CLS2130

Culture and society: introduction to cultural theory

(ART)

Jeff Browitt

6 points + 2 hours per week + First semester + Clayton + Prohibitions: CLS3130 + Prerequisite: First year sequence in English, Literary Studies or Cultural Studies or permission

Synopsis: The unit aims to introduce students to a variety of theoretical approaches to the study of the relationship between culture and society. The unit begins with English literary-critical conceptions of culture; proceeds to the French structuralist tradition, especially as exemplified in anthropology and in semiotics; and to that mainly German tradition of theorising about culture which arises from the encounter between sociology, psychoanalysis and Marxism. The unit then moves to a discussion of current theoretical debates concerning the sociology of culture, the cultural politics of sexual difference, cultural nationalism and multiculturalism, postcolonialism and postmodernism.

Assessment: One essay (2250 words): 50% + Examination (2 hours): 50%