Thinking_Activity_Cultural_Studies_Goals

These "Cultural Studies Goals" serve a facilitative aspect, which aids and owe an outsider lens to see the other disciplinarial picture clearly, by shrinking or expanding, whether in convex / concave form.

Let's see how it is happening in sequences..

Introduction:

In this 'thinking activity' we are going to study about "the cultural studies" its various approaches, itself standing as an individual entity. First an essay on "Culture and Anarchy" was published in 1869, in cornhill magazine, in the form of periodical series and in 1875 a preface was added to it. Afterwards with the same essay's influences "a school of thought for cultural studies with learned researchers and socialist was established, named "Frankfurt School" later on and it was developed around 1950 or 60s and was named as "Leavicism". In this activity we're particularly going to study, about "what is culture, cultural studies and which are its goals"?

 Culture:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture
Culture (/ˈkʌltʃər/) is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities and habits of the individuals in these groups.

With all the later elements, one has to retain elasticity and try to comfort him/her enthusiastically in this complex zone and must come out with reformation.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_culture
While comparing this same idea of culture with "cell culture", here also it is one type of process by which cells are grown in controlled conditions as human has to in society, in outside world, who is actually isolated from its living being (it happens when a person is immigrated to another place, by means of education, job or marriage) and has to follow those rules(etiquettes of living society/urban space)which are levied upon. They will subsequently be maintained under careful controlled conditions(if it is state, state has its specific rules for its people and to maintain its space). When coming out of this, one will be reformed and will be constituting 'a vessel' is nutrients, which provide; carbohydrate, amino acid, minerals etc.

For example: Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake(Diasporic novel): where the woman called "Ashima" though provided an opportunity of shaping her life in abroad, wasn't utilized and at last also she was feeling satiation only by being at her home town, after spending her more than half life in Boston.

Ecofeminism:
Where a woman has to naturalize herself, as per the society's requirements, if she fails to then she will be vehemently criticized by the society or she has to leave her in-laws home.

Perhaps to adjust in a different environment is also called a culture, where accordingly one has to adapt and made one flexible with all complexities by retaining the tendency of learning.

*Then a question arises that what is made of those, who are unable to adjust themselves in any compromisational situation?

*Is it necessary to adjust?

*If adjusted then at what extent?

*Is there any limitation or it is an ongoing process?

*A group makes a culture or an individual?

We should also prefer to "Amazon Culture" of tribal people, which was then prevailing, it is just a scrap preview. Where according to "Archeologist" tribal people are buried under the over growth of jungle as remnants of their body's can be seen there.

Thus we conclude here by learning that though "culture's significance" though in a nutshell but is huge in amount and has a tremendous impact on the minds  of the learners.

Cultural Studies:

As per "Patrick Bratlinger": 'Cultural studies isn't  "a tightly coherent, unified movement with a fixed agenda, but a loosely coherent group of tendencies, issues and questions".

"It is endless process of constant evolvement rather than having any fixation".

Approaches of Cultural Studies:

An entity had, has and will have connection with "interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches". It is based on interdependent studies, which just by utilizing one particle of any discipline, unlayer all that is hidden in that study oriented entity.

Composition of cultural studies:

Arising from the social turmoil of the 1960s, cultural studies is composed of elements of Marxism, poststructuralism and postmodernism, feminism, gender studies, anthropology, sociology, race and ethnic studies, film theory, urban studies, public policy, popular culture studies and postcolonial studies: those fields that concentrate on social and cultural forces that either create community or cause division and alienation.

Perhaps which can learn both the aspects of culture: culture in healthy/hygienic state, flourishing, prosperous state and culture in deteriorating and dilapidated condition. As an example is given above that how after the "social turmoil in 1960s" the reformation in many fields took place in feminism, Marxism etc. While actually it is the war, which give arouse to such reformation, at prior if assumed perhaps another culture with fractions was surfacing and furthering for cold civil fight.

