Cal State Fullerton Cultural Research Degrees Discussion

This is a discussion.

You may, and should, use your notes. You should NOT “Google” the questions. The questions are designed to make “Googling” a useless a endeavor.

You should develop careful, thoughtful responses to each question.

Questions:

Answer ALL of the following. The 20-point questions should be answered in 5-7 sentences each. The 40-point questions should be answered in 3-5 paragraphs each.

1. What is cultural studies? What are the sources that influence it? How should one go about “doing cultural studies?” (20 points)
2. What is a “Pixarvolt” film? Explain with an example. (20 points)
3. Explain “hegemony” as developed by Gramsci. (20 points)
4. Explain the concept of “mediation” as it is developed in this class. (20 points)
5. Explain the following excerpt from The German Ideology making clear how it summarizes the central ideas of a Marxist analysis: The production of life, both of one’s own in labour and of fresh life in procreation, now appears as a double relationship: on the one hand as a natural, on the other as a social relationship. By social we understand the co-operation of several individuals, no matter under what conditions, in what manner and to what end. It follows from this that a certain mode of production, or industrial stage, is always combined with a certain mode of co-operation, or social stage, and this mode of co-operation is itself a “productive force”. Further, that the multitude of productive forces accessible to men determines the nature of society, hence, that the “history of humanity” must always be studied and treated in relation to the history of industry and exchange. (40 points)
6. Compare Althusser’s conception of ideology with Mark Fisher’s concept of Capitalist Realism. (40 points)
7. I suggested that Halberstam’s The Queer Art of Failure was an example of New Historicism. Evaluate that claim. Do you agree or disagree. Explain your answer and support it with at least two examples from the book. (40 points)