Theorising culture
Andrew Milner
8 or 12 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
*
Clayton
Objectives Upon completion of this subject students should be able to demonstrate substantial familiarity with recent debates in cultural theory; articulate the analytical skills, theoretical vocabularies and conceptual apparatuses studied in the subject; demonstrate a sense of their own personal and cultural reflexivity; write clear, grammatically and syntactically appropriate, independent essays on the topics chosen for assessment.
Synopsis This subject aims to establish the theoretical foundations for the analysis of culture and culture 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 (8 points) Two seminar papers (1000-1500 words each): 20%
each
* Long essay (4000 words): 60%
Assessment (12 points) Two seminar papers (1000-1500 words each):
20% each
* Long essay (6000 words): 60%
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
Bourdieu P Outline of a theory of practice CUP, 1977
Freud S Civilisation 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
| Published by Monash University, Clayton, Victoria
3168 Copyright © Monash University 1996 - All Rights Reserved - Caution Authorised by the Academic Registrar December 1996 |