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Cultural Studies

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on November 23, 2016 • ( 5 )

Arising from the social turmoil of the 1960-s, Cultural Studies is an academic discipline which combines political economy, communication, sociology, social theory, literary theory, media theory, film studies, cultural anthropology, philosophy, art history/ criticism etc. to study cultural phenomena in various societies. Cultural Studies researches often focus on how a particular phenomenon relates matters of ideology, nationality, ethnicity, social class and gender.

Discussion on Cultural Studies have gained currency with the publication of Richard Hoggart’s Use of Literacy (1957) and Raymond Williams’ Culture and Society (1958), and with the establishment of Birmingham Centre for is Contemporary Cultural Studies in England in 1968.

Since culture is now considered as the source of art and literature, cultural criticism has gained ground, and therefore, Raymond Williams’ term “cultural  materialism”, Stephen Greenblatt’s “cultural poetics” and Bakhtin’s term “cultural prosaic”, have become significant in the field of Cultural Studies and cultural criticism.

The works of Stuart Hall and Richard Hoggart with the Birmingham Centre, later expanded through the writings of David Morley, Tony Bennett and others. Cultural Studies is interested in the process by which power relations organize cultural artefacts (food habits, music, cinema, sport events etc.). It looks at popular culture and everyday life, which had hitherto been dismissed as “inferior” and unworthy of academic study. Cultural Studies’ approaches 1) transcend the confines of a particular discipline such as literary criticism or history 2) are politically engaged 3) reject the distinction between “high” and “low” art or “elite” and “popular” culture 4) analyse not only the cultural works but also the means of production.

In order to understand the changing political circumstances  of class, politics and culture in the UK, scholars at the CCCS turned to the work of Antonio Gramsci who modified classical Marxism in seeing culture as a key instrument of political and social control. In his view, capitalists are not only brute force (police, prison, military) to maintain control, but also penetrate the everyday culture of working people. Thus the key rubric for Gramsci and for cultural studies is that of cultural hegemony. Edgar and Sedgwick point out that the theory of hegemony was pivotal to the development of British Cultural Studies. It facilitated analysis of the ways in which subaltern groups actively resist and respond to political and economic domination.

The approach of Raymond Williams and CCCS was clearly marxIst and poststructuralist, and held subject identities and relationships as textual, constructed out of discourse. Cultural Studies believes that we cannot “read” cultural artefacts only within the aesthetic realm, rather they must be studied within the social and material perspectives; i.e., a novel must be read not only within the generic conventions and history of the novel, but also in terms of the publishing industry and its profit, its reviewers, its academic field of criticism, the politics of awards and the hype of publicity machinery that sells the book. Cultural Studies regards the cultural artefact like the tricolour or Gandhi Jayanti as a political sign, that is part of the “discourse” of India, as reinforcing certain ideological values, and concealing oppressive conditions of patriarchal ideas of the nation, nationalism and national identity.

In Cultural Studies, representation is a key concept and denotes a language in which all objects and relationships get defined, a language related to issues of class, power and ideology, and situated within the context of “discourse”. The cultural practice of giving dolls to girls can be read within the patriarchal discourse of femininity that girls are weaker and delicate and need to be given soft things, and that grooming, care etc. are feminine duties which dolls will help them learn. This discourse of femininity is itself related to the discourse of masculinity and the larger context of power relations in culture. Identity, for Culture Studies, is constituted through experience, which involves representation – the consumption of signs, the making of meaning from signs and the knowledge of meaning.

Cultural Studies views everyday life as fragmented, multiple, where meanings are hybridized and contested; i.e., identities that were more or less homogeneous in terms of ethnicities and patterns of consumption, are now completely hybrid, especially in the metropolis. With the globalization of urban spaces, local cultures are linked to global economies, markets and needs, and hence any study of contemporary culture has to examine the role of a non-local market/ money which requires a postcolonial awareness of the exploitative relationship between the First World and the Third World even today.

