1 / 46

Welcome to Subject to Culture  Specification : Advanced, double, honours (Level 6)

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:

marlin
Download Presentation

Welcome to Subject to Culture  Specification : Advanced, double, honours (Level 6)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Welcome to Subject to Culture Specification: Advanced, double, honours (Level 6) Pre-requisites: U75128 Critical Media Literacies U75144 Digital Media and Youth Identities

  2. Welcome to Subject to Culture Consolidation: builds on: U75108 Understanding Culture U75141 Writing Technologies U65032 Cultures of Publishing U74124 Culture, Gender and Sexuality U75183 Branded Communication U37782 Cities and Society U65028 Print and Society U70070 Subject to Discourse: Language and Literacies

  3. 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.

  4. Format Duration: 2 semesters (whole year) – Handbook, back page Tutors: Semester 1: Tom Semester 2: Federica Format: text-based (Module Reader) – 15 readings Key Concern: how do the text’s ideas and concepts apply to culture and to ourselves? Any Questions?

  5. Be Yourself “Be Yourself”: a sentiment commonly encountered today: conversation, television, magazines, song lyrics, etc. Two Examples…

  6. 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 Enrique Iglesias ‘Be Yourself’: Seven (2003)

  7. Fugees ‘Just Happy To Be Me’Elmopalooza! (1998) Can you tell me how to get... …how to get to Sesame Street? 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

  8. 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…

  9. 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

  10. 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

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. 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 trueself 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?

  14. 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…

  15. 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’

  16. 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’

  17. 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?

  18. Weekly Readings (Handbook, pp. 6-9) 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

  19. Weekly Readings Fifteen Readings: different ways of thinking about subjects Difficulty: vary considerably:  Easy  Manageable  Demanding  Hard  Impossible

  20. 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

  21. 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

  22. 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

  23. 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

  24. 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

  25. 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

  26. 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

  27. 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

  28. 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

  29. 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

  30. 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

  31. 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

  32. 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

  33. 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

  34. 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

  35. Reading the Reader Reader: free (but no spares)Moodle:readings on Brookes Virtual Reading Strategy: read twice - (1) skim in 10 mins (2) read and annotate

  36. Website (Handbook, p. 5) url: www.cyberchimp.co.uk/U75184/ Resources: weekly readings, downloads page, forum

  37. Seminars Seminars: in class and online Class: weekly small groups, 1 hour per week  Reading: must read before classObjective: understand the reading •  Seminar: not explanation •  Seminar: discussion, questions, preparation for assignmentsAllocations: must come to correct seminar (transfers) 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 4 Seminar Groups…

  38. Seminar Groups: Thursday afternoon Seminar Group 1: 13.00-14.00 (1) 11021608 BATES, LYDIA (2) 11022372 BERGAN, RACHEL (3) 11023307 BRADNACK, HAYLEY (4) 11017646 CHITNIS, LYDIA (5) 11066608 DESCHAMPS, BENJAMIN (6) 11015612 GARNHAM, OLIVIA (7) 11035626 LUKIC, ALEXANDER Problem? See me at the end Seminar Group 2: 14.00-15.00 (1) 11028614 MAYNE, CLAIRE (2) 11080027 PADGHAM, JESSICA (3) 11052383 PARRY, FRED (4) 11053336 PEEL, ANTONIA (5) 11011501 RAHELA, RAJEEV (6) 11025278 WESTHEAD, GABRIELLE (7) 11018111 WILKES-CIUDAD, ORQUIDEA

  39. Seminar Groups: Thursday eveningSeminar Group 3: 17.00-18.00 (1) 11021851 ELWES, THOMAS (2) 11029776 GEESON. EMILY (3) 11071640 HARMAN, LUKE (4) 11114954 HOMMA, AIRI (5) 10021206 LEE, HOI YAN FION (6) 11115592 NATALIA, CYNTHIA (7) 11054957 NORDAN RIIBE, NIKOLAI Problem? See me at the end Seminar Group 4: 18.00-19.00 (1) 11014731 OTA, HAYATO (2) 13049582 REID, JASMINE (3) 11022831 SHAKESHAFT, HANNAH (4) 11091103 SKATVEDT IVERSEN, MAGNUS (5) 11024413 SPARKS, ABIGAIL (6) 11024530 SPORE, CHLOE (7) 11063947 VORSTER, ANNELIE

  40. Online Seminars Forum: http://www.cyberchimp.co.uk/U75184/forum/ Preparation: discuss text before class seminar Consolidation: discuss text after to class seminarAssessment: Forum posts part of both assignments Registration and Posting: see Handout…

  41. Assessment (pp. 10-13) Two Assignments: (1) Hypomnemata (Semester 1) (2) Life in a Day (Semester 2) Readings: both assignments linked directly to readings

  42. 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)

  43. Hypomnemata Length: 3000 words, plus 8 Forum posts Deadline: 1.00pm Friday 13.12.2013 (Week 12) Submission: Postbox and 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 ideasAny Questions?

  44. For Next Week (1) Read Module Handbook (2) Browse Module Website (3) Register on the Forum (4) Post on the Forum (5) Read the first text: Gabriel and Lang, ‘The Consumer as Identity-Seeker’

  45. 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>.

More Related