Page 9 - Culture and Cultural Studies

8 CULTURE AND CULTURAL STUDIES

Representation

A good deal of cultural studies is centred on questions of representation; that is, on how the
world is socially constructed and represented to and by us in meaningful ways. Indeed, the
central strand of cultural studies can be understood as the study of culture as the signifying
practices of representation. This requires us to explore the textual generation of meaning. It
also demands investigation of the modes by which meaning is produced in a variety of
contexts. Further, cultural representations and meanings have a certain materiality. That is,
they are embedded in sounds, inscriptions, objects, images, books, magazines and television
programmes. They are produced, enacted, used and understood in specific social contexts.

THE PLANET

© Photographer: Svetlana Prevzentseva | Agency: Dreamstime.com
{ Is this image a reflection of the natural world or a cultural representation?
{ This picture was only possible with the advent of space travel. How might its
appearance in our culture have changed the way we think about ourselves?
{ Can you imagine cultural life without this picture in our minds?

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