Cultural Studies is interested in lifestyle because lifestyle 1) is about everyday life 2) defines identity 3) influences social relations 4) bestows meaning and value to artefacts in a culture. In India, after economic liberalization, consumption has been seen as a marker of identity. Commodities are signs of identity and lifestyle and consumption begins before the actual act of shopping; it begins with the consumption of the signs of the commodity.

Mall Culture

Mall is a space of display where goods are displayed for maximum visual display in such a fashion that they are attractive enough to instill desire. Spectacle, attention- holding and desire are central elements of shopping experience in the mall. Hence mall emerges primarily as a site of gazing and secondarily as a site of shopping. The mall presents a spectacle of a fantasy world created by the presence of models and posters, compounded by the experience of being surrounded by attractive men and women, cosy families and vibrant youth — which altogether entice us to unleash the possibilities of donning a better identity, by trying out / consuming global brands and cosmopolitan fashion.

The mall invites for participating in the fantasy of future possibilities. Thus, the spectacle turns into a performance that the customer/ consumer imitates and participates in. It is also a theatrical performance that is  interactive, in which the spectacle comes alive with the potential consumer. The encircling vistas, long-spread balconies and viewing points at every floor add to the spectacle, by providing a “prospect” of shopping.

Eclecticism is yet another feature of the mall, where, “the world is under one roof”- where a “Kalanjali” or “Mann Mantra” share space with “Shoppers Stop” or “Life Style” and “Madras Mail” shares space with “McDonald’s” and multiplexes, imparting a cosmopolitan experience. Thus eclecticism and a mixing of products, styles and traditions are a central feature of the mall and consumer experience.

Further, “the mall is a hyperreal, ahistorical, secure, postmodern-secular, uniform space of escape that takes the streets of the city into itself in a tightly controlled environment where time, weather, season do not matter where the “natural” is made through artificial lighting and horticulture, and ensuring that this public space resembles the city but offers more security and choice”

Media Culture

Media studies and its role in the construction of cultural values, circulation of symbolic values, and its production of desire are central to Cultural Studies today. Cultural Studies of the media begins with the assumption that media culture is political and ideological, and it reproduces existing social values, oppression and inequalities. Media culture clearly reflects the multiple sides of contemporary debates and problems. Media culture helps to reinforce the hegemony and power of specific economic, cultural and political groups by suggesting ideologies that the audience, if not alert, imbibes. Media culture is also provocative because it sometimes asks us to rethink what we know or believe in. In Cultural Studies, media culture is studied through an analysis of popular media culture like films, TV serials, advertisements etc.- as Cultural Studies believes in the power of the popular cultural forms as tools of ideological and political power.

Cultural Studies of popular media culture involves an analysis of the forms of representation, such as film; the political ideology of these representations; an examination of the financial sources/sponsors of these representations (propaganda advertisements by Coke after the report on pesticides in Coca Cola); an examination of the roles played by other objects / people in the propagating ideology (Amir Khan in the Coca Cola ad, after patriotic films like Lagaan, Mangal Pandey and Rang de Basanti). Cultural Studies also analyses whether the medium (say, film), presents an oppressive/unequal nature of institutions, like family, education etc. or glorify them; the possible resistance to such oppressive ideologies; the audience’s response to such representation and the economic benefits and the beneficiaries of such representations.

Contemporary Culture Studies of media culture explores what is called “media ecologies”, the environment of human culture created by the intersection of information and communications technologies, organizational behaviour and human interaction.

