the B is for beneficent
And the C is for commitment
And the D is for diligent
What about the E, the F, the G, the H, the I, the J?
I’m in my P.J.’s, I’m drinkin’ O.J.! Ha Ha!
The big city, just like I pictured it
Millions of people rushing around real quick
Each one’s original, one of a kind, unique
So, kick back and listen while L-Boogie speaks
Not trying to be different, just doing they own thing
So come on everybody, clap your hands and sing
The Self
 Be Yourself: what does this mean?
What are Enrique and Lauryn trying to convey?
 Your Self: something special, important, to be protected
 Key Theme: within contemporary society, rarely questioned
 This Module: interrogate this conception
 Module Texts: all examine it in different ways
 So what are the key characteristics of this notion of the self?
Four key characteristics…
1. Free
 Enrique: “Are you strong enough to be yourself?”
 Implication: despite pressures, you can resist: you are free
 Pressures: other people, the media, culture, government
 Free to Resist: nothing can force you away from your true self
 Be strong, keep it real, be yourself
 A Self Is: free
2. Unique
 Lauryn: “Each one’s original, one of a kind, unique”
 Implication: there’s no-one else just like you
 Unique: you are special, singular, unusual, distinctive
(even identical twins)
 A Self Is: unique
3. Unified
 Enrique: “If you can’t be yourself you’re gonna lose it all”
 Question: you’re going to lose it all - but lose what?
 Unified: we are all unified individuals
 Individual: in-divisible, i.e. integrated, whole
 Self: is unified, coherent, a single unity, self-contained, united
 Self: can’t be spread over several people/places!
 Warning: hold this self together or you’re going to lose it
 A Self Is: unified
4. Distinct
 Lauryn: “Not trying to be different, just doing they own thing”
 Distinct: you are separate, independent from others
 Self is: self-sufficient, not attached to anyone else,
you do your own thing
 A Self Is: distinct
Californian Cult of the Self
 The Self: free, unique, unified, distinct
 Michel Foucault: calls this ‘the Californian cult of the self’
 Objective: to discover your true self
 Means: gaze deep within yourself, interrogate inner self,
identify the essential core to your personality
 Means: perhaps psychology or psychoanalysis
 Goal: separate your true self from everything else
don’t let it be obscured or suppressed
resist external forces trying to swamp it
don’t be false, fake or phoney
Any Questions?
The Subject
 Californian Conception: one way of thinking about
identities and personalities
 Module Objective: What are its limitations?
 Module Objective: What other ways are there?
 From Self to ‘Subject’: an alternative term
 The Subject: can be used in place of ‘the self’
 Meaning: various - see module texts
 Two Key Meanings…
The Subject (Grammatical)
“Tom thanked Federica”
 ‘Tom’: subject (the do-er)
 ‘Federica’: object (the done-to)
 The Subject: initiates action, acts, does things
 Grammatical Subject: can thus be free, unique, unified, distinct
 Grammatical Subject: compatible with Californian ‘self’
The Subject (Legal)
“The Queen’s subjects”
 Queen’s Subjects: subject to the law (done-to)
 The Subject: acted upon by forces/powers beyond their control
 Legal Subject: not entirely free, unique, unified and distinct
 Legal Subject: different to Californian ‘self’
The Ambiguous ‘Subject’
 The Subject: free, unique, unified and distinct, and
 The Subject: restrained, restricted and subjected
 The ‘Subject’ vs the ‘Self’: productive ambiguity
 The Subject: doesn’t commit us to Californian conception of self
 The Subject: doesn’t rule out Californian conception of self
Any Questions?
Weekly Readings (Handbook, pp. 5-8)
 Californian Conception: not wrong, but a common sense notion
we should question (an ideology)
 Weekly Readings: discuss subjects not selves
 Who’s Right? You decide
Weekly Readings
 Fifteen Readings: different ways of thinking about subjects
 Difficulty: vary considerably:





Easy
Manageable
Demanding
Hard
Impossible
The Consuming Subject
Gabriel, Y. and Lang, T. (2006). The
Unmanageable Consumer. 2nd ed.
London: Sage, pp. 78-95 (Chapter 5).

 society of consumers
 every facet of life
 impact on identity
 subject = consumer
The Extended Subject
(1) McLuhan, M., and Fiore, Q. with Agel,
J. (1967). The Medium is the Massage:
An Inventory of Effects. New York:
Bantam Books, pp. 26-41. 
(2) McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding
Media: The Extensions of Man. New York:
McGraw-Hill, pp. 3-6 (Introduction),
41-47 (Chapter 4). 
 impact of media technologies
 media extend us
 media numb us
 subject = extendable
The Taxonomic Subject
Dawkins, R. (1993). Gaps in the Mind. In:
Cavalieri, P. and Singer, P., eds.
The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond
Humanity. London: Fourth Estate,
pp. 80-87. 
 humans are apes
 discontinuous mind
 taxonomic divisions
 subject = related
The Interpellated Subject
(1) Althusser, L. (1977). Ideology and
Ideological State Apparatuses. In: Lenin
and Philosophy and Other Essays.
