Syllabus:

1. No readings. Introductory Lecture

2. Different Conceptions of “Culture” and “Cultural Studies”

Cultural Studies with “C” or “c”? Why do we need a concept of culture and what kind of concept of culture do we need in order to understand and/or explain social and political phenomena?

Mandatory Readings:

Gayatri Spivak, "Scattered Specifications on the Question of Cultural Studies" in The Cultural Studies Reader , Simon During (ed.), Second Edition, London and New York: Routledge, 1999, pp. 169-189.

3. The Frankfurt School of Critical Theory on Culture Industry

What is "Culture Industry"?

Mandatory Reading:

Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as a Mass Deception,” The Cultural Studies , Simon During (ed.), Pp. 31-42

Recommended Reading:

Angela McRobbie, "The Place of Walter Benjamin in Cultural Studies." The Cultural Studies , Simon During (ed.), Pp.77-97.

Watch Youtube video “The Culture Industry” : Tyler Stump and Christina Fairchild at the University of Maryland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE6CGAK0kVY