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Tags: Antonio Gramsci , cultural hegemony , Cultural Studies , Cultural Studies Essay , Cultural Studies key terms , Cultural Studies key theorists , Cultural Studies main ideas , Culture and Society , David Morley , Literary Criticism , Literary Theory , Mall Culture , media ecologies , Popular Culture , Raymond Williams , Richard Hoggart , Stephen Greenblatt , Stuart Hall , Tony Bennett

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Hi! Please can you provide me with citations for the quotes you include in the section on Mall Culture? thank you!

https://www.ijelr.in/3.3.16/17-19%20JUBINAROSA.S.S.pdf

• Key Theories of Raymond Williams – Literary Theory and Criticism Notes
• Anthropological Criticism: An Essay – Literary Theory and Criticism Notes
• High Culture and Popular Music – Literary Theory and Criticism Notes

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Free Cultural Studies Essay Examples & Topics

There is a field in academia that analyzes the interactions between anthropological, political, aesthetic, and socioeconomic institutions. It is referred to as cultural studies . This area is interdisciplinary, meaning that it combines and examines several departments. First brought up by British scientists in the 1950s, it is now studied all over the world.

The scope of cultural studies is vast. From history and politics to literature and art, this field looks at how culture is shaped and formed. It also examines the complex interactions of race and gender and how they shape a person’s identity.

In this article, our team has listed some tips and tricks on how to write a cultural studies essay. You will encounter many fascinating aspects in this field that will be exciting to study. That is the reason why we have prepared a list of cultural studies essay topics. You can choose one that catches your eye right here! Finally, you will also find free sample essays that you can use as a source of inspiration for your work.

15 Top Cultural Studies Essay Topics

The work process on an essay begins with a tough choice. After all, there are thousands of things that you can explore. In the list below, you will find cultural studies topics for your analytical paper.

• The role of human agency in cultural studies and how research techniques are chosen.
• Examining generational changes through evolution in music and musical taste in young adults.
• Does popular culture have the power to influence global intercultural and political relationships?
• Different approaches to self-analysis and self-reflection examined through the lens of philosophy.
• Who decides what constitutes a “cultural artifact”?
• The difference in religious and cultural practices between Japanese and Chinese Buddhists.
• Exploring the symbiotic relationship between culture and tradition in the UK.
• Do people understand culture nowadays the same way they understood it a century ago?
• Which factors do we have to take into account when conducting arts and culture research of ancient civilizations?
• Día de Los Muertos: a commentary on an entirely different perspective on death.
• American society as represented in popular graphic novels.
• An analysis of the different approaches to visual culture from the perspective of a corporate logo graphic designer.
• What can French cinema of the 20 th century tell us about the culture of the time?
• Narrative storytelling in different forms of media: novels, television, and video games.
• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the direction of pop culture.

In case you haven’t found your perfect idea in the list, feel free to try our title generator . It will compose a new topic for your cultural studies essay from scratch.

How to Write a Cultural Studies Essay

With an ideal topic for your research, you start working on your cultural analysis essay. Below you will find all the necessary steps that will lead you to write a flawless paper.

• Pick a focus. You cannot write an entire essay on the prospect of culture alone. Thus, you need to narrow down your field and the scope of your research. Spend some time reading relevant materials to decide what you want your paper to say.
• Formulate your thesis. As the backbone of your assignment, it will carry you through the entire process. Writing a thesis statement brings you one step closer to nailing the whole essay down. Think “What is my paper about?” and come up with a single sentence answer – this will be your statement.
• Provide context for your intro. The introduction is the place for setting the scene for the rest of your paper. Take time to define the terminology. Plus, you should outline what you will talk about in the rest of the essay. Make sure to keep it brief – the introduction shouldn’t take up longer than a paragraph.
• Develop your ideas in the body. It is the place for you to explore the points you’re trying to make. Examine both sides of the argument and provide ample evidence to support your claims. Don’t forget to cite your sources!
• Conclude the paper effectively. The final part is usually the hardest, but you don’t need to make it too complicated. Summarize your findings and restate your thesis statement for the conclusion. Make sure you don’t bring in any new points or arguments at this stage.
• Add references. To show that you’re not pulling your ideas out of thin air, cite your sources. Add a bibliography at the end to prove you’ve done your research. You will need to put them in alphabetical order. So, ensure you do that correctly.

