Theorising culture
Andrew Milner
8 or 12 points * 2 hours per week * First semester * Clayton
This subject aims to establish the theoretical foundations for the analysis of culture and cultural forms. These will be examined from a range of, often competing, theoretical perspectives. Discussion will centre on French structuralism, semiology and anthropology; German sociology and critical theory; and British literary and cultural studies. Each of these will be examined for its respective account of the relationships between art, culture and society.
Assessment
Two seminar papers * Long 4000-word essay (6000 words if taken as a 12-point subject)
Preliminary reading
Austin-Broos D (ed.) Creating culture Allen and Unwin, 1987
Milner A Contemporary cultural theory: An introduction Allen and Unwin, 1991
Beilharz P (ed.) Social theory: A guide to central thinkers Allen and Unwin, 1992
Prescribed texts
Adorno T and Horkheimer M Dialectic of enlightenment New Left Books, 1979
Freud S Civilization and its discontents Penguin, 1985
Habermas J The philosophical discourse of modernity Polity, 1987
Hall S and others (eds) Culture, media, language Hutchinson, 1980
Jameson F Postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism New Left Books, 1991
Levi-Strauss C Structural anthropology Basic Books, 1963
Spivak G In other worlds: Essays in cultural politics Methuen, 1987
Williams R The politics of modernism Verso, 1989