Critical theory media and cultural studies

  1. Does Critical Theory still have a use and value today for the study of media, communication and culture? 2. Critically examine how changes in the way we work in the ‘post-Fordist' period have impacted on our society, culture and subjectivity. You can refer to, for example, the blurring of production and consumption, the shift to ‘immaterial labour’, the importance assigned to ‘creativity’ or the automation and/or digitalisation of the workplace. Feel free to focus on one particular area as described, or one of your own choosing. 3. Drawing on theories of ideology and/or hegemony and/or interpellation, discuss how economic, social and cultural inequalities are reproduced. Use examples of cultural products and practices where necessary to support your answer. 4. Analyse the significance to the critical study of media, communication and culture of Raymond Williams’s claim that ‘culture is ordinary’ (Williams, 1989). 5. Critically consider the relationship between television output and television viewing with reference to at least one of the following: consumerism; security; domestic life; identity; self-expression. 6. “We use Empire to name the new form of sovereignty, a new form of political rule” (Hardt, M & Negri, A, 2002, para 2). Are the concepts of ‘Empire’ and ‘Multitude’, as defined by Hardt and Negri, still helpful in understanding and critically engaging the world of 2020? 7. Have social media and/or digital communication technology challenged, reproduced or intensified dominant structures of power? Use specific examples where helpful. 8. Critically explore at least one way that software is shaping contemporary society and/or subjectivity and/or interpersonal relationships. Use examples of specific software packages or platforms to illustrate your answ