Brewster, B. (trans.). 2nd ed. London:
NLB, pp. 121-73 (pp. 160-65). 
(2) Williamson, J. (1995). Decoding
Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in
Advertising. Enlarged ed. London: Marion
Boyars, pp. 26, 48-55. 
 we are hailed
 turning is recognition
 recognition is subjection
 subject = interpellated
The Reflected Subject
(1) Crossley, N. (2005). Key Concepts in
Critical Social Theory. London: Sage, pp.
190-95. 
(2) Williamson, J. (1995). Decoding
Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in
Advertising. Enlarged ed. London: Marion
Boyars, pp. 61-67. 
 mirror stage of infant development
 coherence = misunderstanding
 alienation from self
 subject = reflected
The Writing Subject
Barthes, R. (1977). The Death of the
Author. In: Image-Music-Text. Heath, S.,
trans. London: Fontana, pp. 142-48.

 meanings of texts
 not authors’ intentions
 authority from language itself
 subject = written
The Cyborg Subject
Gray, C. H. with Figueroa-Sarriera,
H. J. and Mentor, S., eds (1995).
The Cyborg Handbook. London:
Routledge, pp. 1-14 (Introduction). 
 Donna Haraway
 cybernetics and cyborgs
 prosthetics and enhancements
 subject = cyborg
The Subcultural Subject
Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The
Meaning of Style. London: Methuen, pp.
1-4 (Introduction) and pp. 5-19 (Chapter
1). 
 meanings within subcultural groups
 high/mass culture
 power and hegemony
 subject = styled
The Masked Subject
Gergen, K. J. (1972). Multiple Identity:
The Healthy, Happy Human Being Wears
Many Masks. Psychology Today. 5 (May),
pp. 31-35, 64-66. 
 postmodern psychology
 coherent sense of self?
 experiments with students
 subject = masked
The Evolving Subject
Dawkins, R. (1976). The Selfish Gene.
Oxford: Oxford University Press,
pp. 203-15 (Chapter 11). 
 evolutionary theory
 memes (replicators)
 mind viruses
 subject = mass of memes
The White Subject
Dyer, R. (1997). White: Essays on Race
and Culture. London: Routledge,
pp. 1-14. 
 racial imagery in culture
 white = default
 identity, personality, autobiography
 subject = racial
The Gendered Subject
(1) Tyler, T. (1996). Constructing and
Performing Genders. 
(2) Butler, J., Osborne, P., and Segal, L.
(1994). Gender as Performance:
An Interview with Judith Butler.
Radical Philosophy 67, pp. 32-39. 
 gender = performance
 punishment
 subversion
 subject = performative
The Carceral Subject
Foucault, M. (1991). Discipline and
Punish: The Birth of the Prison. London:
Penguin, pp. 195-209. 
 modern prisons
 plague and panopticon
 segregate and survey
 subject = incarcerated
The Normal Subject
(1) Finkelstein, V. (1975). To Deny or Not
to Deny Disability. In: Magic Carpet,
XXVII.1 (New Year), pp. 31-38. 
(2) Swain, J. and Cameron, C. (1999).
Unless Otherwise Stated: Discourses of
Labelling and Identity in Coming Out. In:
Corker, M. and French, S. Disability
Discourse. Buckingham: Open University
Press, pp. 68-78. 
 wheel-chair thought-experiment
 disability is constructed
 privilege
 subject = (ab)normal
The Cultivated Subject
Foucault, M. (1984). On the Genealogy of
Ethics: An Overview of Work in Progress.
In: Rabinow, P., ed. The Foucault Reader:
An Introduction to Foucault’s Thought.
London: Penguin, pp. 340-72 (359-66).

