Analysis of Cultural Studies - Essay Example

? Importance and Relevance of Two Concepts to Academic Field of Cultural Studies Cultural studies have existed for less thana half a century where it was initiated in Birmingham Centre for Cultural Studies, Britain. It has become a course in universities worldwide and developed into a discipline on its own right. It uses humanities to study the characteristics of the working class culture and its overall contribution to the development of an all-inclusive culture of the region or area where it exists. Cultural studies focus its attention on issues like the effect of fashion trends, games, celebrities and the influence these have on shaping opinions and behavioral patterns. It seeks to figure out how a certain culture generates its meaning from various factors like economic, social and political spheres impact on it on a daily basis. Cultural studies is a discipline that is practiced by devoting time and other resources to try and decipher the dynamic relationships, which merge to form a discernible culture in a society. The objective of this paper is to discuss the significance and relevance of two concepts on the academic field of cultural studies. Ideology is a key term that is widely associated with cultural studies, where it describes different philosophical viewpoints regarding what defines the culture, of a given community or society. Ideology is a concept forwarded by a certain group, in society, with the aim of representing this thought or ideal as the foundation of all things that govern and control their social, cultural and economic well-being. Another notion forwarded by a German philosopher Karl Marx was that an ideology was an idea proposed by the ruling class making the ideas a governing principle in that society (Grossberg & Pollock, 2012 p18). According to Grossberg and Pollock, this means that the class with the resources to sustain the economy of that community has also the means to dictate the reasoning of the rest of society. In most societies across the world, ideologies have been implemented using force in areas where the domineering group failed to assert its ideals by conventional means. However, this notion came under dispute from cultural studies scholars who hypothesized that the power that ideologies wielded did not come from people’s submission to the use of force but through consent (Grossberg & Pollock, 2012 p 45). This is garnered through habitual behavior change over time until at present, it seems natural, but in the real sense, these ideal that people seem to be practicing and are comfortable with were once concepts forwarded by the ruling class and over time through generations, it was assimilated into the culture of this people. The origin of an ideology determines the characteristics of that society because the origin of the concept contains objectives and agendas driven by the ideology. Cultural studies reflect on how ideologies shape the individual whose attitudes and behaviors have been modified by adopting various forms of ideologies in life. According to cultural studies, an ideology is lived in relation with life, which is molded by our beliefs, and how we allow people forwarding the concepts that shape ideologies to fair, in our societies. Cultural studies portray ideologies as tools or instruments used to direct the reasoning unconsciously, of the societies from where they were born to think, in a predefined way, which serves the interests of those in charge (Grossberg & Pollock, 2012 p 70). Ideologies, in the context of cultural studies, represent conceptions that influence an individual to focus on self and their perceived social order. It does this by analyzing the impact of different sets of ideologies through various mediums especially the media. Cultural studies highlight the multitude of determinants that guide the way a given culture, for example, the role of gender, race, religion, educational standards, ethnicity and class, manipulates the way that an ideology influence a community. Practitioners of cultural studies investigate a wide spectrum of vessels used to convey and transmit ideologies and the impact these mediums have on their effectiveness (Grossberg & Pollack, 2012 p 100). In other words, cultural studies examine the role played by media apparatus like movies, magazines and music in contributing towards the effectiveness of proposed ideologies. They also focus their attention on the impact of the media in furthering the ideals of a selected concept. Cultural studies relationship with ideology emerges from the fact that any ideological orientation focuses on changing the cultural bearing of societies. This makes it inevitable that the two share some relevance, which is illustrated by their common interest in influencing the cultures they target. The difference between the two is that cultural studies strive to better understanding of mechanizations, which operate in shaping a community’s culture, and how this knowledge can improve aspects, in that society. Ideologies, on the other hand, can be beneficial to a society, especially where they are conceptualized through mutual understanding and consent, where every person is comfortable with their outcomes. Those who control material production can also conceptualize ideologies in a manner that is oppressive and demeaning to a certain portion of the population. Identity is the perception that an individual hold about self regarding a myriad of factors like gender, race, political, financial and many other aspects that can be used to define a person’s personality. Identity is a notion held about self. It also describes how other people define a person’s identity, basing their own perceptions on the same factors that the individual uses to define self. Cultural studies examine the impacts of these determinant factors on identity and how each acts independently to shape a person’s identity (Grossberg & Pollock, 2012 p 111). Practitioners, of cultural studies, focus their attention on identity because it provides a crucial insight into the intrinsic factors present, in the fabric of society, which contribute to identity development and maturity. Gaining an insight into the forces that work to forge the identity of a person, cultural studies practitioners get a better understanding of other factors that come together to form a whole and functioning culture. Comprehending what defines a single person, and the factors involved thereof, open a doorway to understanding how elements like conceptual ideologies affect a society since identity starts at the individual level. Practitioners, of cultural identity, are able to gauge the potential and impact of an ideology, in a certain community or society, if they have a proper understanding of the inner workings of a culture’s identity development. Through their insight on the identity of a culture and its individuals, cultural studies can forecast the type of reception certain ideas and concepts will elicit, in a given population. Cultural identity, in a community, is significant because it represents the beliefs and principles that hold together that certain cultures form the basis upon, which that community is recognized and appreciated. In cultural studies, identity plays a critical role in all its disciplines without which deciphering the core components of cultural studies would be difficult. Ideology and identity play an essential role in furthering the disciplines pertaining to cultural studies because they both complement one another. A proper understanding of identity in any scope provides a significant probability of cultural studies comprehending the effects of ideologies and concepts in society. Identity and ideologies complement each other in advancing their relevance, in academic cultural studies because, without one of them, practitioners of this discipline would be at a loss of what to make of the complex features that are characteristic of a well developed societal culture. Bibliography Grossberg L and Pollock D. Cultural Studies. London: Routleg, 2012. Read More