Thank you for reading! Now, you can proceed to read through the examples of essays about cultural studies that we provided below.

617 Best Essay Examples on Cultural Studies

Raymond williams’ “culture is ordinary”.

• Words: 1248

Time in Mahfouz’s “Half a Day” and Dali’s “Persistence of Memory”

• Words: 1092

What Is Popular Culture? Definition and Analysis

• Words: 1399

Cultural Comparison: The United States of America and Japan

“never marry a mexican”: theme analysis & summary.

• Words: 2244

UAE and Culture

• Words: 1210

Pashtun Culture: Cultural Presentation

• Words: 1083

Comparing the US and Italian Cultures

• Words: 2217

Similarities of Asian Countries

• Words: 2356

Power and Culture: Relationship and Effects

• Words: 2783

Nok Culture’s Main Characteristic Features

• Words: 1483

Chinese Traditional Festivals and Culture

• Words: 2763

The Influence of Ramayana on the Indian Culture

The united states of america’s culture.

• Words: 1367

Philippines Dressing Culture and Customs

• Words: 1454

Kazakhstani Culture Through Hofstede’s Theory

• Words: 1480

Polygamy in Islam

Culture and development in nigeria.

• Words: 2718

The Luo Culture of Kenya

• Words: 3544

The Beautiful Country of Kazakhstan: Kazakh Culture

• Words: 1644

Traditions and Their Impact on Personality Development

• Words: 1131

The Nature of People and Culture

Meaning of the machine in the garden, indian custom and culture community.

• Words: 2207

Saudi Arabian Culture

• Words: 1486

Trobriand Society: Gender and Its Roles

• Words: 3118

The Importance of Understanding National Culture

Taiwan and the u.s. cultural elements.

• Words: 2265

Art and Science: One Culture or Two, Difference and Similarity

Three stages of cultural development.

• Words: 1165

Culture of the Dominican Republic

• Words: 2229

African Cultural Traditions and Communication

• Words: 1114

Filial Piety

• Words: 1120

Football Impact on England’s Culture

• Words: 1096

American Culture Pros & Cons

Differences in culture between america and sudan, culture and health correlation, dubai’s food, dress code and culture.

• Words: 1124

Discussion: Cultural Roots and Routes

• Words: 1469

Anthropological Approach to Culture

Chinese manhua history development.

• Words: 5401

The Jarawa People and Their Culture

• Words: 1438

Stuart Hall’s Theory of Encoding and Decoding

What role does food play in cultural identity.

• Words: 1199

Impact of Globalization on the Maasai Peoples` Culture

• Words: 1736

Culture, Subculture, and Their Differences

• Words: 1157

Ballads and Their Social Functions

• Words: 3314

Saudi Traditional Clothing

• Words: 1815

Cultural Prostitution: Okinawa, Japan, and Hawaii

• Words: 2370

Culture Identity: Asian Culture

• Words: 1101

Culturagram of African Americans Living in Jackson

Cultural diversity and cultural universals relations: anthropological perspective, “signs of life in the usa” by maasik and solomon, wheeler’s theory and examples of pilgrimage, traditional and nontraditional cultures of the usa, society, culture, and civilization, non-material and material culture, gothic lifestyle as a subculture, the counterculture of the 1960s, anne allison: nightwork in japan.

• Words: 1548

“High” and “Low” Culture in Design

• Words: 2560

Greetings in Etiquette in Society by Emily Post

The bushmen: culture and traditions, singapore’s culture and social institutions.

• Words: 1288

Theodor Adorno’s “Culture Industry” Analysis

• Words: 1489

Symbol: The Basic Element of Culture

Arab music and cinema development: western culture impact.

• Words: 3622

Cultural Change: Mechanisms and Examples

Stereotypes about the french caribbean, the history of the hippie cultural movement.

• Words: 1485

The History of Guqin in Chinese Culture

• Words: 1652

Hells Angels as a Motorcycle Subculture

Theory of the aryan race: historical point of view.

