With just one week left of classes, it seems like a good time to bring this chapter of my blog to a close. I’ll use this opportunity to reflect on this independent study and also to bid farewell to my loyal readers, seeing as I’ll be graduating from Seton Hill in two weeks. However, I assure that this is not the last you’ll hear from me.
Of all the courses I’ve taken at Seton Hill, this project has been the most helpful in preparing me for work as a graduate student. It was nice to have this at the very end of my undergraduate studies, since most of the readings I did supplemented course work I did in Literary Criticism and in other classes. Another perk is that all of these ideas and authors are fresh in my mind, so I’ll be ready to work with them when I meet them again in grad school.
I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed each of the selections I had the opportunity to read this semester. (Yes, Baudrillard, I count you too.) However, considering my own interest in popular culture, I was particularly interested in what Dick Hebdige had to offer. I’ve shared my enthusiasm for Hebdige’s discussion of subculture with a few colleagues and friends; we’ve had some good debates, and I already sense that some of them could lead me to more in-depth research on subcultures, their signs, and how they function within a political structure. I’ve also embarked on some basic research inspired by Marshall McLuhan’s “The Medium is the Message.” I’m not exactly sure of where I’m going yet (don’t ask for my thesis; I hardly even know what I’m questioning yet!), but I’m thinking about embarking on a summer project related to how emerging genres of electronic music manipulate existing forms of media. I’m afraid I’ll have to wait to see where this takes me.
As usual, during this semester I found myself torn between two very different ways of thinking. I constantly felt pressured to make up my mind about which side I was going to join – those feisty Frankfurters, or the laid-back folks from the Birmingham school. Alas, I still have not decided, and I think my indecision stems from my belief that both are crucial to an understanding of culture. To adopt one view is misleading and restrictive. Right now, the Frankfurt School would respond to my indecision by accusing me of being blind to existing ideology, and the Birmingham School would tell me to wake up and realize that I AM in control of my relationship to consumer culture.
I respect both schools, but I’ve come to the conclusion that the best way to live (and to make sense of these schools) is to borrow from each… and to throw in a fistful of salt as well. Sometimes you’ve gotta silence the inner Marxist when you’re just thirsty; why should you be damned for picking up a Coke product? And at other times, John Fiske sounds downright ridiculous for defending Madonna. I’ll admit to having a fascination with pop icons, but even I question whether Madonna’s fans really ever saw her as the embodiment of female opposition to the patriarchy.
With all of these contrasting perspectives and theories, it’s hard to decide which I want to promote and continue to study. For now, I think I need to maintain an open mind about all of these critics. However, for the cultural studies scholars of tomorrow, I think we need to develop a new approach to teaching this field of studies. It’s important to read the greats – Marx, Habermas, Benjamin, etc. – but new voices have much to offer. Perhaps these “new” voices have yet to emerge, but the passing of time will push them forward. I’m eager to see what’s in store, and I hope I have a voice to offer.