Cultural Studies & Marxism Insights

A theoretical framework that examines how culture, politics, and law are influenced by economic structures.

The economic foundation of society, consisting of forces and relations of production.

The cultural, political, and ideological aspects of society, influenced by the economic base.

A process by which dominant groups maintain power through cultural influence and securing the consent of the governed.

A system of ideas, beliefs, and values that justify and perpetuate the power of a particular group.

Institutions like schools, media, religion, and education that reproduce dominant ideologies and maintain social control.

The cultural products and practices of mass production in capitalist societies.

Marxist critique of mass culture; argues that it promotes conformity and stifles critical thinking.

How audiences interpret and use mass culture in different ways, often resisting dominant ideologies.

The struggle between different social classes with conflicting interests, a central concept in Marxism.

How working-class cultures resist dominant bourgeois culture and use popular culture as a site of resistance.

The ways in which various forms of power related to gender, race, and sexuality intersect with class.

Agency in cultural studies refers to how people use culture creatively to resist or reinterpret dominant meanings.

A contemporary theoretical approach that critiques classical Marxism, integrating insights from postcolonial theory, feminism, and post-structuralism.

The forces that create goods and services, such as labor, technology, and raw materials.

The relationships between different classes involved in production, such as workers and owners.

Gramsci's concept of how the ruling class maintains control through cultural leadership and securing the consent of the governed.

Dominant cultural ideas and practices that become taken for granted as common sense.

Marx believed that dominant ideas in a society reflect the interests of the ruling class.

The state of being unaware of one's own exploitation or oppression.

The study of how culture shapes and reflects social and political power dynamics, particularly class relations.

Early cultural studies scholars challenged the Frankfurt School's view of mass culture, focusing on audiences' active interpretation.

Exploring how cultural practices can both maintain and challenge power structures.

The idea that individuals act upon and shape their own cultural experiences.

The process of globalization and its impact on Marxist theory and the study of culture.

The integration of Marxist ideas with other theoretical approaches to create a more comprehensive analysis of power and culture.

The application of Marxist ideas to analyze various forms of inequality, including race, gender, and sexuality.

Cultural studies' ongoing process of examining and adapting Marxist concepts to address contemporary power structures and cultural trends.