• Words: 2770

Significance of the Rite of Passage: Maasai Lion Hunt

The role of chinese hats in chinese culture.

• Words: 2307

Etiquette in Traveling at Home and Abroad

History of mexican festival, indigenous australian culture, history, importance.

• Words: 2102

Clothing and Accessories’ Heritage in Saudi Arabia

• Words: 1934

The Meaning of Cultural Consumption and Influence of Cultural Backgrounds

Implications of korean culture on health.

• Words: 1439

The Impact of American Popular Culture on Society

Diet and lifestyle of italians, italian heritage and its impact on life in the us.

• Words: 1111

Birthday Celebrations in the China

• Words: 1664

The Māori Culture of New Zealand

• Words: 1326

Perception of Intelligence in Different Cultures

• Words: 1137

The Mysteries of Samothrace and Its Cultic Practices

• Words: 2846

Comparison Between the Body Rituals in Nacirema and American Society

African folktales as a reflection of culture, a scarf as a cultural metaphor, somali culture and its impact on communication.

• Words: 1743

The Importance of Cultural Research

Indian culture, food, temples, and clothing.

• Words: 1035

Researching of Rituals in Culture

• Words: 1174

Canadian Cultural Protectionism Article by Klassen

The impact of ancient greek civilization and architecture on modern culture, fallacies about tradition and modernity, british punk zines as a commentary on the sociopolitical climate of the 1970s.

• Words: 2223

Exegeses-Ruling Class and Ruling Ideas by Karl Marx

Dairy products impact on human health in saudi arabia.

• Words: 6593

Handshake Meanings on Different Cultures

“beyond culture” by hall: post-reading study guide.

• Words: 1680

Japanese Popular Culture: Anime, Video Games, and the Film Industry

Bhutanese views on happiness and subjective wellbeing, the hawthorne study: dominant cultures and subcultures, cultural conquest in “things fall apart” by chinua achebe.

• Words: 1971

Hippies, Punks, Skinheads Subcultures in the US

• Words: 1141

Cultural China in the Context of Globalization

• Words: 4195

The Nayar Caste of India: Agricultural Practice

Punjabi: the culture, culture and change in brazil, the power of a symbol, late shang dynasty: ritualistic wine vessel – zun.

• Words: 1108

The Analysis of Christmas as a Cultural Context of Consumption

• Words: 4386

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism Differences

Cultural appropriation: christina aguilera in braids, hofstede’s study: cultural dimensions, art of the abbasid caliphate analysis.

• Words: 1482

Afro-Caribbean Culture: Yoruba and Lukumi

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Cultural Studies: A Theoretical, Historical and Practical Overview

Cultural studies has become an unavoidable part of literary criticism and theory. Cultural studies is an advanced interdisciplinary arena of research and teaching that examines the means in which "culture" creates and transforms day to day life, individual experiences, power and social relations. As a developing field of study it is important to know the beginning and growth of cultural studies as a field of knowledge. This article is an attempt to present an introductory information regarding the beginning, definitions, schools important theoreticians and practical aspects of cultural studies. This study is analytical in nature and historical information are presented mostly. The objective of this article is to give a quick understanding about the beginners in the field of Cultural studies.

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Introductory Notes on Cultural Studies

Introduction to Cultural Studies is a course of study for students pursuing a Masters in English Literature. As part of the course, it will be helpful for the students if they get a quick-tour kind of an introduction to the discipline called Cultural Studies. As a study of culture, the title presupposes a knowledge about what encompasses the word 'culture', we may attempt a definition of it first. Culture can be defined as an asymmetric combinations of abstract and actual aspects of elements like language, art, food, dress, systems like family, religion, education, and practices like mourning and 'merrying', all of which we refer to as cultural artifacts. It is assumed that values and identities are formed, interacted and represented in a society in association with these artifacts. Cultural Studies, therefore, is a constant engagement with contemporary culture by studying, analyzing and interacting with the institutions of culture and their functions in the society.

