Course: ING 314 Contemporary Cultural Studies

Topic outline

General
Starting with a brief history of cultural studies, this course aims to explore some of the main topics (i.e. class, ethnicity, gender) that this area of study deals with. In the course of our examination of these topics, we will look at some of the influential critical texts and examine some short stories and cinematic works that explore these issues.
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Z. Atayurt-Fenge URL
Week 1
Introduction to the course

The key concerns of contemporary cultural studies
- A brief history of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies File
Week 2
Matthew Arnold, “Sweetness and Light”
- "Sweetness and Light" - full text File
Week 3
Raymond Williams, “Culture is Ordinary”
- "Culture is Ordinary" File
Week 4
Stuart Hall, “Notes on Deconstructing ‘the Popular’”
- "Notes on Deconstructing 'the Popular'" File
Week 5
British youth subcultures
- John Clarke, Stuart Hall, Tony Jefferson, Brian Roberts, “Subcultures, Cultures and Class" File
Week 6
Screening of the film This is England followed by discussion
- Interview with the director Shane Meadows File
- This is England URL
Week 7
Midterm exam
- Advice on the midterm exam File
- This is England- scenes URL
Week 8
Race and Ethnicity

Stuart Hall, “Race, Culture, and Communications”
- Key points for discussion in Hall's essay File
- Race and Ethnicity File
Week 9
Analysis of Muriel Spark's short story “The Black Madonna” in the light of S. Hall's insights into race and ethnicity
Analysis of Hanif Kureishi's short story “My Son, the Fanatic” in the light of S. Hall's insights into race and ethnicity
- "The Black Madonna" File
- "My Son the Fanatic" File
Week 10
Gender and Sexual Politics

Carol Hanish, “The Personal is Political”
Week 11
Sarah Franklin, Celia Lucy, Jackie Stacey, “Feminism and Cultural Studies”
- Key points for discussion File
Week 12
Analysis of Fay Weldon's short story “Weekend” within the frame of feminist criticism
Week 13
Raymond Williams, “The Future of Cultural Studies”
the interdisciplinary aspect of cultural studies, the significance of cultural studies in literary analysis, culture as a way of life
- "The Future of Cultural Studies" - full text File
Week 14
Discussion on the past and future of cultural studies in the light of the texts covered in the course