Thus it can be seen that not only culture with positive side is taken into consideration but also a culture who thrive to exist can be took into consideration. If poor people representing any culture, then rich also and likewise middle class people also, culture is only a set of standards, values, norms which are fixed for a cultural representor, facilitating to this one has to act, with specific resistance or else it can be transformed into anarchy or something in revolutionary act.

We got how cultural studies can be done systematically by keeping in mind its chronological order and its coassociated matter.

Four_Goals_Of_Cultural_Studies

Interdisciplinary Studies:

Literary criticism and history, are kind of disciplines, which transcends and it is the job of "cultural studies critic" to transcend it. Which is practised in such journals, representations and boundary two.

Process:

Cultural critic scrutinize 'the cultural phenomenon of the text'(what is the reason of occurring event and how it transformed into a cultural entity). 

For example: Italian culture:

Where does the intellectual promise lies:

In their introduction to cultural studies, editors Lawrence Grossberg, Cary Nelson and Paula Triechler emphasize that "the intellectual promise of cultural studies lies in its attempts to, cut across diverse social and political interests  and address many of the struggles within the current scene".

Transcript on democratic debate:  A talk on issues of immigration, situation unfolding on America's border and the treatment of migrant children.

Intellectual works aren't limited by their own "borders" as single texts, historical problems and disciplines, and the critic's own personal connections to what is being analyzed may also be described. 

If perhaps they have borders for themselves then there will be only their single story, which will be considered in coming time as harmful and deteriorating. As "Chimananda Ngozi Adichie" talks about the dire consequences of "single story".

Intellectuals see any work as "an emancipatory project" which has accomplished priviledge of evaluation from each and every side and is made loose in its analyzation.

For this "a Professor's example is given": that a Professor instructs the students with his own political views(seems only as professor's single story)which seems as an engagement into "feminism", and which has no detachment.

Thus in this point we learnt how "cultural phenomenon" is evaluated through many approaches if it is bordered then it would have single story, which is harmful, and if it is being done by intellectuals then it will have "emancipatory outcomes" which can be seen from many sides.

POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT:

A CULTURAL CRITICS see themselves as "oppositional" not only within their own disciplines but to many of the power structures of society at large.

A cultural critic reading power structures.

Cultural critics questions inequalities within power structures and seek to discover models for restructuring relationships among dominant and minority or subaltern.

A game based on RPG, supported in "Android mobile". Which says the story of a team of heroes, who save their kingdom from enemies invaders.

But here we can see this in power structure that: It can happen when one has distinctiveness than others and as power is based on abilities and skills of a person or team, only one will be getting privilege. So when knew that we won't be able to be at that powerful position, they try to invade and look forward to snatch the power rather than achieving it.

As usual we can see here the distancing power in two groups(heroes and enemies) and as some are underprivilege and not given the required position, so they try to snatch the power. But then an ample of questions arise.

*should power be given to everyone?

*If perhaps it is given, then what everyone will be able to make justice with their power as well as with people?

*Won't they utilize it for their own benefits?

We assume that power structures are mere a cultural construction of individual subjectivity. Then it should be there or not?

Thus by learning "political engagement" we learnt how a cultural critic by being oppositional read the power structures and inequalities prevailing in the society or in any political or economical world, it can be in any form but to know the forms we should cultivate the skill to read in between the lines as (shown in aforementioned image on kingdom in chaos). Power can be read from different perspectives and not everyone is deserving to be in power. If perhaps power is centralized then there should be some deservable individual, who can retain that power authority, loyally and honestly otherwise there should be power free society, but then a question come, that if power free society is imposed then perhaps it will turn into chaos(as told in one of the points from Culture & Anarchy-Mathew Arnold : Doing as one likes). 

Resistance = Power.

