Module 1 : . Introduction

Lecture 1 : Cultural Studies: An Introduction


Key concepts and guiding statements of the course:

•  1. Culture is not a given. It is constructed and hence can be studied systematically.

•  2. Culture is not absolute or static but changing and dynamic.

•  3. There are reasons and forces behind cultural practices and changes.

•  4. Power is the chief arbiter of the kind of lives we lead. (see Barker, Cultural Studies )


“The domain of Cultural Studies covers the social processes involved in the production, transmission and reception of symbolic or cultural forms.” ( Polity Reader 2004):