The Formation of

Cultural Studies

by Stuart Hall
 Main Themes:
1. The Post War Era 7. Sociology

2. Mass Media 8. The New Left

3. The Rise of Capitalism 9. Literary Criticism & Leavis

4. The Two Parties 10. Marxism’s Theory

5. Industrial Revolution &

11. Althusser’s Theory
Economical Influence

6. Anthropology 12. Gramsci’s Theory

There was a change between
pre-war Britain and post-war
Britain which was caused by:
- American Culture taking a lead in influencing
the world.
- Social classes were blending and getting
closer.
- The beginning of mass media and television
age.

- The rise of advertisement.

 These changes made the people
question
British intellectuals and politicians
- About the nature (meaning) of
mass culture and mass society.

- About the changes taking place in Britain.

and they had to answer these questions

through American terms for the first time
(due to the American influence).
 Mass Media &
Reception Theory
- By Stuart Hall.

- The theory states that media texts are encoded by

their producers (there is a message behind media
texts).
- Meaning that whoever produces the texts fills the
product with their ideological messages and values.

- The reader then ‘decodes’ the text and accepts it,

understands it or rejects the message/meaning.
 Mass Media &
Reception Theory
- Hall called this the Dominant, Negotiated and Oppositional
response of the audience.

- Dominant is when the values and the ideology of the text

are agreed with and the text is viewed as the producer
intended.
- Negotiated is a middle ground between Dominant and
Oppositional, when the audience might not fully understand
the message or do not necessarily agree.
- Oppositional is when the viewer disagrees with the
message, this maybe because they dislike it or can’t relate
to the product, or they believe it does not reflect society.
 Capitalism

- Capitalism is an
economic system where
people own most
properties and companies.
 Capitalism
Positives Negatives
- More competition
(Better goods at better - Only a few grow rich
prices)
- New business - No labour laws (laws that
opportunities protect the Working Class)

- People grow dissatisfied

- Growth of the Middle
with unequal working
Class
conditions
The Rise of Capitalism
in Britain
- After world war 2, there was an
economic decline in Britain due to the
war.

- In 1959, the Conservative Party made

tax cuts which helped boost living
standards and allowed for a strong
economy and low unemployment.
The Two Parties
Labour Conservative

Middle and
Working Class
Upper Class
The Two Parties (Labour)
- The Labour Party represented
a traditional, industrial class culture which was
changing rapidly under the influence of mass society.
- Labour blamed these changes on
(the telly, the fridge, the car and women’s magazines)
for their loss in the (1959) election.

- As for the people’s response to their loss was:

Labour was representing something out of date.

All of this led to the birth of Cultural Studies.

Industrial Revolution &
Economical Influence
- The Industrial Revolution was a time in
Britain when the manufacturing of goods
moved from small shops to large factories.
- This shift brought about changes in culture
as people moved from rural areas to big cities
in order to work.
- Capitalism was a central component
necessary for the rise of industrialisation.
Industrial Revolution &
Economical Influence
- The railroad, the cotton engine, electricity
and other inventions permanently changed
society.
- Without the Industrial Revolution we would
have no cars, no television and there would be
less factories.
- Industrial Revolution was as much a Cultural
Revolution as a Technological Revolution.
The Three Sources of Theories
about The Concept of Culture

First source Literature

Second source Anthropology

Third source Sociology

 The Difference between
Anthropology & Sociology

Anthropology Sociology

The study of
The study of
individual human
group behaviour
behaviour
Britain, US & France and
the view of Anthropology
Britain US & France
Structural Cultural
not Cultural not Structural
They were looking at They were asking
institutions such as family
and religion rather than cultural, linguistic and
cultural practice. symbolic questions.
 The Rise of
Sociology in Britain
- In the 1950’s, there was a rise in
sociology in Britain which adopted
American sociology.

- American sociologists believed Capitalism

works and integrated different immigrant
populations making a new American
identity, therefore Pluralism works (mixing
different people together).
 The Rise of
Sociology in Britain
- The idea of Pluralism was
adopted in Britain.

- British sociology didn’t consider

British life, rather they just lifted
American Sociology and inserted
it in Britain.
 The Rise of
Sociology in Britain
- From the advantages of this form
of culture is the awareness of
plurality of cultures.
- But from the negatives that it is not
discussing relations between culture and
power, and the relations between dominate
and subordinate that may exist when
mixing different cultures together.
The Birth of Cultural Studies

- The major transformations

were not so much political and economical
as much as it were cultural and social.

- However, politics needed to change as

society changed in order to accommodate
(adapt) to these changes.
‘Cultural Studies is
not an intellectual
project, it is a
political project’.
 The New Left
(Political Movement)
- This group recognised that society was changing
and the previous tools were not effective in
analysing and understanding the new changes.

Post war - Cultural changes - Political changes

(The birth of the New Left = The birth of Cultural Studies)

 The founders of
Cultural Studies
- Richard Hoggart.
- F. R. Leavis.
- Raymond Williams.

- They were active in developing

Cultural Studies.
Richard Hoggart
- He was a Northern Working Class citizen
with an English degree.
- Then he became a teacher in adult
education.
- Then a professor of English.
- Then the founder of the Centre of
Contemporary Cultural Studies at the
University of Birmingham.
The Contemporary Cultural
Centre at the
University of Birmingham
The Contemporary
Cultural Centre
This Centre has 2 Goals
1- To give an opportunity to students from
different backgrounds to write about their
own times and society (as Hoggart did in
‘The Uses of Literacy’).