Chun Lean LIM

This course introduces students to the work and significance of representation and power in the understanding of culture as social practice. It helps students to understand the relationships among sign, culture and the making of meanings in society. From this base it approaches the question of ideology and subjectivity in the shaping of culture. With reference to various cultural texts and social contexts, we study examples of cultural production from history and politics to lived experiences of the everyday, from photography and art to cinema and museum, from popular culture to lifestyle etc. In appreciating divergent concerns in the critical analysis of culture and power, we focus on selected topics both mainstream and emergent, with an emphasis on contemporary developments in the Asian contexts. A brief account of the intellectual formations of Cultural Studies will be provided to allow students to appreciate the global, regional and local perspectives in the evolving field of study.

Joanna Dziadowiec-Greganić

Until recently, cultural studies was a part of knowledge that was treated by the academic world in an ambivalent way. On one hand, there was a belief that the humanities, including the social sciences, in some way belong to each other, with the understanding that they at least partly create a common field. On the other hand, there was a visible tendency to diversify the expanding specializations, by creating new disciplines of knowledge which were separated from the original core. Cultural studies were perceived as an eclectic type of knowledge embracing almost everything, starting with demography and archeology through sociology, psychology and history, also encompassing economics and cultural management. This situation was also expressed by the institutional structure of scientific disciplines. Nowadays it has become apparent that this postmodern fragmentization of culture is petering out. This has created the necessity of a new synthesis in the humanities. It has resulted in the institutionalization of ‘cultural studies’ for which the Polish equivalent can be expressed as ‘kulturoznawstwo.’ Moreover, in relation to postmodernism, (especially models of postmodern narration and phenomena such as over interpretation while analyzing an investigated object), which is a common feature of all the humanities, we may go beyond the postmodern canons. While postmodernism is becoming the subject of reflection in the history of knowledge, there are new methodological propositions coming to light. They are partly the continuation of but also the opposition to postmodern depictions. In that exact moment, cultural studies as a scientific discipline arises. These two reasons, one institutional and the other thematic, have become an invitation for discussion about the identity of cultural studies as a field of knowledge. The aim of the conference was to bring together researchers who are engaged in research on culture. The discussion was not limited to their differences, but also included common points in particular disciplines. The research subject has taken the first step towards formulating a general methodology of the science of culture. The variety of presented research perspectives and the problems which cultural studies will face points towards the necessity of further ventures which would organize and order both subjects and methods of cultural studies research. The opportunity to take more profound reflections and desired polemics in this field will surely be included in the publication of the post-conference materials.

Dr. MANJEET K R . KASHYAP

The crossing of disciplinary boundaries by the new humanities and the “humanities-tocome”is lumped as “cultural studies” in a very confused way.The term, cultural studies, wascoined by Richard Hoggart in 1964; and the movement was inaugurated by Raymond Williams’ Culture and Society (1958) and by The Uses of Literacy (1958), and it became institutionalized in the influential Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies [CCCS], founded by Hoggart in 1964. It is evident that much of what falls under cultural studies could easily be classified under various other labels such as marxism, structuralism, new historicism, feminism and postcolonialism. Since the term has become popularized, I would not focus on why it is named so. Instead, the concern of this paper is to provide a deep theoretical understanding of cultural studies. Cultural studies analyzes the social, religious, cultural, discourses and institutions, and their role in the society. It basically aims to study the functioning of the social, economic, and political forces and power-structure that produce all forms of cultural phenomena and give them social “meanings” and significance.

Dumitru Tucan

Jarosław Płuciennik

The main proposal of the article is to bring into focus humanism as a project which was always present in the Renaissance philology and is still into the main areas of reflection of the Enlightenment and Modernity. The large part of the article consists of a review of the philological tradition since the Renaissance, and it tries to describe an interdisciplinary nature of cultural studies, which always referred to politics and political science, and comparative multilingual approaches, which made them strictly international. Recent development in the area of digital humanities makes cultural studies similar to media studies. Humanism is the only component of the studies which is indispensable because it is not to be replaced by artificial intelligence.