Absence of Resistance = Anarchy(chaos)

Separation of high, low and popular culture:

This point equally resembling the prior point(political engagement) the only difference is there "the cultural critic" by being an outsider just reading power structures but here by realizing the ongoing tendency of power structures in the world, he denies separation of high, low, elite and popular culture but rather try to merge them and this he explains with one example.

HIGHBROW VS LOWBROW

(GIVING ILLUSTRATION OF HIGHBROW ART AND A PAIR OF TICKETS TO A ROCK CONCERT).

By refering to this chart one may knew how the three categorised strata of society are privileged and underprivileged towards material things and facilities.

Favouring this idea, Jean Baudrillard and Andreas Huyssen cultural critics argue: that after world war II the distinction among high, low and mass culture collapsed. They also cite other theorists like Pierre Bourdieu and Dick Hebdige on how "good taste"(Rudyard Kipling) often reflects prevailing social, economics and economic power bases. As Rudyard Kipling had in innocence circulated many images of India, during the colonial rule of the British raj. But he only has perhaps superficially seen then prevailing tendency of India and spreaded the images world widely, while actually it actually reveals an entrenched  imperialist argument for white superiority and world wide domination of other races(especially asians).

Thus here we learnt by being supporter of above mentioned aspect, a cultural critic will try to merge the three stratas of culture and perhaps will share an idea of equal privilege in every field of lives.

MEANS OF PRODUCTION:

Not concerning only the cultural work but also "the means of production": that is the supporter of artist, who is the buyer? Who is publisher? By whom it is purchased? Who has distributed and how? Who are the buyers literate or illiterate?

If one is literate then only one will understand the empathic feelings of the writer towards cultural phenomenon and the people whom she/he has addressed through his/her work. It can also happen with illiterate people, but incase if language is illigeble to them otherwise one cannot. Only by understanding one can say something to someone or else the message will get miscommunicated.

Means of production are the workers, not the owner:

If in this context we see here the owner is saying that: he had owned the productive machine so he is rich. But the workers argue that he hasn't build the machine, even not operating or working on it. Then how this machine belong to him? As they are, equivalently he is required to work otherwise it can't be considered his own machine.

So here an idea reflects in mind that if a person/writer has worked on his/her work then only it can be considered as authentic and positive, otherwise it can be considered as such. If one has done some great or altruist work then only the message of that particular machinery, text, music or anything will get wide-spreaded or in equal measure it can also corrupt the society.

REFLECTION OF THESE ASPECTS IN INDIAN CONTEMPORARY TIMES

If we look this all aspects in contemporary situation in India. We are to confront the very tendency of political ministries of spreading post-truth, which remains only to be single story, though people satirically evaluate by their different perspectives. 

Concerning "political engagement" we have corporate world and also a political position, both are interdependant on each other, while the creamy layer is only privilege to those who are belonging to corporate world, with indirect exploitation of people, while on another side a handful of creamy layer is given under the table to the supportive power as being supportive to him/her in their own personal gains. Where we can read the power structures in terms of political, corporate and other different stratas of societies. Where perhaps a cultural critic thinks to merge or equally distribute the power one can literally understand that it is 'time seeking' rather never be made possible ever in life.

If seeing this same aspect in terms of "means of production" every designated person in India whether he/she is a celebrity, belonging to corporate world or placed at a highly designated strata, one would require the manipulative support of the "prime minister". As Salman Khan is seen as seeking favour to promote his movie "Jai Ho". Mukesh Ambani for his own purpose, seeking favour from Narendra Modi, never even concern for his wife,  seems as for personal financial gain he can even sell his wife as when in image Narendra Modi is holding his wife's hand, poor Mukesh Ambani is pitching on his back seems as implored corporater is pleading to be reasonable towards him for his own wife!

Thus we learnt about culture, what cultural studies meant to be, its four goals and at last reflection of these four goals in contemporary times in India.

Thankyou

Samiya Kagdi

A learner at PG center

Department of English

MKBU

Applied Sources:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_culture