2- To create an institute for Cultural

Studies.
 Richard Hoggart’s
Writings and Culture
- He mentions in his writings the kind of lives
which he and people like him lived in the
traditional industrial working class before the
war.
- He explains the aspects of Working-Class life,
their culture, values and their relationships
between people and how they learnt to survive
with dignity although they weren’t people in high
positions.
 Richard Hoggart’s
Writings and Culture
- No one really looked into ‘their culture’ because they
were ‘Working Class’.
- Although their culture is as much part of culture as the
rest of society.
- From their culture:
There was always a guest room, whether they sleep four
in a bed or not, there was always a room for guests even
if the house was falling apart.
He followed Coleridge’s principle:
‘Men ought to be weighed, not counted’.
Just because they are poor, it doesn't mean they are not
an important part of culture.
 Richard Hoggart’s
Writings and Culture
- Haggort learnt through
literature about people and
culture and not through
anthropology (which is the
study of individual human
behaviour).
 ‘The
Uses of
Literacy’
by
Hoggart
Traditional Culture
- The literary cultural tradition has
never taken Working Class culture
that Haggort writes about, as worthy
of any importance or attention.

- They didn’t think Working Class

culture was part of traditional culture.
 If we want to
understand
culture, we have to
study the history
of literature.
 F. R. Leavis

- The most influential literary

critic in England.
 Literary Criticism &
Leavis
- He said: Cultural Tradition is not all of
Literature but the best of it, and it is the job of
the trained literary critic to go through Literature
and keep the good and throw out the bad which
is what he did.

- Not only did he select a handful of books

for Literary Tradition but in some cases he
didn't consider the ‘whole book’ as good
enough but ‘only parts of it’.
3 Structures of Society
1. Marxist Theory Economic Structure

2. Althusser’s Theory Cultural Structure

3. Gramsci’s Theory Political Structure

 Marxism Theory
- It is a theory based on the Philosopher
Karl Marx.
- Marxism is also known as ‘a conflict theory’,
because it represents a society which is in conflict
with each other (between the rich and the poor).

- It’s a Economical and Political philosophy:

- The Economic System shapes the form of society

and the Political Ideologies maintains it.
Marxist
View of
Society
 Marxism Theory
- The economic system appears to
be natural, ‘it’s just how things
are’.
- There is an assumption that now
that this (natural) state of affairs
has been reached, things will stay
that way.
 Criticism of
Marxism Theory
- Cultural life is not just a result of
economic life.

- More recent theories have tended to look

at how elements of society contribute to
the maintainance of the system.

- Louis Althusser and Antonio Gramsci

tried to develop these criticisms.
3 Structures of Society
1. Marxist Theory Economic Structure

2. Althusser’s Theory Cultural Structure

3. Gramsci’s Theory Political Structure

 Louis Althusser
- He was a French Philosopher who
developed Marxist theory.

- He discusses ideologies in his work,

looking at the way in which people
lose their individuality and become
subjects on ideological views.
 Louis Althusser
- He believes that there are several
establishments in society that reinforce
stereotypes and discriminations.

- Which are called ideological agencies.

- These agencies include religion,

education, family, mass media and
culture.
 Louis Althusser
- He believes we need to look beyond
the merely economic relations and
extend our analysis to the other
aspects of society.
- So in order to explain inequality, we
do not need to just look at economics
rather we also need to look to culture
and the media as well.
 Louis Althusser &
The Interpolation Theory
- We come to think that our beliefs are our own,
that they originate from ourselves.

- However, what Althusser argues that these

beliefs are not really our own - they are social.

- We are taking part in shared socialist ideas but

think they are our own private ideas.

Our mind is structured by the wider social

world.
 Repressive State Apparatuses
vs. Ideological State Apparatuses

Repressive State Ideological State

Apparatuses Apparatuses

Functions through
Function through
violence
ideology
(potential or actual)

Military, police, Family, religion,

prisoners. education, law, media.
 Criticism of
Althusser’s Theory
- Are people simply deceived
into adopting such a set of
beliefs?

- Aren’t we more free willed?

3 Structures of Society
1. Marxist Theory Economic Structure

2. Althusser’s Theory Cultural Structure

3. Gramsci’s Theory Political Structure

 Antonio Gramsci
- He is an Italian Philosopher who
developed Marxist theory.

- He became the first Marxist theorist to work

with the problems of revolutionary change in
20th century and sought to explain why
revolution had not happened according to the
predictions of Marxism.
 Antonio Gramsci
- He accepted the Marxist idea that the
struggle between the Upper Class and
Working Class was the driving force
that moved society forward.

- But he had difficulty with the

traditional Marxist view of how power
was maintained.
Gramsci’s
View of
Society
Gramsci’s
View of
Society
 Main Themes:
1. The Post War Era 7. Sociology

2. Mass Media 8. The New Left

3. The Rise of Capitalism 9. Literary Criticism & Leavis

4. The Two Parties 10. Marxism’s Theory

5. Industrial Revolution &

11. Althusser’s Theory
Economical Influence

6. Anthropology 12. Gramsci’s Theory