JORGE GERMAN GARCIA HUGHES

Canadian Review of Comparative Literature 31, 460-467

Manfred Engel

Discusses differences between the concept of "Cultural Studies" in the English-speaking world and the German "Kulturwissenschaft". Also sketches the project of a cultural and literary history of the dream as an example for "cultural literary studies". All essays of the volume freely available under: https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/crcl/index.php/crcl/issue/view/681

Simon During

Parvati Raghuram

© Richard Johnson, Deborah Chambers, Parvati Raghuram and Estella Tincknell 2004 First published 2004 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this ...

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Introduction: Why Cultural Studies? Why Stuart Hall?

• First Online: 31 August 2019

Cite this chapter

• Runyararo Sihle Chivaura 2  

This book provides a thorough and critical engagement with Stuart Hall’s theories of media, discourse, race and ethnicity. It is my intention to present Stuart Hall’s version of Cultural Studies, his significant contributions to the field, alongside some of the limitations that are present in his research theorisations. In my engagement with Hall, my intentions are not to highlight the superficial acclaims commonly associated with his physical and oratory attributes. Rather, my emphasis is placed on Hall as a product of colonisation, a British immigrant and a racialized subject suffering from a crisis of identity. In this book, Hall’s experience as an outsider with an insider’s perspective on a cultural phenomenon mirrors my own, as I seek to situate myself as both the researched and researcher. By having an African background as well as being a recent immigrant to Australia provides me a unique viewpoint in which I am placed in the Australian context. Stuart Hall’s biography is useful in providing a ‘roadmap’ for conducting a ‘significant analysis and understanding of the functioning of particular cultures’. It is through the conjuncture of the past and present theoretical perspectives that one can better understand the context of the lives of African immigrants in Australia.

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This term has received vast theorization (Abric, 2001 ; Deaux & Wiley, 2007 ; Hall, 1997a ; Nunn, 2010 ; Saptefrati, 2008 ; Trebbe & Schoenhagen, 2011 ). Definitions of this term come from numerous fields of study such as psychology, media studies and politics. Thus, the meaning of the term can vary depending on its usage. For instance, representation could be taken to mean ‘an accurate depiction of an object or person’ (Ahmed & Matthes, 2016 ; Rasinger, 2010 ). Representation could also be ‘the mirror of society and its core values’ (Fabian, 1990 ; Gale, 2004 ; Shaw, 2013 ). Representation can also be the re-presentation of on object or person in the desired way that the producer of the message wants it to be read (Deaux & Wiley, 2007 ; Doise, Spini, & Clémence, 1999 ; Nunn, 2010 ). In this book, I am using representation to mean the (re)presentation of Africans. Representation is not intended to mean the depiction of African individuals but the composition of images, audio and ideas that depict these images. What are the active agendas being put forward and what informs these agendas?

In this book, I am using the term African immigrant as an inclusive term of all Africans in Australia. I acknowledge that there are different entry pathways into Australia such as through work visas; student visas and marriage, asylum. Some of the African population have become Australian citizens. The use of the African immigrant is being used to reflect that this African population is not indigenous to Australia.

I deploy the term ‘Africanness’ to refer to a bundling of media political and social discourse (Biliuc, McGarty, Hartley, & Muntele Hendres, 2011 ; Hier & Greenberg, 2002 ). The term Africanness to a degree is loaded, in that its definition is not stable (Cohen, 1994 ; Helms, 1990 ; McIntosh, 2015 ; Windle, 2008 ) and is subject to interpretation by the user and the reader.

