Page 219 - Cultural Studies Dictionary
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DICTIONARY OF CULTURAL STUDIES



                   clients. Thus contemporary life has increasingly been put under surveillance through
                   the use of electronic technologies such as CCTV cameras in urban centres, security
                   systems surrounding houses, police helicopters using infra-red cameras and the use
         196       of electronic shopping cards that record information for store management regarding
                   consumer spending patterns. Indeed, this is not simply the province of capitalism but
                   is also a marked activity of the state which has taken increased authoritarian powers
                   over questions of ‘law and order’, morality and internal surveillance.

                   Links Capitalism, city, modernity, reflexivity, urbanization

                Symbolic A symbol is a mark that appears to stand in for another object or meaning.
                   Thus, symbolism is a form of representation founded on signs. As with all sign
                   systems, meaning is not generated because the object of symbolic reference has an
                   essential and intrinsic meaning but rather is produced because signs/symbols are
                   different from one another. The use of metaphor, which involves the replacement
                   of one signifier by another, is a symbolic act. Indeed language is clearly a symbolic
                   system that relies on metaphor to the point that all language use is metaphorical.
                   The relationship between the sounds and marks of a symbolic system and its
                   meanings is not fixed or eternal but rather is governed by the cultural conventions
                   of usage within particular contexts.
                   Links Language, metaphor, representation, semiotics, signs, symbolic economy, symbolic
                   order

                Symbolic economy (a) One meaning of the term symbolic economy refers to the
                   organization of symbols into meaningful representations That is, the grammar of
                   language and other forms of signifying system. To explore this sense of the concept
                   see the following links.
                   Links Language, meaning, representation, semiotics, signs

                (b) Another use of the term symbolic economy refers us to the way in which the
                   symbolic practices of culture are also productive activities of a monetary economy.
                   This has been particularly marked in urban redevelopment practices such as the
                   transformation of old wharfs and canals into shopping centres or areas of leisure
                   activity during and since the 1980s. Here the symbolic economy is manifested as
                   material economic power. Indeed, the redevelopment of urban spaces and places is
                   commonly forged through the synergy of capital investment and cultural meanings.
                      Symbolic culture plays an economic role in branding a city by associating it with
                   desirable ‘goods’; for example, movie representations of the New York skyline and
                   the Sydney Opera House. Further, culture industries such as film, television and
                   advertising lend glamour to cities, bringing direct employment and other economic
                   benefits. Finally, symbolic houses of culture such as museums and theatres provide
                   convivial spaces of consumption for business meetings and tourism. Thus, Paris is
                   famous for its architectural history and gastronomic reputation rather more than
                   its manufacturing base.
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