Introduction to Cultural Studies

first cycle, Bachelor

The participants:
• understand cultural studies approaches in their diversity and dependence on the respective research interest and the speaker's position.
• recognize central paradigms of cultural, transcultural, social, and media developments and are able to identify and name significant paradigm shifts.
• are able to describe the mutability of cultural constructs, identify influences from media development, and pinpoint the timing of their developmental impulses.
• recognize historical contexts and can classify cultures in terms of their historical development.
• are able to understand mechanisms of meaning production in different cultural contexts and sign systems and critically reflect on their influence on social reality.

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Cultural Studies I introduces the fundamentals of cultural studies contexts and establishes a frame of reference for cultural management. The seminar offers a basic introduction to key concepts, historical developments, and methodological approaches in cultural studies. The focus is on examining the concept of culture in all its complexity and mutability: from classical definitions to current, decolonial perspectives.
In addition to an introduction to cultural history and the analysis of cultural practices, fundamental methods such as discourse analysis and semiotics are covered, which enable the systematic examination of cultural meaning production. Furthermore, the field of memory culture is presented as a central arena for negotiating questions of cultural identity and discussed with all its social and political implications. Another focus is on questions of mediality: How do media shape our cultural ideas and how do they change the way culture is communicated and remembered—especially in the age of artificial intelligence? In each section, the seminar combines theoretical reading with the analysis of concrete case studies from literature, film, art, pop culture, and everyday practices.

Assmann, A. (2017): Einführung in die Kulturwissenschaft. 4. Auflage. ESV Schmidt
Assmann, A. (2018): Der europäische Traum. Vier Lehren aus der Geschichte. C.H.Beck
Bachmann-Medick, D. (2006). Cultural Turns. Neuorientierungen in den Kulturwissenschaften. Rowohlt.
Reichardt, Ulfried (2010): Globalisierung. Literaturen und Kulturen des Globalen. Akademie Verlag.
Seidler, A. / Böhn, A. (2014): Mediengeschichte. Narr Francke Verlag
Stalder, F. (2016): Kultur der Digitalität. Suhrkamp

Exam

German

4

integrated course, case studies, discussion, group work, presentations

1