The Acceptance of Critical-cultural Scholarship in Mass Communication Education

Abstract

The term culture embraces ideas, images, symbols, narratives, objects, and practices that make life meaningful, no matter how privileged or mundane social contexts within which we encounter them. Culture is expressed through art, fashion, literature, music, drama, religion, politics, and-especially at turn of new century-through mass media.1 Critical-cultural scholars view their field as an interdisciplinary terrain without clear boundaries or unified theories, models. or methodologies. They characterize culture in terms of power relationships that differ at various stages in history of a culture, or from segment of a culture to another, or from culture to another. Critical-cultural themes constitute cutting edge of research in a broad range of disciplines, particularly in what French call human sciences (the humanities, arts, and social sciences). These themes are also of considerable interest in professions, in organizations of almost every description, and in daily activities of individuals and communities. Critical-cultural scholars challenge assumptions, premises, conditions, texts, and contexts of journalism and mass communication practice, teaching, and scholarship. They are not bound to any single method. Many employ approaches that have been influential in other disciplines (e.g., history, sociology, anthropology, literature), and they subject methods themselves to critical analyses. Scholars apply these methods and approaches to a wide range of questions (e.g., political economy of communication systems, feminist and gender issues, subaltern and postcolonial problems, and application of postmodern strategies to communication process). Whereas mainstream communication perspectives typically perceive of culture as one of many variables in a system, critical-cultural scholars perceive of culture as the overriding social system or reality that encompasses all social variables.2 As defined in this study, then, terms critical and cultural are inclusive rather than exclusive.3 Communication scholars and students have been exposed to critical theory and cultural studies in various forms for more than 30 years, although these approaches have been viewed with suspicion and some antagonism.4 A turning point of sorts occurred during 1980s, when advocates of these approaches seemingly moved from margins-largely unrecognized and unsupported-toward mainstream of academic respectability.5 Numerous academic journals were launched to provide outlets for critical-cultural scholarship (e.g., Critical Studies in Media Communication; Media, Culture & Society, International Journal of Cultural Studies), and many academic publishers (e.g., Oxford, Columbia, Minnesota) and commercial publishers (e.g., Longman, Routledge, Praeger, Sage) produce books in critical-cultural studies. New professional organizations were created for critical-cultural scholars and activists (e.g., Union for Democratic Communication), and established national and international organizations accepted critical-cultural approaches (e.g., Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, International Communication Association, and International Association for Mass Communication Research). Mainstream communication theory and research textbooks6 now give space to critical-cultural perspectives, and communication programs in a number of universities encourage graduate study in this field. Nevertheless, some critics argue that scholars and activists in critical-- cultural studies at beginning of 21st century seem to have had a limited impact on research and teaching in journalism and mass communication. Critical-cultural theorists, they suggest, too often are isolated within their own courses, journals, and curricula, and they have not altered existing power relationships inside or outside academy. …