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Chivaura, R.S. (2020). Introduction: Why Cultural Studies? Why Stuart Hall?. In: Blackness as a Defining Identity. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9543-8_1

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Expansion of Asian American studies fueled by racial attacks and activism

Associate Provost and Professor of American Studies, Amherst College

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For more than 50 years, Asian American studies has been a recognized field at American colleges and universities. But outside of California, students who want to study it as a major or minor are usually out of luck.

However, the tide is beginning to turn.

Duke University created an academic minor in Asian American studies in 2022. Harvard University, long criticized for not offering enough courses in ethnic studies, hired two tenured faculty members in Asian American studies over the past two years.

Vanderbilt University announced its new major and minor in the field in 2023. That same year, Williams College started its concentration , akin to a minor, and Fordham University started its minor.

Amherst College, where I teach , recently created a major in Asian American and Pacific Islander studies, to start in the fall of 2024. Amherst will be the first liberal arts college in the country with its own major in the field.

Southern California’s Claremont Colleges – Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, Pomona and Scripps – have collectively offered a shared major for 25 years. Public high schools across the country have similarly experienced growth in content on Asian Americans.

Decades of lobbying

These programs did not get going overnight. Students on these campuses – and others – campaigned for Asian American studies for years. Across the nation, student activists in the South , the Northeast and the Southwest continue to lobby for more courses and for majors or minors in the field.

But if student activism and faculty interest were all it took to achieve curricular change, Asian American studies and related fields would have been popping up on campuses long ago. At Amherst, students had been pushing for greater attention to Asian American studies for 50 years .

The recent commitment to teaching more courses and hiring permanent faculty – as opposed to visiting faculty – stems, in part, from tragedy. Programs began to grow as attacks on Asian Americans, including the 2021 murders of spa workers in Atlanta, increased during the COVID-19 pandemic . Former President Donald Trump’s repeated reference to COVID-19 as the “ Chinese virus ” added rhetorical fuel to racial animosity.

Battles against discrimination inspire new programs

Historically, ethnic studies programs have come into existence after protests against public discrimination. The establishment of Black , Native, Latino and Asian American studies in California followed the Civil Rights Movement and protests of the 1960s .

The discriminatory attacks that increased during the pandemic inspired a rise in activism among Asian American students. They wanted to embrace their heritage and see their own histories and experiences represented in course offerings. The attacks also made university administrators recognize that – contrary to their stereotype as problem-free, high achievers – Asian Americans experience a unique kind of discrimination in which they are “forever foreign.” They deserve greater attention in the college curriculum.

As more schools join the roster of colleges offering programs in Asian American studies, the material included within Asian American studies is also expanding. The most common subjects in the Asian American program are cultural studies, literary studies and other interdisciplinary areas in the humanities. The field also has drawn on history and sociology, subjects that similarly question popular views about which racial groups have been in authority and why.

Now, prominent topics within Asian American studies include critical race theory and critiques of the United States as an “empire ” and U.S. militarization.

Proponents of Asian American studies may be more likely to hold political views such as support for Palestinians and for affirmative action that share the perspectives found in these topics. Given that Asian American studies started in the 1960s and 1970s because of student activism , political activism has remained central to the field.

The field’s foundation in the humanities and humanistic social sciences, however, has meant that other disciplines have been left out. This is also changing. In the past two years, for example, the Association for Asian American Studies, the largest professional association in the field, has stressed the need for more attention to the study of Asian America in social sciences such as political science, anthropology, economics and psychology. At an April 2024 symposium , the organization connected faculty from psychology, education, political science and other disciplines to the field and vice versa. It also provided a mentoring program for these faculty.

The field will likely continue to add to its areas of representation as it expands on campuses. A more comprehensive look at Asian American experiences may lead to a better understanding of the recent conditions that caused the number of programs on college campuses to increase. Understanding the rise of violence against Asian Americans, for instance, requires knowledge of the U.S. wars in Asia and their connection to individual Americans’ social psychology.

More than 50 years ago, Asian American studies were almost unheard of. In another 50 years, perhaps, programs that similarly combine subjects from multiple disciplines may become mainstream.

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