Representation

Representation Cultural studies assumes that we do not primarily (or in many cases, ever) access a world apart from representations of it. We don't have direct contact with "reality", if by that we mean a world that has nothing to do with our social construction of it. To put it another way, we can't take apart our experience of the world from the ways we talk about it and communicate about it and, well, represent it. This means that we need to understand how representations work.

Production of Culture We need to think about the conditions in which culture is produced. Who produced it, where did the materials come from that were used? Who financed it? Whose views are being represented, and why? From the point of view of the consumer of culture, how does one get at the intentions of the producer of culture? Is that even worthwhile? What if it is produced by many people (e.g., a film, a ballet, a television show)? Is it the "producer" or "director" who we are reading?

Reception of Culture We all consume culture. In fact, one might argue that in the modern age, culture is there to be consumed. It is meaningful only inasmuch as it "tastes good", so to speak. How do we account for the trends, for what is popular?

Signs Representation holds that there is no "reality" that governs the image, or the representation. So, where does meaning reside? In the interlocking play of signs. We will spend a lot of time in this course on signs.

Representation	Cultural studies assumes that we do not primarily (or in many cases, ever) access a world apart from representations of it. We don't have direct contact with "reality", if by that we mean a world that has nothing to do with our social construction of it. To put it another way, we can't take apart our experience of the world from the ways we talk about it and communicate about it and, well, represent it. This means that we need to understand how representations work.

Production of Culture	We need to think about the conditions in which culture is produced. Who produced it, where did the materials come from that were used? Who financed it? Whose views are being represented, and why? From the point of view of the consumer of culture, how does one get at the intentions of the producer of culture? Is that even worthwhile? What if it is produced by many people (e.g., a film, a ballet, a television show)? Is it the "producer" or "director" who we are reading?

Reception of Culture	We all consume culture. In fact, one might argue that in the modern age, culture is there to be consumed. It is meaningful only inasmuch as it "tastes good", so to speak. How do we account for the trends, for what is popular?

Signs	Representation holds that there is no "reality" that governs the image, or the representation. So, where does meaning reside? In the interlocking play of signs. We will spend a lot of time in this course on signs.