"Arguably the most famous book in its field... In theoretical terms, the legacy of Doing Cultural Studies confirms that this classic read is not just about the Walkman itself, but represents a series of clear observations about the symbolic meanings of culture." - LSE Review of Books
Why think about the Walkman in the 21st century? Can the Walkman help us understand today's media and cultural practices? Through the notion of the ′circuit of culture′, this book teaches students to critically examine what culture means, and how and why it is enmeshed with the media texts and objects in their lives. Students will:
Unpack the key concepts of contemporary culture, such as mobility, materiality, consumption and identity
Learn to think about some of the cultural conundrums of the present and their relation to the past, such as branding culture
Look with fresh eyes at today′s media world and the cultural practices it gives rise to
Gain practical experience with the historical comparative method
Practice their critical skills with up-to-date exercises and activities
This book takes students on a journey between past and present, giving them the skills do to cultural analysis along the way. It remains the perfect ′how to′ for students in media studies, cultural studies, design and sociology.
Product Details
ISBN-13: 9781849205504
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Publication Date: 06-05-2013
Pages: 175
Product Dimensions: 7.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Series: Culture, Media and Identities
About the Author
Paul du Gay is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at The Open University Stuart Hall was born and raised in Jamaica and arrived in Britain on a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford in 1950. In 1958, he left his PhD on Henry James to found the New Left Review, which did much to open a debate about immigration and the politics of identity. Along with Raymond Williams and Richard Hoggart he established the first Cultural Studies programme at a British university in Birmingham in 1964, bringing the study of popular culture into the understanding of political and social change.After spending more than four decades as one of the UK's leading public intellectuals, Hall retired from formal academic life in 1997 and since then has continued to devote himself to questions of representation, creativity and difference. He became the chair of two foundations, Iniva, the Institute of International Visual Arts, and Autograph ABP, which seeks to promote photographers from culturally diverse backgrounds, and championed the opening of Iniva's new Rivington Place arts complex in east London in 2007. Linda Janes is the Course Administrator for PhD Students in the School of Engineering at the University of Portsmouth. Anders Koed Madsen is Professor in Humanities at Aalborg University in Denmark. Dr Hugh Mackay is an Honorary Associate of the Faculty of Sociology at Open University Keith Negus entered higher education as a mature student, having spent many years playing keyboards and guitar in a variety of bands after leaving school. He gained a degree in Sociology from Middlesex Universit and then completed a PhD study of the acquisition, production and promotion of recording artists at SouthBank University. He subsequently taught at the Universities of Leicester and Puerto Rico and was based in the Department of Media and Communications prior to moving the Department of Music at Goldsmiths. He is Director of the Popular Music Research Unit, convenor of BMus Popular Music, convenor of the MA Music (Popular Music Research) and a coordinating editor of Popular Music (Cambridge University Press).
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Second Edition Introduction to the First Edition 1. MAKING SENSE OF THE WALKMAN Introduction What is 'Culture'? Back to the Future: Materiality and Culture Meanings and Practices Meaning by Association: Semantic Networks Back to the Future: Meanings and Associations Signifying Practices Contemporary Soundscapes Back to the Future: Produsage: The Changing Relationship Between Production and Consumption? Culture in the Age of Electronic Reproduction Back to the Future - Benjamin v/2.0 Back to the future: Mobile Privatization? Walk-men and Walk-women: Subjects and Identities Back to the Future: Advertizing and Branding Summary 2. THE PRODUCTION OF THE SONY WALKMAN Introduction: The Many Origins of an Idea Cultures of Production, Contexts of Innovation Heroic Individuals Back to the Future: Technological Innovation, Heroic Individuals and Distributed Agency Sony, Japan and the United States Sony: Signifying 'Japan'? Happy Accidents at Work: Enter the Walkman Making the Walkman to Sell: Connecting Production and Consumption Assembling for the Young Consumer: The Mothers of the Invention Naming the Machine: Sony Grammar Marketing and Public Relations Back to the Future: Promotional Culture Monitoring Consumption and Market Research Back to the Future: Produsage Revisited 3. DESIGNING THE WALKMAN: ARTICULATING PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION Designers as Cultural Intermediaries The Organization of Design at Sony Lifestyling the Walkman Back to the Future: The Power of Software: Culture Made Malleable? The Walkman: How 'Japanese' Is It? 4. SONY AS A GLOBAL FIRM Following the Walkman: Competition and Financial Crisis Sony Goes Global and Local Back to the Future: The Global-Local Nexus Combining Hardware and Software: The Culture Industry Back to the Future: Synergies and Cultural Industries 5. CONSUMING THE WALKMAN Introduction Perspectives on Consumption Back to the Future: Perspectives on Consumption Back to the Future: Authenticity The Production of Consumption The Walkman and the Production of Consumption Critique Back to the Future: "Revolutionary" Technologies? Back to the Future: Optimism and Pessimism in Relation to Web 2.0 Back to the Future: No sense of Place? Consumption as Socio-cultural Differentiation Walkman Consumption and Social Differentiation Consumption as Appropriation and Resistance 6. REGULATING THE WALKMAN The Walkman and Questions of Cultural Regulation The Walkman: The Public and the Private Walkman Use and the Blurring of Boundaries Back to the Future: Cultural Regulation of Modern Technologies Summary of Chapters 5 and 6 Selected Readings Reading A: Bruno Latour: 'Technology is society made durable' Reading B: Axel Bruns: 'Produsage: Towards a Broader Framework for User-Led Content Creation' Reading C: Walter Benjamin: 'The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction' Reading D: Raymond Williams: 'Mobile privatization' Reading E: Ana Andjelic: 'Time to rewrite the brand playbook for the digital' Reading F: Nick Lyons: 'Scratching a global dream' Reading G: Shu Ueyama: 'The selling of the "Walkman "' Reading H: Thomas A. Harvey: 'How Sony Corporation became first with kids' Reading I: Lev Manovich: 'There is Only software' Reading J: Jonathan Zittrain: 'The Personal Computer Is Dead' Reading K: Rey Chow: 'Listening otherwise, music miniaturized: a different type of question about revolution' Reading L: Lev Grossman: 'Iran´s protests: Twitter, the Medium of the Movement' Reading M: Tim O´Reilly: 'What Is Web 2.0' Reading N: Mirko Tobias Schäfer: 'Bastard Culture! How User Participation Transforms Cultural Production' Reading O: Lain Chambers: 'A miniature history of the Walkman' Reading P: Vincent Jackson: 'Menace II society'