“Maps of meaning” signify that ideology is also like a map or a chart in the creation of meaning. This is the most important definition of ideology in understanding Cultural Studies. It means that our set of ideas / beliefs is therefore also going to determine the meaning since they are the maps. It follows that meaning creation may not be the same for everyone. The maps of meaning of a culture are dependent upon the ideology that one holds.

Thus the keywords that define ideology are:

Ideology can be conveniently described as: