CURE 1001 Introduction to Cultural Studies

Lecturer: Prof. PANG Laikwan

Email: [email protected]
Office: 217, Leung Kau Kui Building
Tel: 39434153

Tutors: Hu Wenxi <[email protected] >

Li Jinghui <[email protected]>
Cecilia Wong <[email protected] >

11:30 am to 1:15 pm, Monday

LSK 206
Fall 2023

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is an introductory course to Cultural Studies designed specifically for students new to the discipline.
There are many ways to begin the intellectual journey into Cultural Studies, and in this course we focus on
three keywords—Identity, Ideology, and Inequality. These three concepts are treated as windows for
students to explore the general concerns of Cultural Studies, particularly related to the dynamics among
culture, society, economics, and politics. In the section on identity, we will study the connections and
differences among identity, subjectivity, and agency, and we will also explore the importance and
complications of identity politics around the world. In the section on ideology, we discuss how we are
fundamentally shaped by dominant ideologies, and how we might develop an agile self-reflection against
different competing discourses. In the section on inequality, we focus primarily on economic disparity in
capitalist society and neoliberalist society. We will also study the complex relations between text and context,
expression and control, as well as individual and society. We analyze how power and control are operated in
our everyday life, and we also explore the meanings of autonomy and resistance. Students will confront and
unlearn some of their previously held values, with the aim to develop their own ways to encounter this world
ridden with contested power operations. Overall, the course aims to help students develop a sense of
criticality and cultural connectedness that is urgently needed in our society.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students are expected to learn the importance of culture in our world, particularly in relation to subject
formation, ideology, and social justice. Students are also expected to acquire the basic reading skills to
understand critical theories, so that they can apply them to cultural texts and their own everyday life
critically and creatively. They are expected to understand some key concepts and values of Cultural Studies,
and how they are different and related to other disciplines.

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SYLLABUS
Sept 4 Introduction

IDENTITY
Sept 11 Representations and Identity
Sept 18 Cultural Identity
Sept 25 Identity Politics

Main Readings:
• Stuart Hall, “Cultural Identity and Diaspora,” in Colonial Discourse and
Post-Colonial Theory (Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1994), 222–237;
• bell hooks, “Choosing the Margin: As a Space of Radical Openness,” in Yearning:
Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics (South End Press, 1990), 145–153;
• James Tully, "Identity Politics," The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century
Political Thought (Cambridge UP, 2003), 517-533.
Reference:
• Barker and Jane, Cultural Studies, Ch. 7 (ref list)

IDEOLOGY
Oct 2 National Day Holiday – no class
Oct 9 From Identity to Ideology
Oct 16 Ideology and Power
Oct 23 Chung Yeung Festival – no class
Oct 30 Ideological State Apparatus
Nov 6 Hegemony

Main Readings:
• Terry Eagleton, “What is Ideology?” in Ideology – An Introduction (Verso, 1991),
1–25;
• Louis Althusser, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatus,” in Lenin and
Philosophy and Other Essays (Monthly Review Press, 2001), 85-126;
• Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci
(International Publishers, 1971), 192-200.
Reference:
• Oswell, Culture and Society: Introduction to Cultural Studies, Ch. 3 (ref list)

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INEQUALITY
Nov 13 Capitalism, Labor, and Value
Nov 20 Eternal Crises
Nov 27 Ne0liberalism
Main Readings:
• Karl Marx, Capital vol. 1: Session 1 of Ch 1, and Ch 4;
• David Harvey, The New Imperialism (Oxford UP, 2003), 87–136;
• Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s Stealth Revolution, 17-45.
Reference:
• Strinati, An Intro to Theories of Popular Culture, Ch. 4 (ref list)

Tutorials
There will be 6 tutorial sessions, each lasting 1 hr and 45 mins. Students will be organized into groups, each
of which leads the discussions of that session, supported by at least one of the assigned readings. Students
must consult their tutors before the presentation, and they must relate their discussions to lectures.

Session 1: Introduction
Section 2: Identity Politics in Hong Kong
• Lisa Leung, Ethnic Minorities, Media and Participation in Hong Kong (Routledge, 2021), 1-18.
• Gordon Mathews, “The Hong Kong Protests in Anthropological Perspective: National Identity and
What it Means,” Critique of Anthropology 40.2 (2020).
Section 3: Identity Politics in the West
• Susan Neiman, “The True Left Is Not Woke,” https://unherd.com/2023/03/the-true-left-is-not-woke/
• Adbul Noury and Gerard Roland, “Identity Politics and Populism in Europe,” Annual Reveal of Political
Science no. 23 (2020): 421-439.
Section 4: COVID and Ideology
• Christian Fuchs, Communicating Covid-19 (Emerald, 2021), Ch 3;
• Ed Pertwee, Clarissa Simas, Heidi Larson, “An Epidemic of Uncertainty: Rumors, Conspiracy Theories
and Vaccine Hesitancy,” Nature Medicine 28 (2002): 456-459.
Section 5: Social Inequality in Affluent Society
• You Yenn Teo, This is What Inequality Looks Like (Singapore: Ethos Book, 2018), Chs 1 and 2;
• Ha-Joon Chang, “The Political Economy of Parasite” (2021)
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/internationaldevelopment/2021/10/13/cutting-edge-issues-in-development-t
he-political-economy-of-parasite-the-movie/
Section 6: Local Economy in Hong Kong
• 駱頴佳， 〈情感資本主義下的小店倫理 〉
• 邱林川、阮耀啟編， 《平台點合作》 （香港：印象文字，2018）

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Assessment
 20%: Problem statement (around 500 words) with the research question(s) and major concerns related
to the lectures (due Nov 20). See https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/problem-statement/
 40%: Examination
 30%: Tutorial presentation
 10%: Attendance

REFERENCE LIST: INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL STUDIES TEXTBOOKS

Barker, Chris, and Emma A. Jane. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice, 5th ed. London: Sage, 2016.
Durham, Meenakshi Gigi and Douglas M. Kellner ed. Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, 2nd ed.
Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.
During, Simon. Cultural Studies: A Critical Introduction. London and New York: Routledge: 2005.
Hall, Stuart, Jessica Evans and Sean Nixon ed. Representation, 2nd ed. London: The Open University,
2013.
Kidd, Dustin. Pop Culture Freaks: Identity, Mass Media, and Society, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge,
2018.
Ryan, Michael. Cultural Studies: A Practical Introduction. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
Storey, John. Critical Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, 8th ed. London and New York:
Routledge, 2018.
Williams, Raymond. Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1985.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary

guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found

at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/. The final version of the assignment should be

submitted via VeriGuide. Generative AI tools are allowed to be used in the Problem statements and tutorial

presentations, but they must be properly indicated.

GRADE DESCRIPTOR
A: Outstanding performance on all learning outcomes.
A-: Generally outstanding performance on all (or almost all) learning outcomes.
B: Substantial performance on all learning outcomes, OR high performance on some learning outcomes which
compensates for less satisfactory performance on others, resulting in overall substantial performance.
C: Satisfactory performance on the majority of learning outcomes, possibly with a few weaknesses.
D: Barely satisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes
F: Unsatisfactory performance on a number of learning outcomes, OR failure to meet specified assessment
requirements.