Preliminary questions<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<Insert Icon 2 here> Marx has influenced much work in Cultural Studies and this chapter of Cultural Theory and Popular Culture<\/em> charts some of these. The insistence by Marx that all texts and practices should be located within their specific and historical contexts of production (and in some versions, the changing conditions of their consumption and reception) obliges a political analysis of their meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn reading Chapter 4, you may like to reflect on the questions below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Why is Marx\u2019s work important in Cultural Studies even though he has been dead for over 100 years?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What and who are Marxisms and Marxists?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Do you agree with Marx that all texts and practices are political?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Is culture just about economics, money, the division of labour and social class?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The discussion on post-Marxism sees the analysis of the various interpretations of the term, either as an acceptance that Marxism must be left behind for something better or that Marxism needs to be reinterpreted and transformed. Storey discusses that at the heart of post-Marxist theory is discourse, where the meanings produced inform and organize action. Alongside this, is a focus on hegemony and articulation, drawing on the work of Laclau and Mouffe. It is through culture, states Storey, that the ‘world is made to mean’ \u2013 and this culture is a place of struggle, resistance, acceptance, incorporation, pleasure and ideological concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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After you read: Important ideas <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nChapter 4 explains the connections between Marxism and cultural studies delineating Marxist-centered influences on the development of cultural criticism. It guides you across a variety of approaches and their related influences. Bearing in mind Marxists\u2019 argument for approaching all cultural practices in relation to history and changes in the economy, check your understanding of that argument in quizzes 4.1 and 4.2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Quiz 4.1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chose between true<\/em> or false<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n