 ancient Greek culture
 old conception of the Self
 work of art
 subject/self = cultivated
Reading the Readings
 Moodle: most readings on Brookes Virtual
 Reading Strategy: read twice (1) skim in 10 mins
(2) read and annotate
► Critical Reading Strategy: two approaches simultaneously –
(1) trust every word
(2) distrust every word
Website (Handbook, p. 5)
 url: www.cyberchimp.co.uk/U75184/
 Resources: weekly readings, downloads page, forum
Seminars
 Seminars: in class and online
 Class: weekly small groups, 1 hour per week
 Reading: must read before class; must bring to class
 Objective: understand the reading
 Seminar: not explanation
 Seminar: discussion, questions, preparation for assignments
 Worksheet: download from website
Seminars
 Show and Tell Classes: every third week or so
 Objective: relate readings to assignments
 Activity: apply theories to a cultural artefact
More on this in Week 3
 Seminar Groups: two groups
 Allocations: must come to correct seminar (transfers)
Seminar Groups: Thursday afternoon
Seminar Group 1: 13.00-14.00
Seminar Group 2: 14.00-15.00
11117318 AL-BOININ, LATIFA
12071763 CARR-SMITH, CHARLES
12022700 CRAVEN, NAOMI-JAY
12071212 DANN, ANDREA
12055383 DESFORGES, EUGENIE
12110271 GIANQUITTO, ARIA
12074730 GROSS, EMILIE-VALENTINE
12017598 HARLOW, SAMUEL
12026712
13089889
12092341
12009894
12028944
12031467
12010012
12072725
13052429
Problem? See me at the end
LOXLEY-STUART, JESSICA
MOHD MOHTAR, NUR
NYAGUTHII, ANGELA
PRITCHARD, ADELE
REYNOLDS, JORDAN
ROCHE, LEANNE
ROCLIFFE, CAITLIN
SHMARYAHU, HADAS BRACHA
TAN, ROSE SHARON SUAN KIM
Seminar Groups: Thursday evening
Seminar Group 3: 17.00-18.00
Seminar Group 4: 18.00-19.00
12015087
12076330
11032794
12065812
12077899
12026811
12028368
12018144
11071640
12067502
12020362
12025138
12025633
12009678
12027595
12011968
12074768
12033553
ANSON, JESSICA
BERTONE, CARLA
CHALLINOR, JAMES
DUNFORD, JOSEPH
EBBESEN, CORNELIA
ERRANTE, ESTELLE
FILAMBA, CHILESHE
HAWKINS, LAUREN
HARMAN, LUKE
Problem? See me at the end
HODGSON, RACHEL
HUMPHREYS, KATE
LANGWORTHY, CARMEN
LAYTON, FRANCESCA
MAPARURA, OCTAVIA
SCHOLES, WILLIAM
SHUNG, CHIN WAI
TANIMOTO, AYA
TAYLOR, BETHANY
Online Seminars
 Forum: http://www.cyberchimp.co.uk/U75184/forum/
 Preparation: discuss text before class seminar
 Consolidation: discuss text after class seminar
 Time: c. 1 hour per week
 Assessment: Forum posts part of both assignments
 Registration and Posting: see Handout
 Email: use Brookes email address
 Approval: I will approve within 24 hours
Assessment (pp. 9-12)
 Two Assignments:
(1) Hypomnemata (Semester 1)
(2) Life in a Day (Semester 2)
 Readings: both assignments linked directly to readings
Hypomnemata (pp. 10-11)
 Pronounced: eep –om –nemata
 History: ancient Greek, c. Plato
 Function: a scrapbook, notebook, copybook
for quotations, observations, fragments, examples
 Objective: apply readings
to cultural artefacts
 Brief: compile a selection of examples, extracts and quotations
from different cultural forms (1-4)
 Brief: apply the ideas and concepts from the readings (4)
Hypomnemata
 Length: 3000 words, plus 12 Forum posts
 Deadline: 1.00pm Friday 12.12.2014 (Week 12)
 Submission: Turnitin
 Advice 1: compile your hypomnemata week by week
 Advice 2: spelling and grammar not so important
 Advice 3: read around (see website)
 Advice 4: tutorials: Tuesday and Thursday afternoons
 Summary: (1) choose appropriate examples,
(2) demonstrate your familiarity and competence
with the module’s concepts and ideas
Any Questions?
For Next Week
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
Read Module Handbook
Browse Module Website
Register on the Forum
Post on the Forum
Download the Week 2 worksheet
Read the first text:
Gabriel and Lang, ‘The Consumer as Identity-Seeker’
Further Reading
Barker, F. (1995). The Tremulous Private Body: Essays on Subjection. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Butler, J. (1997). The Psychic Life of Power: Theories in Subjection. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Crossley, N. (2005). Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory. London: Sage.
Du Gay, P., Evans, J. and Redman, P. (eds.) (2000). Identity: A Reader. London: Sage.
Elliott, A. (ed.) (1999). The Blackwell Reader in Contemporary Social Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.
Elliott, A. (2007). Concepts of the Self. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Polity.
Fay, B. (1996). Contemporary Philosophy of Social Science. Oxford: Blackwell.
Gauntlett, D. (2008). Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.
Gergen, K. J. (1991). The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life. New York: Basic Books.
Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Cambridge: Polity.
Hacking, I. (1990). The Taming of Chance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 160-69 (Chapter 19, ‘The
Normal State’).
Hall, S. and Du Gay, P., eds. (1996). Questions of Cultural Identity. London: Sage.
Hartley, J. (2002). Communication, Cultural and Media Studies: The Key Concepts. 3rd ed. London: Routledge.
Holstein, J. A. and Gubrium, J. F. (2000). The Self We Live By: Narrative Identity in a Postmodern World. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Kimmel, M. and Ferber, A (2003). Privilege: A Reader. Boulder, CO: Westview.
Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (1717). Metamorphoses. Garth, S., ed. Dryden, J., Pope, A., Addison, J., et al., trans.
London: Jacob Tonson. Retrieved 23 August 2012 from The Internet Classics Archive
<http://classics.mit.edu/Ovid/metam.html>.