‘decanonised knowledge’ and the radical project: towards an understanding of cultural studies in British universities

Abstract

This article will critically explore the disciplinary pressures on cultural studies which are often claimed to be at the centre of cultural studies' loss of political radicalism and critique. First, I will argue that the disciplining of cultural studies needs to be examined in the context of its origins and its relationship with sociology. Through an assessment of the initial differences, tensions and hostilities with sociology, it will be possible to gain a fuller understanding of the contemporary position of cultural studies in the university. This will be explored through looking at the founding and initial development of the Institute of Community Studies and the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, whose focus on popular working class culture was undertaken in terms of an oppositional stance towards sociology. Secondly, I will argue that the apparent ‘deradicalisation’ of cultural studies cannot be accounted for solely in terms of pressures relating to institutionalisation, but should also be related to theoretical trends within cultural theory itself. This article suggests that the dominance of textuality directs students away from the social and political basis of cultural studies towards increased complexities inside closed texts. This has resulted in numerous cultural theorists calling for a return to more sociological approaches in cultural studies. The final part of the article focuses on the issue of teaching cultural studies.